As of press time, not so much as a "no comment" or a denial from WQAM Miami's Sid Rosenberg regarding a Miami Herald report that the sports talk host is being chased for an alleged gambling debt:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/02/12/2635294/radio-host-sid-rosenberg-alleged.html#storylink=misearch
This story was also picked up by several radio trade sites, but also without a reaction. There are some stories where a lack of reaction or denial can be interpreted as being accurate. From being a sports fan, sports reporter, and media consultant over the past 40 years, the lack of a denial or even a comment is disturbing. (I should mention that I do not recall meeting or knowing Mr. Rosenberg and have no further information beyond this report.)
It's easy to think, "So what?" when learning about the possibility that a sportscaster has been gambling thousands of dollars. Of course, Sid is not the only person to do this (if indeed the story is true). However, I'd like to think that those whose job it is to report information to us as sports fans do not have anything else riding on this information.
Sports betting is very often dictated by where the money is going. How do we know that a sportscaster who is a heavy gambler is not "reporting" information about key players or teams which could sway a potential bet? Suppose a sportscaster has bet thousands of dollars on Cleveland against Detroit later tonight. Suppose that same sportscaster only "reports" on an injury which could impact the status of a key Cleveland player for that game. This could make the casual betting fan lean toward putting his money on Detroit. If enough fans put more money on Detroit, it increases the payoff if Cleveland wins.
In the Rosenberg situation, the lack of a denial or comment also brings to light that Sid had just returned from a suspension by WQAM. The reason? Gambling.
This Miami Herald story includes a report of the gambling establishment supposedly contacting the radio station. How and why did that story get out? Since the reputation of a major radio station and well established sportscaster are at stake, wouldn't a complete denial of such a contact be shot down before it became public?
Although we don't need background checks on every sportscaster out there, this situation indicates a need for dealing with the situation more thoroughly than seems to be happening thus far. Given how the pro sports leagues will not put a team in Las Vegas or Atlantic City and have discipline in place for any players involved in any way with gamblers, how "news" is reported to sports fans could be playing a part in how thousands and thousands of dollars change hands, legally or not.
Meanwhile, the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am Golf Tournament last weekend drew more media attention, just as it drew more viewers than usual. CBS-TV saw its highest ratings for this tournament since 1997 on Sunday (2/12) when Tiger Woods issued a challenge to Phil Mickelson early in the final round. The Sunday ratings were up more than 95% over last year's.
Many credit the stronger (than recent months) performance of Tiger Woods for drawing the added interest. Here, I'll credit something totally different. The NFL. After another very strong ratings season, this past Sunday was the first one since August without NFL football on. Sports fans are used to having "must see" TV every Sunday, and settled on golf. Frankly, ABC/ESPN blew it by only having one NBA telecast during the afternoon on ABC which didn't start until 3:30 PM ET, and then putting a doubleheader on ESPN that night.
ABC does not seem to be pushing the NBA as much this season. There was no "early" telecast on Super Bowl Sunday, as networks have done in the past (other than a so-so game on NBA-TV instead that day). Then, they should have had a marquee matchup doubleheader this past Sunday in an effort to establish the NBA as "must see". Even with the shortened season after the lockout, TNT is among the networks showing noticeable ratings increases so far.
Not to pick on televised golf, but if the Pebble Beach National had gone up against the NFL, these paragraphs would have been about something completely different.
NBC is beefing up its NHL coverage, showing what is essentially an NHL tripleheader next Sunday (2/19). Starting at Noon ET with 3 regional games, NBC will then show the Boston at Minnesota game at 3 PM ET nationally. Then NBC Sports Network will carry the New Jersey vs. Montreal game with coverage starting at 6 PM ET.
NBC Sports Group also announced a 5-year contract to televise Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) football and basketball games. The new contract includes NBC Sports Network and its Comcast SportsNet regional networks. This announcement seems much overblown. Those that made a big deal about this announcement seem to have overlooked that the CAA includes the likes of Towson University, George Mason, Northeastern, Drexel, Hofstra, and others. These are all excellent institutions. That is not in question. It's just that the 'typical' college basketball fan isn't waiting for the schedule to come out to alter their days for the Delaware vs. North-Carolina-Wilmington telecasts. What this "announcement" really means is that NBC Sports Group is seeking live programming for its networks in place of informercials for fitness products and some of the other oddities taking up time on their sports networks during odd hours.
Along those same lines, PlayOn Sports Network announced plans to debut a high school sports related TV channel later this year including high school sports events from what is already 21 states. While I understand and appreciate increased coverage of high school football and basketball, it should be on a local or regional (at most) level and not on a national platform. The network's release points out the millions of high school sports participants and how many millions attend or watch high school sports across the country. While those statistics are true, they are due to the local schools and clearly not because there is a demand for high school sports across the board, especially for a 24-hour network.
Somebody will be expected to help defray the costs of producing live telecasts from around the country. And you can easily guess that the PlayOn Sports people expect it to be paid from cable and satellite subscribers each month whether they care or not. I'm already paying my local cable provider each month for their local access channels which showcase an occasional local high school game. I don't wish to pay to see high school games from hundreds of miles away with schools and players I have never heard of and have no interest in.
My other problem with this is how it takes away from local radio stations. If and as even more high school football and basketball games are televised, it tells even more local radio stations they don't need to broadcast the local high school games anymore. And instead of going with live programming from their studios, the radio stations will continue to pick up syndicated and network shows.
MLB Network is adding to its on-air studio staff in time for the start of spring training. Alanna Rizzo joins MLB Network from ROOT Sports Rocky Mountain where she appeared on Rockies telecasts, and previously covered the Brewers as weekend sports anchor at WISC-TV Madison. Scott Braun also joins MLB Network, coming over from ESPN where he handled college basketball play-by-play for ESPN and covered the Miami Heat for the ESPN web site. Also joining is Lauren Shehadi, who comes over from the CBS Sports web site. Shehadi has also been a sports anchor at KXMC-TV in Minot ND and worked at Comcast SportsNet Washington.
Sorry to learn that "The Fabulous Sports Babe", Nanci Donnellan, has left Tampa's ESPN 1040 due to serious health issues. She was one of those "love her or hate her" broadcasters when she became the first female to host a national sports show in the mid-90's. Whitney Johnson, formerly with WDAE 620, has taken over the Noon to 3 PM show from Donnellan on ESPN 1040.
NEW YORK: It is now official that Josh Lewin joins Howie Rose in the Mets' radio booth starting with the coming season on WFAN, replacing Wayne Hagin. Lewin plans to continue handling San Diego Chargers radio, which will make for some long weekends both in the air and on the air.
JACKSON: Still another loss in the sports media world. Frank Underwood of WBFG 96.5, who covered sports for nearly 10 years, passed away on Sunday (2/12) after a brief but undisclosed illness.
Showing posts with label NBA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NBA. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Monday, January 9, 2012
The Hosts With The Least
For as much as sports coverage on TV has increased and generally improved over the past few years, there are a few things that could use improvement for the benefit of sports fans. Now it seems another possible trend is emerging by way of ESPN, and it's time to point it out.
A sports reporter or analyst, especially at the network level, is knowledgeable and brings most sports fans a lot of information and insight. However, this does not automatically make him or her an established broadcast professional. ESPN seems to be forgetting this.
Perhaps it is a coincidence. I hope so. But I'm wondering whatever happened to the idea of a true "host" for a program or studio segment. On Friday night I was watching portions of the NBA doubleheader on ESPN, when the studio segments, including pre-game and half time, went on without a true host. What ever happened to Stuart Scott? For those not tuned in, the studio portion was "hosted" by Michael Wilbon. Wilbon is very good with sharing his knowledge of all things NBA. Yet, for some strange reason, it was just Wilbon with Jon Barry and Magic Johnson and one other analyst and no true host. No one to moderate the discussion. If Stuart Scott wasn't available, what was so difficult about having another ESPN 'broadcast' personality handle the hosting?
This was national TV. It's bad enough that ESPN, along with most of the other networks, provide so many studio analysts that the better ones don't get enough air time. Now they seem to think it is acceptable for one to act as a professional broadcaster and "host" the proceedings.
Then, on Sunday morning, on The Sports Reporters on ESPN, Mike Lupicka was acting as program host AND giving his usual commentaries and thoughts on the topics discussed. Same thoughts. As much as I appreciate Lupicka's thoughts, whether I agree with them or not, I also appreciate having a moderator to run the show as if it is a professional presentation at the network level.
About the only redeeming factor for both of these shows is that they are not like College GameDay during which analysts are often drowned out by the annoying and screeching crowds cheering as if it is just fine to distract the viewers.
Here's hoping that the networks and stations show more respect to "true" broadcast professionals. Not just anybody can host a studio show. And not just anybody has to watch them if they are not done to our satisfaction.
As we easily guessed last week, CBS scored major ratings with the Denver Broncos in the playoffs and running into prime time on Sunday (1/8). The overtime win over Pittsburgh finished as the highest rated Wild Card playoff game since 1988 (on any network). Although the final numbers were not available as of press time, prelimary reports show a 56 rating (that's rating - the share was about 77) for the Pittsburgh market, with a 49 (and a share near 78%) for the Denver market.
Tim Tebow is having that much impact on the TV audiences, as those who love him and those who don't all seem to be watching. The ratings were not as kind to NBC on Saturday, especially for the opening Cincinnati vs. Houston telecast. Early word from Cincinnati is that the ratings, for this post-season game, locally were lower than a couple of the regular season telecasts were in that market. Keep in mind that the Bengals failed to sell out all of their home games this season and had some local telecasts blacked out.
The lower interest in Cincinnati didn't stop a couple of the TV stations from going for the Bengals fans. On Friday (1/6) night, WKRC-TV aired a one hour special (7 to 8 PM) previewing the playoff game, while WLWT-TV aired a half hour special between 7:30 and 8, making Bengals fans choose between the two shows.
For the regular season, the NFL (nationally) reached its second highest viewership in more than 20 seasons, including a record 37 game telecasts which reached at least 20,000,000 viewers.
Meanwhile, on the day (1/9) that Barry Larkin was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame as a shortstop, the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association announced its Assocation Hall of Fame awards and inductees. (Larkin has been broadcasting for MLB Network and prior for ESPN since his playing days.)
Bob Costas, now of NBC Sports and MLB Network was named to the NSSA Hall of Fame, along with sports writer John Feinstein, while ESPN's Dan Shulman was named "National Sportscaster of the Year". The NSSA Hall of Fame celebrates its 50th year in 2012, capped off with the induction for Costas and Feinstein on June 11th. The California Sportscaster of the Year is Vin Scully, named to this honor for the 31st time. So far.
On the radio side, an interesting report published by writer Chris Huff regarding the audience ratings of News/Talk stations which carry play-by-play and the sports talk stations around the country.
His analysis shows that from November (2011) to December, WLW Cincinnati took over the national "lead" among News/Talk stations which air play-by-play from WTMJ Milwaukee. This despite the reduced interest in the Bengals during their drive to reach post-season play while the Packers were on their way to the NFL's best record. Cleveland's WTAM-AM 1100 and Atlanta's WSB-AM 750 also finished in the top 5 despite a decrease into December.
Among full-time sports stations, WGFX Nashville again finished with the biggest overall audience share of any major market sports station in the country, with WXYT-FM The Ticket Detroit and WBNS-FM Columbus now tied for 2nd (although The Ticket dropped and WBNS went up in December). In Boston, WBZ-FM The Sports Hub was #9 nationally.
This ranking signals another victory of sorts for The Sports Hub and for sports radio in the Boston market overall. Both WBZ-FM and WEEI 850 and 93.7 showed audience gains over the past three months, including increases for both stations in the morning, midday, and afternoon time slots. Dennis and Callahan showed a bigger increase in the morning than the gains posted by Sports Hub's Toucher and Rich, but both stations should be pleased.
While Fox Sports Radio has been developing into a contender over the past few months based on adding more affiliates and adding stronger programming, it seems that Fox Sports is also looking to upgrade its regional cable networks as well. Fox is starting a new programming division to produce more sports related programming in order to make more productive use of what is currently dead time. It is possible that some of the programming from this new wing could also appear on over-the-air Fox affiliates prior to weekend sports events such as NFL and NASCAR telecasts.
NEW YORK: YES Network is adding at least four telecasts of Fordham University basketball games starting on January 28th, with Ryan Ruocco (who is a Fordham grad) and Jim Spanarkel calling the majority of these telecasts.
PHILADELPHIA: Although it's not exactly a ratings producer for WIP 610, the station now airs "Hawk Talk", dedicated to St. Joseph's University basketball, from 10 to 11 PM on Mondays for the remainder of the current basketball season. Hosts Phil Martelli and Joe Lundardi record the show with audience questions earlier each Monday evening at a restaurant in Havertown.
St. LOUIS: KFNS 590 now has Kevin Slaten working as the sole host of the 3 to 6 PM weekday show, and it will be interesting to see if this gives the ratings a boost. Slaten's co-host for the past year was 25 year-old Ashlee Feldman, who was a part of MTV's "Real World" show in 2010 prior to coming to KFNS last January, departs the station. Perhaps the audience will return and stick around now that the "real world" of Slaten's show will be sports.
BATON ROUGE: Even the football national championship contention by LSU couldn't sway The Score 1210 from dropping its sports talk format on New Year's Day. To the point of the station changing to a gospel music format. However, it appears that none of the on-air hosts will be dismissed, as some of the sports programming moves over to sister station WJBO 1150, including Richard Condon who now hosts a Sunday morning sports talk show.
MITCHELL S.D.: KUQL 98.3 becomes an affiliate for the University of South Dakota football and basketball beginning in August.
A sports reporter or analyst, especially at the network level, is knowledgeable and brings most sports fans a lot of information and insight. However, this does not automatically make him or her an established broadcast professional. ESPN seems to be forgetting this.
Perhaps it is a coincidence. I hope so. But I'm wondering whatever happened to the idea of a true "host" for a program or studio segment. On Friday night I was watching portions of the NBA doubleheader on ESPN, when the studio segments, including pre-game and half time, went on without a true host. What ever happened to Stuart Scott? For those not tuned in, the studio portion was "hosted" by Michael Wilbon. Wilbon is very good with sharing his knowledge of all things NBA. Yet, for some strange reason, it was just Wilbon with Jon Barry and Magic Johnson and one other analyst and no true host. No one to moderate the discussion. If Stuart Scott wasn't available, what was so difficult about having another ESPN 'broadcast' personality handle the hosting?
This was national TV. It's bad enough that ESPN, along with most of the other networks, provide so many studio analysts that the better ones don't get enough air time. Now they seem to think it is acceptable for one to act as a professional broadcaster and "host" the proceedings.
Then, on Sunday morning, on The Sports Reporters on ESPN, Mike Lupicka was acting as program host AND giving his usual commentaries and thoughts on the topics discussed. Same thoughts. As much as I appreciate Lupicka's thoughts, whether I agree with them or not, I also appreciate having a moderator to run the show as if it is a professional presentation at the network level.
About the only redeeming factor for both of these shows is that they are not like College GameDay during which analysts are often drowned out by the annoying and screeching crowds cheering as if it is just fine to distract the viewers.
Here's hoping that the networks and stations show more respect to "true" broadcast professionals. Not just anybody can host a studio show. And not just anybody has to watch them if they are not done to our satisfaction.
As we easily guessed last week, CBS scored major ratings with the Denver Broncos in the playoffs and running into prime time on Sunday (1/8). The overtime win over Pittsburgh finished as the highest rated Wild Card playoff game since 1988 (on any network). Although the final numbers were not available as of press time, prelimary reports show a 56 rating (that's rating - the share was about 77) for the Pittsburgh market, with a 49 (and a share near 78%) for the Denver market.
Tim Tebow is having that much impact on the TV audiences, as those who love him and those who don't all seem to be watching. The ratings were not as kind to NBC on Saturday, especially for the opening Cincinnati vs. Houston telecast. Early word from Cincinnati is that the ratings, for this post-season game, locally were lower than a couple of the regular season telecasts were in that market. Keep in mind that the Bengals failed to sell out all of their home games this season and had some local telecasts blacked out.
The lower interest in Cincinnati didn't stop a couple of the TV stations from going for the Bengals fans. On Friday (1/6) night, WKRC-TV aired a one hour special (7 to 8 PM) previewing the playoff game, while WLWT-TV aired a half hour special between 7:30 and 8, making Bengals fans choose between the two shows.
For the regular season, the NFL (nationally) reached its second highest viewership in more than 20 seasons, including a record 37 game telecasts which reached at least 20,000,000 viewers.
Meanwhile, on the day (1/9) that Barry Larkin was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame as a shortstop, the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association announced its Assocation Hall of Fame awards and inductees. (Larkin has been broadcasting for MLB Network and prior for ESPN since his playing days.)
Bob Costas, now of NBC Sports and MLB Network was named to the NSSA Hall of Fame, along with sports writer John Feinstein, while ESPN's Dan Shulman was named "National Sportscaster of the Year". The NSSA Hall of Fame celebrates its 50th year in 2012, capped off with the induction for Costas and Feinstein on June 11th. The California Sportscaster of the Year is Vin Scully, named to this honor for the 31st time. So far.
On the radio side, an interesting report published by writer Chris Huff regarding the audience ratings of News/Talk stations which carry play-by-play and the sports talk stations around the country.
His analysis shows that from November (2011) to December, WLW Cincinnati took over the national "lead" among News/Talk stations which air play-by-play from WTMJ Milwaukee. This despite the reduced interest in the Bengals during their drive to reach post-season play while the Packers were on their way to the NFL's best record. Cleveland's WTAM-AM 1100 and Atlanta's WSB-AM 750 also finished in the top 5 despite a decrease into December.
Among full-time sports stations, WGFX Nashville again finished with the biggest overall audience share of any major market sports station in the country, with WXYT-FM The Ticket Detroit and WBNS-FM Columbus now tied for 2nd (although The Ticket dropped and WBNS went up in December). In Boston, WBZ-FM The Sports Hub was #9 nationally.
This ranking signals another victory of sorts for The Sports Hub and for sports radio in the Boston market overall. Both WBZ-FM and WEEI 850 and 93.7 showed audience gains over the past three months, including increases for both stations in the morning, midday, and afternoon time slots. Dennis and Callahan showed a bigger increase in the morning than the gains posted by Sports Hub's Toucher and Rich, but both stations should be pleased.
While Fox Sports Radio has been developing into a contender over the past few months based on adding more affiliates and adding stronger programming, it seems that Fox Sports is also looking to upgrade its regional cable networks as well. Fox is starting a new programming division to produce more sports related programming in order to make more productive use of what is currently dead time. It is possible that some of the programming from this new wing could also appear on over-the-air Fox affiliates prior to weekend sports events such as NFL and NASCAR telecasts.
NEW YORK: YES Network is adding at least four telecasts of Fordham University basketball games starting on January 28th, with Ryan Ruocco (who is a Fordham grad) and Jim Spanarkel calling the majority of these telecasts.
PHILADELPHIA: Although it's not exactly a ratings producer for WIP 610, the station now airs "Hawk Talk", dedicated to St. Joseph's University basketball, from 10 to 11 PM on Mondays for the remainder of the current basketball season. Hosts Phil Martelli and Joe Lundardi record the show with audience questions earlier each Monday evening at a restaurant in Havertown.
St. LOUIS: KFNS 590 now has Kevin Slaten working as the sole host of the 3 to 6 PM weekday show, and it will be interesting to see if this gives the ratings a boost. Slaten's co-host for the past year was 25 year-old Ashlee Feldman, who was a part of MTV's "Real World" show in 2010 prior to coming to KFNS last January, departs the station. Perhaps the audience will return and stick around now that the "real world" of Slaten's show will be sports.
BATON ROUGE: Even the football national championship contention by LSU couldn't sway The Score 1210 from dropping its sports talk format on New Year's Day. To the point of the station changing to a gospel music format. However, it appears that none of the on-air hosts will be dismissed, as some of the sports programming moves over to sister station WJBO 1150, including Richard Condon who now hosts a Sunday morning sports talk show.
MITCHELL S.D.: KUQL 98.3 becomes an affiliate for the University of South Dakota football and basketball beginning in August.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
NBC Sports Takes Off In New Year
Even though all of the NFL playoff games this coming weekend count the same, I'm expecting higher ratings for the Sunday telecasts than for the Saturday games, and it is not a reflection on the networks handling the coverage.
The Sunday (1/8) matchups are bigger draws. The N.Y. Giants host Atlanta in the early game on Fox (with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman) which will draw from the New York markets, while the CBS (Jim Nantz and Phil Simms) game with Pittsburgh at Denver will run into prime time in the east and feature Tim Tebow in post-season action. That should translate to big numbers, whether or not it means a "miracle" finish from Tebow.
On Saturday, NBC-TV handles both games, with the earlier matchup of Cincinnati at Houston. The network has Tom Hammond and Mike Mayock, its Notre Dame football announcing team, handling the call. Although Mayock does a solid job as an analyst, this is a post-season game and should mean NBC stepping up their presentation to have a more "hands on" NFL presence in the booth. It's the same issue I have with ESPN using Doris Burke as analyst on NBA telecasts. While Mayock and Burke are each deserving of high profile roles, it's not as if there isn't anyone else available. We as fans get studio pre-game and half-time shows with seemingly hundreds of former players and coaches practically in a battle for air time to give their insight.
For an NFL post-season game, NBC should have, say, Tony Dungy in the booth, or maybe bring in a current NFL coach whose team did not make the post-season but faced one or both of these teams into the booth. There will be some fans viewing this game who have seen much more of the Texans or Bengals than Mayock did. The prime-time telecast (8 PM ET) of the Detroit at New Orleans rematch (these 2 teams met on Sunday Night Football just a few weeks back) will feature the main team of Al Michaels and Chris Collinsworth.
On the following Saturday, Jan. 14, Fox will have the afternoon NFC game from San Francisco with Kenny Albert and Daryl Johnston, with CBS following with a prime time telecast from New England with Nantz and Simms. Sunday the 15th has CBS with the early game from Baltimore called by Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf and Fox with the late afternoon game from Green Bay with Buck and Aikman.
NBC comes off major ratings from its regular season finally on Sunday Jan. 1 with record ratings from its Cowboys-Giants telecast, with finished as the highest rated prime time NFL telecast since 1998.
The new year 2012 was barely a few hours in progress when we were saddened another loss from the sports media. We learned of the passing of Jim Huber of Turner Sports for the past 27 years. Huber was a sports anchor on Atlanta TV and seemingly lucked into a role on CNN to save them moving costs to increase their sports team. Huber handled weekend and fill-in work when CNN aired "Sports Tonight" with the likes of the late Nick Charles, Fred Hickman, Vince Cellini, Hannah Storm, and others. He also was able to do what he did best, which was sports feature reporting.
With the former Versus Network into its first week as NBC Sports Network, the network has begun regular national coverage of NCAA hockey. Its first telecast was last Saturday (12/31) when the network has NHL analyst Ed Olczyk work the Boston U. vs. Notre Dame match along with Steve Schlanger. Most of the remaining telecasts will be on Friday nights when there is not an NHL game scheduled and will include the "final four" of the Hockey East tournament. Note the irony that NBC Sports brought in an NHL analyst for its debut telecast of a college game, but is using a college football analyst for a post-season NFL game on NBC.
As ESPN Radio and Fox Sports Radio begin to become more competitive, each network is making adjustments in their weeknight sports talk lineups. ESPN Radio starts the Hill & Schlereth Show in the 7 to 10 PM ET time slot next week, starting on Tuesday Jan. 10th due to football on Monday. Mike Hill, known from SportsCenter is teamed with former NFL standout Mark Schlereth. This is likely a temporary assignment for Schlereth until just after the Super Bowl. Fox Sports Radio has named Rob Tepper as regular host on their 10 PM to 1 AM ET "Fox Sports Tonight" along with co-host baseball analyst Rob Dibble. Tepper, a former morning show on a music station in Seattle, has been guest-hosting with Dibble in recent weeks. In addition, Fox Sports plans to use Chicago based host Mike North for fill-in work during the week, in addition to North's Sunday night show.
On the TV side, Fox Sports Southwest and FS Oklahoma regional sports networks are reported in the final stages (at press time) of a deal to carry University of Oklahoma sports, including at least one live football and several basketball games not picked up by ESPN, Fox (national), or other regional or national networks. Ironically, these games could also be shown on cable systems in and around Austin TX, home of the University of Texas, while some of the same cable systems in north Texas may not be carrying the U. of Texas sports network. Oops.
HOUSTON: Rome has burned out. After more than 13 years, KILT 610 has dropped Jim Rome's radio show, but it is to add more local sports talk programming. Mike Miltser and Brad Davies will host "Mad Radio" from 10 AM to 2 PM, in between Marc Vandermeer and John Lopez' morning show and leading into Rich Lord and Josh Innes who will air from 2 until 6 PM. The first three to six months of this year figure to be critical for Houston's sports stations. The success of the Texans this season has brought sports radio a little bit of hope over the past couple of months' ratings. However, with the Rockets not expected to be serious contenders and the Astros fading into oblivion with a "lame duck National League" season coming up, it will be interesting to see if the Houston sports stations actually can make a dent in the overall audience ratings. KILT has shown an increase, no doubt helped by it being the Texans flagship station.
PHILADELPHIA: Sports fans who pay attention to the digital TV channels from the local stations will notice some ACC basketball games starting this Saturday (1/7). Philadelphia Nonstop Channel 10.2, a digital channel operated by the local NBC Channel 10, will air Wake Forest at VA Tech and show a couple of conference games each week. The channel also aired some ACC football games in the fall. The city's two largest cable systems do carry this channel.
BUFFALO: Bills radio broadcasts were "shuffled off" WGRF or WEDG this week. Starting next season, the Bills will air on WROC Sports 950, which will also air a coaches show and separate (Bills) General Manager show as well as scheduled on-air player appearances. Sister station WCMF 96.5 will also air the game broadcasts, which will continue to feature John Murphy and Mark Kelso.
BIRMINGHAM: WJOX 690 is now known as "The Fan" although it will continue to carry ESPN Radio and other syndicated programming. However, WJOX-FM 94.5 continues as local sports talk, providing listeners with a nice balance of local and national coverage.
PAWTUCKET: The Pawtucket Red Sox have named Aaron Goldsmith as their new play-by-play voice on WHJJ 920 to work with Steve Hyder. Goldsmith replaces Dan Hoard, who is now in Cincinnati as the voice of the Bengals.
The Sunday (1/8) matchups are bigger draws. The N.Y. Giants host Atlanta in the early game on Fox (with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman) which will draw from the New York markets, while the CBS (Jim Nantz and Phil Simms) game with Pittsburgh at Denver will run into prime time in the east and feature Tim Tebow in post-season action. That should translate to big numbers, whether or not it means a "miracle" finish from Tebow.
On Saturday, NBC-TV handles both games, with the earlier matchup of Cincinnati at Houston. The network has Tom Hammond and Mike Mayock, its Notre Dame football announcing team, handling the call. Although Mayock does a solid job as an analyst, this is a post-season game and should mean NBC stepping up their presentation to have a more "hands on" NFL presence in the booth. It's the same issue I have with ESPN using Doris Burke as analyst on NBA telecasts. While Mayock and Burke are each deserving of high profile roles, it's not as if there isn't anyone else available. We as fans get studio pre-game and half-time shows with seemingly hundreds of former players and coaches practically in a battle for air time to give their insight.
For an NFL post-season game, NBC should have, say, Tony Dungy in the booth, or maybe bring in a current NFL coach whose team did not make the post-season but faced one or both of these teams into the booth. There will be some fans viewing this game who have seen much more of the Texans or Bengals than Mayock did. The prime-time telecast (8 PM ET) of the Detroit at New Orleans rematch (these 2 teams met on Sunday Night Football just a few weeks back) will feature the main team of Al Michaels and Chris Collinsworth.
On the following Saturday, Jan. 14, Fox will have the afternoon NFC game from San Francisco with Kenny Albert and Daryl Johnston, with CBS following with a prime time telecast from New England with Nantz and Simms. Sunday the 15th has CBS with the early game from Baltimore called by Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf and Fox with the late afternoon game from Green Bay with Buck and Aikman.
NBC comes off major ratings from its regular season finally on Sunday Jan. 1 with record ratings from its Cowboys-Giants telecast, with finished as the highest rated prime time NFL telecast since 1998.
The new year 2012 was barely a few hours in progress when we were saddened another loss from the sports media. We learned of the passing of Jim Huber of Turner Sports for the past 27 years. Huber was a sports anchor on Atlanta TV and seemingly lucked into a role on CNN to save them moving costs to increase their sports team. Huber handled weekend and fill-in work when CNN aired "Sports Tonight" with the likes of the late Nick Charles, Fred Hickman, Vince Cellini, Hannah Storm, and others. He also was able to do what he did best, which was sports feature reporting.
With the former Versus Network into its first week as NBC Sports Network, the network has begun regular national coverage of NCAA hockey. Its first telecast was last Saturday (12/31) when the network has NHL analyst Ed Olczyk work the Boston U. vs. Notre Dame match along with Steve Schlanger. Most of the remaining telecasts will be on Friday nights when there is not an NHL game scheduled and will include the "final four" of the Hockey East tournament. Note the irony that NBC Sports brought in an NHL analyst for its debut telecast of a college game, but is using a college football analyst for a post-season NFL game on NBC.
As ESPN Radio and Fox Sports Radio begin to become more competitive, each network is making adjustments in their weeknight sports talk lineups. ESPN Radio starts the Hill & Schlereth Show in the 7 to 10 PM ET time slot next week, starting on Tuesday Jan. 10th due to football on Monday. Mike Hill, known from SportsCenter is teamed with former NFL standout Mark Schlereth. This is likely a temporary assignment for Schlereth until just after the Super Bowl. Fox Sports Radio has named Rob Tepper as regular host on their 10 PM to 1 AM ET "Fox Sports Tonight" along with co-host baseball analyst Rob Dibble. Tepper, a former morning show on a music station in Seattle, has been guest-hosting with Dibble in recent weeks. In addition, Fox Sports plans to use Chicago based host Mike North for fill-in work during the week, in addition to North's Sunday night show.
On the TV side, Fox Sports Southwest and FS Oklahoma regional sports networks are reported in the final stages (at press time) of a deal to carry University of Oklahoma sports, including at least one live football and several basketball games not picked up by ESPN, Fox (national), or other regional or national networks. Ironically, these games could also be shown on cable systems in and around Austin TX, home of the University of Texas, while some of the same cable systems in north Texas may not be carrying the U. of Texas sports network. Oops.
HOUSTON: Rome has burned out. After more than 13 years, KILT 610 has dropped Jim Rome's radio show, but it is to add more local sports talk programming. Mike Miltser and Brad Davies will host "Mad Radio" from 10 AM to 2 PM, in between Marc Vandermeer and John Lopez' morning show and leading into Rich Lord and Josh Innes who will air from 2 until 6 PM. The first three to six months of this year figure to be critical for Houston's sports stations. The success of the Texans this season has brought sports radio a little bit of hope over the past couple of months' ratings. However, with the Rockets not expected to be serious contenders and the Astros fading into oblivion with a "lame duck National League" season coming up, it will be interesting to see if the Houston sports stations actually can make a dent in the overall audience ratings. KILT has shown an increase, no doubt helped by it being the Texans flagship station.
PHILADELPHIA: Sports fans who pay attention to the digital TV channels from the local stations will notice some ACC basketball games starting this Saturday (1/7). Philadelphia Nonstop Channel 10.2, a digital channel operated by the local NBC Channel 10, will air Wake Forest at VA Tech and show a couple of conference games each week. The channel also aired some ACC football games in the fall. The city's two largest cable systems do carry this channel.
BUFFALO: Bills radio broadcasts were "shuffled off" WGRF or WEDG this week. Starting next season, the Bills will air on WROC Sports 950, which will also air a coaches show and separate (Bills) General Manager show as well as scheduled on-air player appearances. Sister station WCMF 96.5 will also air the game broadcasts, which will continue to feature John Murphy and Mark Kelso.
BIRMINGHAM: WJOX 690 is now known as "The Fan" although it will continue to carry ESPN Radio and other syndicated programming. However, WJOX-FM 94.5 continues as local sports talk, providing listeners with a nice balance of local and national coverage.
PAWTUCKET: The Pawtucket Red Sox have named Aaron Goldsmith as their new play-by-play voice on WHJJ 920 to work with Steve Hyder. Goldsmith replaces Dan Hoard, who is now in Cincinnati as the voice of the Bengals.
Monday, December 12, 2011
NBA Announcers In The Wrong Places?
While many anticipate the NBA season opening on Christmas Day with 5 games being televised nationally, it will likely be one to remember for the primary announcing team of Mike Breen and Jeff Van Gundy. Whether or not they remember it positively remains to be seen. That Breen and Van Gundy will call the ABC telecast (game 2 of the day) with the NBA Finals rematch of Miami at Dallas at 2:30 PM ET is hardly news. But the story that ESPN's telecast of Golden State hosting the L.A. Clippers in Oakland at 10:30 PM ET that same night is scheduled to also be described by Breen and Van Gundy is.
ABC/ESPN is hopeful that the weather and the airlines allow the pair to fly out after the Dallas telecast and be in Oakland just over 5 hours later to make it their own personal doubleheader spread over 2 time zones. I suppose this is an attempt to call attention to the Clippers vs. Warriors game being on national TV since I can't think of any other reason to do this. Maybe the NBA should have stayed with 4 games on opening day and not included such a comparatively weak matchup be included. They are counting on fans tuning in to at least the start of the game to find out if Breen and Van Gundy made it on time. If the 2 games for a single announcing team to call were geographically close I could understand, such as a Knicks game and later a Nets game, both Los Angeles teams at home, or a Chicago and Milwaukee (90 miles apart) combination.
Let's face it. Breen and Van Gundy will be better prepared, and understandably so, for the Miami vs. Dallas matchup. Calling 2 games involving 4 different teams on the same day is a tough assignment for anybody, even without the traveling. There is no reason for an NBA telecast to be so understaffed. For some reason, the NBA seems to go along with this. For example, Doris Burke does a good job as an analyst on several NBA telecasts for ESPN during the regular season. This wouldn't bother me if it wasn't that ESPN/ABC, TNT, and NBA-TV all seem to have dozens of studio analysts on at the same time who were all former NBA players. There are only a limited number of opportunities for each of them to comment sufficiently and even fewer to disagree. Less diplomatically, there is no need for all of these studio commentators. Yet, here ESPN is using the same announcing team for 2 of its telecasts on opening day. And they use Doris Burke at games while "extra" analysts who actually played in the NBA sit in the studio. It doesn't make sense.
Just in case, ESPN will have Terry Gannon and Chris Mullen ready to go in Oakland on Christmas night. If Breen and Van Gundy can't make it at all or on time, they will handle the call. If Breen and Van Gundy arrive in time, Gannon and Mullen will have lesser roles in the telecast.
It will also be a busy couple of days for Mike Tirico. He will call the ABC telecast of the Lakers hosting the Chicago Bulls at 5 PM ET on Christmas and then head out for New Orleans to call the Monday Night Football game just over 24 hours later between the Saints and the Atlanta Falcons in a game that looks to be a ratings bonanza based on the playoff implications.
NBC-TV continues to dominate with its Sunday Night Football ratings, again winning the night on Sunday (12/11) with the Giants vs. Cowboys telecast, with early numbers showing it to be the 5th highest rated Sunday night (actual Sunday) telecast for NBC. Interestingly, all 5 highest rated Sunday Night NBC telecasts have featured the Cowboys, with Sunday's game making 2 of those telecasts vs. the Giants among that top 5. It's the Cowboys that are the draw, as local market ratings show that the top 3 markets around the country watching on Sunday night were Dallas, San Antonio, and Austin.
Two long-time MLB announcers have been named to halls of fame within the past week, although reaction is different about both. Bob Uecker, the 41 year voice of the Milwaukee Brewers as well as several seasons nationally for ABC-TV earlier on, has been named to the NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame, and will be inducted on April 17th in Las Vegas, and the majority of fans are happy for Uecker. Especially after his having had health issues that have taken him away from games over the past couple of years.
Tim McCarver, national telecast analyst for Fox and for CBS-TV prior, has been named to the Baseball Hall of Fame and will be honored in Cooperstown next July. However, McCarver has come under fire by many fans and media critics over the past few years.
Fox Sports Radio continues to make some unique pairings of hosts for its weekend programming. Now the network is teaming up tennis star Andy Roddick with Austin morning host Bobby Bones for its Saturday 1 to 4 PM ET spot. The pair did some fill-in work together this past summer and impressed the network.
CHICAGO: Bulls basketball will remain on WMVP ESPN 1000 for another five seasons, extending their current contract through the 2016-17 season.
DENVER: Musical chairs continues with the city's all sports stations. KKFN Fan 104.3 has announced its local schedule to begin by the first of the year to replace ESPN programming. Joel Klatt and Mike Evans will host mornings, with (former NBA player) Scott Hastings and Drew Goodman (voice of the Rockies) hosting from Noon to 3 PM weekdays. Sister station KEPN 1600 is also replacing the ESPN lineup, although it will run syndicated shows (such as Dan Patrick) and Yahoo Sports Radio instead.
SEATTLE: The Mariners' broadcast booth will once again be well attended for the 2012 season, as a cast of thousands will continue to call the games after the passing of Dave Niehaus following the 2010 season. While Rick Rizzs, Dave Sims, and Mike Blowers will handle most of the duties, Ken Wilson and Ron Fairly are among those returning for part-time broadcasting during the season. In addition, Ken Levine, Dave Valle, Dave Henderson, Dan Wilson, and Jay Buhner will also be in the booth at various times. Wonder if the players will be able to tell the announcers without a scorecard!
MINNEAPOLIS: Let the speculation begin about the future location for Twins broadcasts. KHTC 96.3 is about to change call letters to KTWN and become "K-Twin" radio although the Twins broadcasts are currently under contract to KSTP 1500. Yet, there is a good reason for this speculation. K-Twin is owned by the Pohlad family, which owns the Twins.
ABC/ESPN is hopeful that the weather and the airlines allow the pair to fly out after the Dallas telecast and be in Oakland just over 5 hours later to make it their own personal doubleheader spread over 2 time zones. I suppose this is an attempt to call attention to the Clippers vs. Warriors game being on national TV since I can't think of any other reason to do this. Maybe the NBA should have stayed with 4 games on opening day and not included such a comparatively weak matchup be included. They are counting on fans tuning in to at least the start of the game to find out if Breen and Van Gundy made it on time. If the 2 games for a single announcing team to call were geographically close I could understand, such as a Knicks game and later a Nets game, both Los Angeles teams at home, or a Chicago and Milwaukee (90 miles apart) combination.
Let's face it. Breen and Van Gundy will be better prepared, and understandably so, for the Miami vs. Dallas matchup. Calling 2 games involving 4 different teams on the same day is a tough assignment for anybody, even without the traveling. There is no reason for an NBA telecast to be so understaffed. For some reason, the NBA seems to go along with this. For example, Doris Burke does a good job as an analyst on several NBA telecasts for ESPN during the regular season. This wouldn't bother me if it wasn't that ESPN/ABC, TNT, and NBA-TV all seem to have dozens of studio analysts on at the same time who were all former NBA players. There are only a limited number of opportunities for each of them to comment sufficiently and even fewer to disagree. Less diplomatically, there is no need for all of these studio commentators. Yet, here ESPN is using the same announcing team for 2 of its telecasts on opening day. And they use Doris Burke at games while "extra" analysts who actually played in the NBA sit in the studio. It doesn't make sense.
Just in case, ESPN will have Terry Gannon and Chris Mullen ready to go in Oakland on Christmas night. If Breen and Van Gundy can't make it at all or on time, they will handle the call. If Breen and Van Gundy arrive in time, Gannon and Mullen will have lesser roles in the telecast.
It will also be a busy couple of days for Mike Tirico. He will call the ABC telecast of the Lakers hosting the Chicago Bulls at 5 PM ET on Christmas and then head out for New Orleans to call the Monday Night Football game just over 24 hours later between the Saints and the Atlanta Falcons in a game that looks to be a ratings bonanza based on the playoff implications.
NBC-TV continues to dominate with its Sunday Night Football ratings, again winning the night on Sunday (12/11) with the Giants vs. Cowboys telecast, with early numbers showing it to be the 5th highest rated Sunday night (actual Sunday) telecast for NBC. Interestingly, all 5 highest rated Sunday Night NBC telecasts have featured the Cowboys, with Sunday's game making 2 of those telecasts vs. the Giants among that top 5. It's the Cowboys that are the draw, as local market ratings show that the top 3 markets around the country watching on Sunday night were Dallas, San Antonio, and Austin.
Two long-time MLB announcers have been named to halls of fame within the past week, although reaction is different about both. Bob Uecker, the 41 year voice of the Milwaukee Brewers as well as several seasons nationally for ABC-TV earlier on, has been named to the NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame, and will be inducted on April 17th in Las Vegas, and the majority of fans are happy for Uecker. Especially after his having had health issues that have taken him away from games over the past couple of years.
Tim McCarver, national telecast analyst for Fox and for CBS-TV prior, has been named to the Baseball Hall of Fame and will be honored in Cooperstown next July. However, McCarver has come under fire by many fans and media critics over the past few years.
Fox Sports Radio continues to make some unique pairings of hosts for its weekend programming. Now the network is teaming up tennis star Andy Roddick with Austin morning host Bobby Bones for its Saturday 1 to 4 PM ET spot. The pair did some fill-in work together this past summer and impressed the network.
CHICAGO: Bulls basketball will remain on WMVP ESPN 1000 for another five seasons, extending their current contract through the 2016-17 season.
DENVER: Musical chairs continues with the city's all sports stations. KKFN Fan 104.3 has announced its local schedule to begin by the first of the year to replace ESPN programming. Joel Klatt and Mike Evans will host mornings, with (former NBA player) Scott Hastings and Drew Goodman (voice of the Rockies) hosting from Noon to 3 PM weekdays. Sister station KEPN 1600 is also replacing the ESPN lineup, although it will run syndicated shows (such as Dan Patrick) and Yahoo Sports Radio instead.
SEATTLE: The Mariners' broadcast booth will once again be well attended for the 2012 season, as a cast of thousands will continue to call the games after the passing of Dave Niehaus following the 2010 season. While Rick Rizzs, Dave Sims, and Mike Blowers will handle most of the duties, Ken Wilson and Ron Fairly are among those returning for part-time broadcasting during the season. In addition, Ken Levine, Dave Valle, Dave Henderson, Dan Wilson, and Jay Buhner will also be in the booth at various times. Wonder if the players will be able to tell the announcers without a scorecard!
MINNEAPOLIS: Let the speculation begin about the future location for Twins broadcasts. KHTC 96.3 is about to change call letters to KTWN and become "K-Twin" radio although the Twins broadcasts are currently under contract to KSTP 1500. Yet, there is a good reason for this speculation. K-Twin is owned by the Pohlad family, which owns the Twins.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
The Broadcast Booth - July 21 Update.....
This is a very challenging week for the sports reporting media. At least, it should be. I spend a lot of time commenting and fielding questions about what I call "the separation of fact and rumor" when it comes to on air (or online) reporting.
Specifically, there is the matter of handling "reporting" on the current NFL and NBA lockouts, in effect as of press time. It is one thing for the sports talk show hosts to share the rumors about upcoming votes, settlements, and what would happen if and when regarding getting training camps open and starting the games. That part is speculation and opinion, and that's what sports talk is all about when it involves the fans.
Where I take exception is seemingly every sports media outlet having somebody "reporting" that an end to the NFL lockout is coming any minute now. If I were reporting a sportcast today on radio or TV (and I'm sure a few of my critics gleefully point out that I'm not), I would report that there is "nothing yet" regarding an end to the lockout. If I were hosting a talk show, I would then be speculating about if these meetings that are supposed to happen will happen, and what they mean. It's the difference between reporting and speculating.
Instead, too many "reporters" are predicting times and days the NFL lockout will end. They want to have been right in their prediction. It seems nobody keeps track of predictions that don't happen. That's the problem here. In a way, it is (or should be) like how a play-by-play announcer is taught never to speculate when a player is injured on the field or court during a live broadcast about the nature of the injury. You say "It appears to be the right knee", and leave it at that. And the announcers wait until they are given an official update from a team official.
A true reporter should wait until there is definite "news" about the lockout before reporting it.
The other challenge for the media this week is the NBA schedule announcements, despite a lockout also in progress of NBA players. On one hand, I can understand the NBA wanting to get their 2011-12 season schedule in place. Tickets need to be printed and sold, teams need to make their travel plans, sponsors need to plan game promotions, and on it goes.
It is "news" to local NBA team fans as to when their team's opener and a couple of other key games will be played. However, I can't help but wonder if announcing this so soon is good or bad for NBA publicity. The local headlines around the country I heard and saw were, understandably, focused on the "if there is a season" and "if the lockout settled in time.....".
In this instance, the reporters are not "reporting" rumors or predicting whether or not these games will be played in the way they seem to be this week regarding the NFL's situation. While handling the NBA schedule news with more true reporting, it looks as though the NBA put out millions of dollars worth of publicity which isn't necessarily favorable. Learning that the champion Dallas Mavericks are scheduled to open their season against Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls would normally be an exciting and favorable announcement for the NBA. Having every sports outlet "reporting" that this and other such games may not even be played does nothing to increase the enthusiasm of the NBA fans.
Then it stunned me when within the same afternoon of the schedule announcement, ESPN/ABC, TNT, and NBA-TV began pumping out their planned national schedules. These telecasts, as of this writing, are not yet factual due to the lockout. Never mind that they announced games they plan to show in 2012 before many teams have come anywhere near finalizing their roster and representing a threat to contend.
Seems like wasted publicity to me. These networks would have been better off to hold back their announcements until or unless the lockout is settled. They would have done better to wait until hours after the lockout is over and then start hyping those telecasts they know for certain they'll have. A "We might be able to show you these games....." announcement is really speculation and not factual.
Meanwhile, it is factual that Versus, or hopefully a more memorable name for the network by the end of the summer, is enhancing its expanded NHL coverage for the coming season. The network has, to its credit, managed to secure the full-time services of play-by-play voices Mike "Doc" Emrick and Dave Strader to handle the vast majority of the NHL telecast workload. Emrick leaves the New Jersey Devils TV booth after 21 seasons, while Strader leaves the Phoenix Coyotes play-by-play job. Strader has also previously called Florida Panthers and Detroit Red Wings games, as well as calling NHL games on ESPN between 1996 and 2004.
If the NHL avoids a labor action and gets its season started as scheduled, we know its national telecasts will be all the better for it.
ATLANTA: The Fan 680 has decided to do an afternoon lineup swap. Buck Belue and John Kincade will have their "Buck & Kincade Show" shortened from 4 to 3 hours and move up to the Noon to 3 PM slot. The "Chuck & Chernoff Show" with Chuck Oliver and Matt Chernoff moves from the Noon spot into the 3 to 7 PM position. This move makes sense, at least for the short term. Chuck & Chernoff have done very well with their early afternoon ratings, and can also focus more on the Braves contending and the coming SEC Football season during afternoon drive, in the event the Falcons' pre-season doesn't get started.
DENVER: KOA certainly thinks there will be a full Broncos season, or they could find themselves risking a powerful position in Denver afternoon drive. KOA 850 has increased the sports presence on "The Dave Logan Show" from 3 to 7 PM. The Broncos play-by-play voice will be talking sports, with a co-host very likely to be added. Former NBA player Scott Hastings used to co-host with Logan during that time. KOA continues with newscasts and traffic reports during Logan's show. The significance is that Denver already has The Fan 104.3, ESPN 1600, The Ticket 102.3, and Mile High Sports 1510 + 93.7 with sports shows at the same time. But if the NFL lockout doesn't end soon, one has to wonder how long this will be the case on KOA.
BOSTON: Another of those "if there is an NFL season" media stories. If and when, WEEI 850 and 103.7 will again carry the Westwood One NFL package of both Sunday and Monday NFL broadcasts. One change in the Westwood One package for the coming season is that the NFC and AFC Championship Games and Super Bowl broadcasts can air in every market without home team blackout. Thus, if there is a season and if the Patriots get to the AFC Championship Game, WEEI could air the national broadcast against the Pats' local call of the game.
NEW YORK: Len Berman is reducing his schedule once again. Berman has given up his Monday and Friday morning sports anchor spot on John Gambling's WOR Radio. Ironically, replacing Berman is Bruce Beck of WNBC-TV. Beck had replaced Berman at WNBC-TV a few years back. Even if only the 2 mornings per week, Berman's segments continued to be popular among NYC sports fans.
LOUISVILLE: I guess we'd be surprised about the interest in University of Louisville basketball. U of L has a couple of exhibition games (yes, college basketball exhibition games) coming up in the Bahamas. The team will play against the likes of the "Commonwealth Giants" and the "Real Deal Shockers". Yet, plans have been unveiled for those games to be televised live back to Louisville, and for those games to be broadcast live on WHAS 840 Radio. For those who are not aware, WHAS is not one of those 500 watt stations with nothing to put on all day. It is a 50,000 watt powerhouse. I'm sure that transplanted fans of the "Real Deal Shockers" are just as delighted they'll be able to hear and see these games live. No wonder there is so much speculation about ending the NFL and NBA lockouts!
Specifically, there is the matter of handling "reporting" on the current NFL and NBA lockouts, in effect as of press time. It is one thing for the sports talk show hosts to share the rumors about upcoming votes, settlements, and what would happen if and when regarding getting training camps open and starting the games. That part is speculation and opinion, and that's what sports talk is all about when it involves the fans.
Where I take exception is seemingly every sports media outlet having somebody "reporting" that an end to the NFL lockout is coming any minute now. If I were reporting a sportcast today on radio or TV (and I'm sure a few of my critics gleefully point out that I'm not), I would report that there is "nothing yet" regarding an end to the lockout. If I were hosting a talk show, I would then be speculating about if these meetings that are supposed to happen will happen, and what they mean. It's the difference between reporting and speculating.
Instead, too many "reporters" are predicting times and days the NFL lockout will end. They want to have been right in their prediction. It seems nobody keeps track of predictions that don't happen. That's the problem here. In a way, it is (or should be) like how a play-by-play announcer is taught never to speculate when a player is injured on the field or court during a live broadcast about the nature of the injury. You say "It appears to be the right knee", and leave it at that. And the announcers wait until they are given an official update from a team official.
A true reporter should wait until there is definite "news" about the lockout before reporting it.
The other challenge for the media this week is the NBA schedule announcements, despite a lockout also in progress of NBA players. On one hand, I can understand the NBA wanting to get their 2011-12 season schedule in place. Tickets need to be printed and sold, teams need to make their travel plans, sponsors need to plan game promotions, and on it goes.
It is "news" to local NBA team fans as to when their team's opener and a couple of other key games will be played. However, I can't help but wonder if announcing this so soon is good or bad for NBA publicity. The local headlines around the country I heard and saw were, understandably, focused on the "if there is a season" and "if the lockout settled in time.....".
In this instance, the reporters are not "reporting" rumors or predicting whether or not these games will be played in the way they seem to be this week regarding the NFL's situation. While handling the NBA schedule news with more true reporting, it looks as though the NBA put out millions of dollars worth of publicity which isn't necessarily favorable. Learning that the champion Dallas Mavericks are scheduled to open their season against Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls would normally be an exciting and favorable announcement for the NBA. Having every sports outlet "reporting" that this and other such games may not even be played does nothing to increase the enthusiasm of the NBA fans.
Then it stunned me when within the same afternoon of the schedule announcement, ESPN/ABC, TNT, and NBA-TV began pumping out their planned national schedules. These telecasts, as of this writing, are not yet factual due to the lockout. Never mind that they announced games they plan to show in 2012 before many teams have come anywhere near finalizing their roster and representing a threat to contend.
Seems like wasted publicity to me. These networks would have been better off to hold back their announcements until or unless the lockout is settled. They would have done better to wait until hours after the lockout is over and then start hyping those telecasts they know for certain they'll have. A "We might be able to show you these games....." announcement is really speculation and not factual.
Meanwhile, it is factual that Versus, or hopefully a more memorable name for the network by the end of the summer, is enhancing its expanded NHL coverage for the coming season. The network has, to its credit, managed to secure the full-time services of play-by-play voices Mike "Doc" Emrick and Dave Strader to handle the vast majority of the NHL telecast workload. Emrick leaves the New Jersey Devils TV booth after 21 seasons, while Strader leaves the Phoenix Coyotes play-by-play job. Strader has also previously called Florida Panthers and Detroit Red Wings games, as well as calling NHL games on ESPN between 1996 and 2004.
If the NHL avoids a labor action and gets its season started as scheduled, we know its national telecasts will be all the better for it.
ATLANTA: The Fan 680 has decided to do an afternoon lineup swap. Buck Belue and John Kincade will have their "Buck & Kincade Show" shortened from 4 to 3 hours and move up to the Noon to 3 PM slot. The "Chuck & Chernoff Show" with Chuck Oliver and Matt Chernoff moves from the Noon spot into the 3 to 7 PM position. This move makes sense, at least for the short term. Chuck & Chernoff have done very well with their early afternoon ratings, and can also focus more on the Braves contending and the coming SEC Football season during afternoon drive, in the event the Falcons' pre-season doesn't get started.
DENVER: KOA certainly thinks there will be a full Broncos season, or they could find themselves risking a powerful position in Denver afternoon drive. KOA 850 has increased the sports presence on "The Dave Logan Show" from 3 to 7 PM. The Broncos play-by-play voice will be talking sports, with a co-host very likely to be added. Former NBA player Scott Hastings used to co-host with Logan during that time. KOA continues with newscasts and traffic reports during Logan's show. The significance is that Denver already has The Fan 104.3, ESPN 1600, The Ticket 102.3, and Mile High Sports 1510 + 93.7 with sports shows at the same time. But if the NFL lockout doesn't end soon, one has to wonder how long this will be the case on KOA.
BOSTON: Another of those "if there is an NFL season" media stories. If and when, WEEI 850 and 103.7 will again carry the Westwood One NFL package of both Sunday and Monday NFL broadcasts. One change in the Westwood One package for the coming season is that the NFC and AFC Championship Games and Super Bowl broadcasts can air in every market without home team blackout. Thus, if there is a season and if the Patriots get to the AFC Championship Game, WEEI could air the national broadcast against the Pats' local call of the game.
NEW YORK: Len Berman is reducing his schedule once again. Berman has given up his Monday and Friday morning sports anchor spot on John Gambling's WOR Radio. Ironically, replacing Berman is Bruce Beck of WNBC-TV. Beck had replaced Berman at WNBC-TV a few years back. Even if only the 2 mornings per week, Berman's segments continued to be popular among NYC sports fans.
LOUISVILLE: I guess we'd be surprised about the interest in University of Louisville basketball. U of L has a couple of exhibition games (yes, college basketball exhibition games) coming up in the Bahamas. The team will play against the likes of the "Commonwealth Giants" and the "Real Deal Shockers". Yet, plans have been unveiled for those games to be televised live back to Louisville, and for those games to be broadcast live on WHAS 840 Radio. For those who are not aware, WHAS is not one of those 500 watt stations with nothing to put on all day. It is a 50,000 watt powerhouse. I'm sure that transplanted fans of the "Real Deal Shockers" are just as delighted they'll be able to hear and see these games live. No wonder there is so much speculation about ending the NFL and NBA lockouts!
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
The Broadcast Booth - December 21st Update....
The majority of sports fans associate holidays with whatever sport is prominent at the time. The one exception was Christmas Day, until the past few years. It wasn't that long ago that the NFL would be careful to schedule regular season and early playoff games on days other than Christmas Day itself.
In recent years, the NBA has come along and made Christmas Day its special holiday. The league has gone from one showcase game on Dec. 25 to a doubleheader, and now once again this year no fewer than five national telecasts dominate the day.
Chicago at New York starts it at Noon ET on ESPN, followed by the ABC-TV matchups with Boston at Orlando at 2:30 and Miami vs. L.A. Lakers at 5:00. ESPN takes over at night with Denver at Oklahoma City at 8:00 and then Portland at Golden State at 10:30. Nearly 13 hours of continuous live NBA action, including a couple of marquee matchups.
Although I haven't seen recent figures for TNT, ESPN reports a 35% increase in viewers for the first 24 telecasts of the current NBA season over last season. It looks like the Christmas Day marathon will help that trend to continue.
Granted, not everyone is fine with sports on Christmas Day. But for the many of us who grew up with maybe one or two games of any kind shown on Christmas Day, this is a holiday gift in its own right. There were some lean years when the "Blue Gray" college football game was the only game being shown, and this was a boring 'all-star' collection of college players blended together. Even with the jokes about "the gray tradition year after year", that game only served to make the day more frustrating.
After all, New Year's Day is for college football, Memorial Day and Independence Day are for baseball, Labor Day used to symbolize the start of the NFL season and now has gone back to baseball, and Thanksgiving is for the NFL (especially with the addition of the 3rd game in recent years). The NBA has been sharp in claiming Christmas, as well as the Martin Luther King holiday as its own with a lineup of national games.
The week started off with still another NFL domination. After another Sunday Night Football "win" for NBC, the possible final game of Brett Favre on Monday Night scored well for ESPN. Like it or not, Favre is big news and the ratings reflect it. It would be easy to say "Wait a minute. The Bears were going for the NFC North Division title", which they clinched.
Yet, with the Vikings already out of any post-season possibility, the Vikings hosting the Bears actually scored a higher TV audience rating in the Minneapolis market than it did for the always present Chicago market.
The Minneapolis area rating was reported to be a 48.5 compared to a 40.7 rating for the Chicago market. While it's true that the game was played at the University of Minnesota stadium which may have peaked local curiosity, the belief is that Favre made the ratings difference.
Even on a national level, ESPN Monday Night Countdown (the pre-game show) scored a 3.5 rating, the show's best ever. As a result this show's top 3 most watched episodes (including this past Monday) were all prior to games with Favre and the Vikings.
(The telecast audience ratings for Minneapolis and Chicago are based on both the ESPN telecast and a simulcast of the feed on a local TV station in each market. Since it is the same telecast, there is no need to show the local splits.)
While Fox Sports Radio shows some audience growth, its national morning show shrinks to one offering starting on January 3rd. The "Zakk & Jack Show" with Zakk Tyler and former QB Jack Trudeau remains in Fox's 6 to 9 AM ET spot. As a result, Stephen A. Smith will need to yell his comments at other times of the day, which he will do as their full-time NBA analyst. It took just 5 months for Zakk & Jack to prove themselves since the network only started to carry their Indianapolis based show in late July of this year.
Another great idea from MLB Network comes to fruition during January. The Network allowed fans to vote for their favorite games of the past 50 years, and MLB Network will air the "top 20" during the month.
Congrats to Dave Van Horne, one of the great baseball voices of the past 50 years on making it to the Baseball Hall of Fame next July. Van Horne started with the Montreal Expos in 1969 and has been the voice of the Florida Marlins since 2001.
Chicago Cubs fans now have something to look forward to, as radio voice Pat Hughes was signed to a 5 year contract extension earlier this week. Hughes has been calling the vast majority of innings of Cubs games on radio for the past 15 seasons on WGN Radio. Hughes will have a new broadcast partner for 2011 once a replacement is named for the late Ron Santo. It is not yet known if WGN will add an analyst who will also do some innings of play-by-play and take some of the load off Hughes, who has called upwards of 8 innings of every game for the past few seasons. Yet, this is not certain, based on the WGN Radio trend over the years of having a cheerleader in the booth ahead of another true broadcaster.
WGN Radio, meanwhile, is bringing back sports programming to its 7 to 10 PM time slot starting next week after a few month's absence. Dave Kaplan, who just had his role with Comcast SportsNet expanded last week, will be the primary co-host on weeknights when there are no Blackhawks, Cubs, or Northwestern University basketball broadcasts.
BOSTON: After somewhere around 13,000 sports talk shows over the years, this coming Sunday (12/26) will be the final one for Eddie Andelman. His final show airs on WTKK 96.9.
St. LOUIS: Long time sports host Kevin Slaten found a way to return enthusiastically to KFNS, where he returns starting January 3rd. Slaten had been dismissed back in 2008 after he aired an interview with Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan who thought it was a private conversation.
The move was made possible by the recent new owners of KSLG 1380 Sports Radio purchasing KFNS. Since KFNS has the better signal, management is really only switching Slaten over to KFNS while Jeff Vernetti, Jeff Gordon, and Brian McKenna will move over to 1380 and continue in afternoon drive there. Word is that Slaten will add a co-host during January.
KSLG is bringing back Howard Balzer to host from 1 to 3 PM on weekdays, rather than only appearing on football related shows and segments for the station.
CINCINNATI: If and as the Bengals game vs. San Diego does not sell out for this coming Sunday (12/26), it would mean that Cincinnati fans would wind up with a New York City doublehader on the tube. CBS would carry the Jets vs. Bears game in the 1 PM slot before Fox shows the Giants at Green Bay game as the doubleheader game. It's actually not New York bias, as in both cases there are playoff implications for each participating team.
BIRMINGHAM: The Alabama vs. Auburn rivalry in November also carried over to the radio ratings. WJOX-FM sports radio showed a significant audience increase during the ratings for that period and rose to 3rd in the market, trailing a pair of music stations.
SOUTH BURLINGTON VT: The new year will start with network hopping among some all sports stations. WCPV-FM Champ 101.3 will pick up ESPN Radio, while airing a local sports show with Rob Ryan from 4 to 6 PM. WCAT 1390, along with WFAD 1490 Middlebury and WRSA 1420 St. Albans, will drop ESPN and pick up Fox Sports Radio. The area will technically have 3 all sports stations, as WNMR 107.1 Shelburne will continue with Sporting News Radio except for its local 4 to 6 PM sports show. WCPV will also now carry New England Patriots football and Vermont Lake Monsters basebal instead of WEAV 960 talk radio.
LUFKIN TX: ESPN Radio will be simulcast on both 1260 AM and 103.3 FM beginning with the new year. The FM signal had been off the air in recent months.
May Santa bring all of the sports game broadcasts and talk shows better ratings!
In recent years, the NBA has come along and made Christmas Day its special holiday. The league has gone from one showcase game on Dec. 25 to a doubleheader, and now once again this year no fewer than five national telecasts dominate the day.
Chicago at New York starts it at Noon ET on ESPN, followed by the ABC-TV matchups with Boston at Orlando at 2:30 and Miami vs. L.A. Lakers at 5:00. ESPN takes over at night with Denver at Oklahoma City at 8:00 and then Portland at Golden State at 10:30. Nearly 13 hours of continuous live NBA action, including a couple of marquee matchups.
Although I haven't seen recent figures for TNT, ESPN reports a 35% increase in viewers for the first 24 telecasts of the current NBA season over last season. It looks like the Christmas Day marathon will help that trend to continue.
Granted, not everyone is fine with sports on Christmas Day. But for the many of us who grew up with maybe one or two games of any kind shown on Christmas Day, this is a holiday gift in its own right. There were some lean years when the "Blue Gray" college football game was the only game being shown, and this was a boring 'all-star' collection of college players blended together. Even with the jokes about "the gray tradition year after year", that game only served to make the day more frustrating.
After all, New Year's Day is for college football, Memorial Day and Independence Day are for baseball, Labor Day used to symbolize the start of the NFL season and now has gone back to baseball, and Thanksgiving is for the NFL (especially with the addition of the 3rd game in recent years). The NBA has been sharp in claiming Christmas, as well as the Martin Luther King holiday as its own with a lineup of national games.
The week started off with still another NFL domination. After another Sunday Night Football "win" for NBC, the possible final game of Brett Favre on Monday Night scored well for ESPN. Like it or not, Favre is big news and the ratings reflect it. It would be easy to say "Wait a minute. The Bears were going for the NFC North Division title", which they clinched.
Yet, with the Vikings already out of any post-season possibility, the Vikings hosting the Bears actually scored a higher TV audience rating in the Minneapolis market than it did for the always present Chicago market.
The Minneapolis area rating was reported to be a 48.5 compared to a 40.7 rating for the Chicago market. While it's true that the game was played at the University of Minnesota stadium which may have peaked local curiosity, the belief is that Favre made the ratings difference.
Even on a national level, ESPN Monday Night Countdown (the pre-game show) scored a 3.5 rating, the show's best ever. As a result this show's top 3 most watched episodes (including this past Monday) were all prior to games with Favre and the Vikings.
(The telecast audience ratings for Minneapolis and Chicago are based on both the ESPN telecast and a simulcast of the feed on a local TV station in each market. Since it is the same telecast, there is no need to show the local splits.)
While Fox Sports Radio shows some audience growth, its national morning show shrinks to one offering starting on January 3rd. The "Zakk & Jack Show" with Zakk Tyler and former QB Jack Trudeau remains in Fox's 6 to 9 AM ET spot. As a result, Stephen A. Smith will need to yell his comments at other times of the day, which he will do as their full-time NBA analyst. It took just 5 months for Zakk & Jack to prove themselves since the network only started to carry their Indianapolis based show in late July of this year.
Another great idea from MLB Network comes to fruition during January. The Network allowed fans to vote for their favorite games of the past 50 years, and MLB Network will air the "top 20" during the month.
Congrats to Dave Van Horne, one of the great baseball voices of the past 50 years on making it to the Baseball Hall of Fame next July. Van Horne started with the Montreal Expos in 1969 and has been the voice of the Florida Marlins since 2001.
Chicago Cubs fans now have something to look forward to, as radio voice Pat Hughes was signed to a 5 year contract extension earlier this week. Hughes has been calling the vast majority of innings of Cubs games on radio for the past 15 seasons on WGN Radio. Hughes will have a new broadcast partner for 2011 once a replacement is named for the late Ron Santo. It is not yet known if WGN will add an analyst who will also do some innings of play-by-play and take some of the load off Hughes, who has called upwards of 8 innings of every game for the past few seasons. Yet, this is not certain, based on the WGN Radio trend over the years of having a cheerleader in the booth ahead of another true broadcaster.
WGN Radio, meanwhile, is bringing back sports programming to its 7 to 10 PM time slot starting next week after a few month's absence. Dave Kaplan, who just had his role with Comcast SportsNet expanded last week, will be the primary co-host on weeknights when there are no Blackhawks, Cubs, or Northwestern University basketball broadcasts.
BOSTON: After somewhere around 13,000 sports talk shows over the years, this coming Sunday (12/26) will be the final one for Eddie Andelman. His final show airs on WTKK 96.9.
St. LOUIS: Long time sports host Kevin Slaten found a way to return enthusiastically to KFNS, where he returns starting January 3rd. Slaten had been dismissed back in 2008 after he aired an interview with Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan who thought it was a private conversation.
The move was made possible by the recent new owners of KSLG 1380 Sports Radio purchasing KFNS. Since KFNS has the better signal, management is really only switching Slaten over to KFNS while Jeff Vernetti, Jeff Gordon, and Brian McKenna will move over to 1380 and continue in afternoon drive there. Word is that Slaten will add a co-host during January.
KSLG is bringing back Howard Balzer to host from 1 to 3 PM on weekdays, rather than only appearing on football related shows and segments for the station.
CINCINNATI: If and as the Bengals game vs. San Diego does not sell out for this coming Sunday (12/26), it would mean that Cincinnati fans would wind up with a New York City doublehader on the tube. CBS would carry the Jets vs. Bears game in the 1 PM slot before Fox shows the Giants at Green Bay game as the doubleheader game. It's actually not New York bias, as in both cases there are playoff implications for each participating team.
BIRMINGHAM: The Alabama vs. Auburn rivalry in November also carried over to the radio ratings. WJOX-FM sports radio showed a significant audience increase during the ratings for that period and rose to 3rd in the market, trailing a pair of music stations.
SOUTH BURLINGTON VT: The new year will start with network hopping among some all sports stations. WCPV-FM Champ 101.3 will pick up ESPN Radio, while airing a local sports show with Rob Ryan from 4 to 6 PM. WCAT 1390, along with WFAD 1490 Middlebury and WRSA 1420 St. Albans, will drop ESPN and pick up Fox Sports Radio. The area will technically have 3 all sports stations, as WNMR 107.1 Shelburne will continue with Sporting News Radio except for its local 4 to 6 PM sports show. WCPV will also now carry New England Patriots football and Vermont Lake Monsters basebal instead of WEAV 960 talk radio.
LUFKIN TX: ESPN Radio will be simulcast on both 1260 AM and 103.3 FM beginning with the new year. The FM signal had been off the air in recent months.
May Santa bring all of the sports game broadcasts and talk shows better ratings!
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
The NBA national telecast schedule
By request, here is a calendar version of nationally televised NBA games as of now. Of course, the schedule is subject to change, especially later into the regular season.
The games listed on WGN-TV are those available on WGN America only. (The Bulls games carried just on WGN-TV Chicago are not available nationally.) NBA-TV continues having the fans choose the games for most Tuesday nights. All times ET.
Tuesday, Oct. 26
7:30: Miami at Boston (TNT)
10:30: Houston at L.A. Lakers (TNT)
Wednesday, Oct. 27
8:00: Chicago at Oklahoma City (ESPN)
10:30: Portland at L.A. Clippers (ESPN)
Thursday, Oct. 28
8:00: Washington at Orlando (TNT)
10:30: Phoenix at Utah (TNT)
Friday, Oct. 29
8:00: Orlando at Miami (ESPN)
10:30: L.A. Lakers at Phoenix (ESPN)
Saturday, Oct. 30
8:30: Denver at Houston (NBA-TV)
Sunday, Oct. 31
7:00: Utah at Oklahoma City (NBA-TV)
Monday, Nov. 1
8:00: Portland at Chicago (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Nov. 2
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Nov. 3
8:00: Milwaukee at Boston (ESPN)
10:30: L.A. Lakers at Sacramento (ESPN)
Thursday, Nov. 4
8:00: New York at Chicago (TNT)
10:30: Oklahoma City at Portland (TNT)
Friday, Nov. 5
8:00: Chicago at Boston (ESPN)
10:30: L.A. Clippers at Denver (ESPN)
Saturday, Nov. 6
9:00: Denver at Dallas (NBA-TV)
Sunday, Nov. 7
7:00: Boston at Oklahoma City (NBA-TV)
Monday, Nov. 8
7:00: San Antonio at Charlotte (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Nov. 9
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Nov. 10
7:00: Utah at Orlando (ESPN)
9:30: L.A. Clippers at San Antonio (ESPN)
Thursday, Nov. 11
8:00: Boston at Miami (TNT)
10:30: L.A. Lakers at Denver (TNT)
Friday, Nov. 12
7:00: Utah at Atlanta (ESPN)
9:30: Portland at Oklahoma City (ESPN)
Saturday, Nov. 13
8:00: Washington at Chicago (WGN)
8:30: Golden State at Milwaukee (NBA-TV)
Sunday, Nov. 14
7:30: Houston at New York, (NBA-TV)
Monday, Nov. 15
7:00: Memphis at Orlando (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Nov. 16
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Nov. 17
7:00: Phoenix at Miami (ESPN)
9:30: Chicago at San Antonio (ESPN)
Thursday, Nov. 18
8:00: Phoenix at Orlando (TNT)
10:30: Denver at Portland (TNT)
Friday, Nov. 19
7:00: Oklahoma City at Boston (ESPN)
9:30: Chicago at Dallas (ESPN)
Saturday, Nov. 20
8:00: Dallas at Atlanta (NBA-TV)
Monday, Nov. 21
6:00: New Orleans at Sacramento (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Nov. 23
8:30: Orlando at San Antonio (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Nov. 24
7:30: Miami at Orlando (ESPN)
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Thursday, Nov. 25
8:00: Washington at Atlanta (TNT)
10:30: Sacramento at L.A. Clippers (TNT)
Friday, Nov. 26
7:00: Houston at Charlotte (ESPN2)
9:30: Golden State at Memphis (ESPN2)
Saturday, Nov. 27
7:00: Orlando at Washington (NBA-TV)
10:00: Chicago at Sacramento (WGN)
Sunday, Nov. 28
7:00: Oklahoma City at Houston (NBA-TV)
Monday, Nov. 29
8:30: Houston at Dallas (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Nov. 30
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Dec. 1
7:30: Portland at Boston (NBA-TV)
10:30: San Antonio at L.A. Clippers (NBA-TV)
Thursday, Dec. 2
8:00: Miami at Cleveland (TNT)
10:30: Phoenix at Golden State (TNT)
Friday, Dec. 3
8:00: Chicago at Boston (ESPN)
10:30: Dallas at Utah (ESPN)
Saturday, Dec. 4
8:00: Houston at Chicago (WGN)
8:30: Orlando at Milwaukee (NBA-TV)
Monday, Dec. 6
7:00: Atlanta at Orlando (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Dec. 7
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Dec. 8
7:00: Denver at Boston (ESPN)
Thursday, Dec. 9
8:00: Boston at Philadelphia (TNT)
10:30: Orlando at Portland (TNT)
Friday, Dec. 10
8:00: L.A. Lakers at Chicago (ESPN)
10:30: Miami at Golden State (ESPN)
Saturday, Dec. 11
8:00: Minnesota at Chicago (WGN)
8:30: Utah at Dallas (NBA-TV)
Monday, Dec. 13
8:00: Indiana at Chicago (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Dec. 14
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Dec. 15
7:00: Boston at New York (ESPN)
9:30: Portland at Dallas (ESPN)
Thursday, Dec. 16
8:00: Atlanta at Boston (TNT)
10:30: San Antonio at Denver (TNT)
Friday, Dec. 17
7:00: Miami at New York (ESPN)
9:30: Phoenix at Dallas (ESPN)
Saturday, Dec. 18
7:00: Miami at Washington (NBA-TV)
Sunday, Dec. 19
7:00: Phoenix at Oklahoma City (NBA-TV)
Monday, Dec. 20
7:30: Dallas at Miami (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Dec. 21
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Dec. 22
7:00: Chicago at Washington (NBA-TV)
Thursday, Dec. 23
8:00: San Antonio at Orlando (TNT)
10:30: Miami at Phoenix (TNT)
Saturday, Dec. 25
12:00: Chicago at New York (ESPN)
2:30: Boston at Orlando (ABC)
5:00: Miami at L.A. Lakers (ABC)
8:00: Denver at Oklahoma City (ESPN)
10:30: Portland at Golden State (ESPN)
Monday, Dec. 27
7:00: Detroit at Charlotte (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Dec. 28
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Dec. 29
10:30: Utah at L.A. Clippers (NBA-TV)
Thursday, Dec. 30
7:00: New York at Orlando (TNT)
9:30: San Antonio at Dallas (TNT)
Friday, Dec. 31
3:00: New Jersey at Chicago (WGN)
Sunday, Jan. 2
9:00: Houston at Portland (NBA-TV)
Monday, Jan. 3
8:00: Philadelphia at New Orleans (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Jan. 4
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Jan. 5
10:30: L.A. Lakers at Phoenix (ESPN)
Thursday, Jan. 6
8:00: Oklahoma City at Dallas (TNT)
10:30: Denver at Sacramento (TNT)
Friday, Jan. 7
8:00: Houston at Orlando (ESPN)
10:30: New York at Phoenix (ESPN)
Saturday, Jan. 8
8:00: Boston at Chicago (NBA-TV, WGN)
Sunday, Jan. 9
8:00: Cleveland at Phoenix (NBA-TV)
Monday, Jan. 10
7:30: Houston at Boston (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Jan. 11
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Jan. 12
8:30: Oklahoma City at Houston (NBA-TV)
Thursday, Jan. 13
8:00: Orlando at Oklahoma City (TNT)
10:30: Miami at Denver (TNT)
Friday, Jan. 14
8:00: Dallas at San Antonio (ESPN)
10:30: Portland at Phoenix (ESPN)
Saturday, Jan. 15
8:00: Miami at Chicago (NBA-TV,WGN)
Sunday, Jan. 16
9:00: Denver at San Antonio (ESPN)
Monday, Jan. 17
1:00: Chicago at Memphis (ESPN)
4:00: Sacramento at Atlanta (NBA-TV)
8:00: Orlando at Boston (TNT)
10:30: Oklahoma City at L.A. Lakers (TNT)
Tuesday, Jan. 18
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Jan. 19
9:00: L.A. Lakers at Dallas (ESPN)
Thursday, Jan. 20
8:00: Dallas at Chicago (TNT)
10:30: L.A. Clippers at Portland (TNT)
Friday, Jan. 21
8:00: Phoenix at Washington (ESPN)
10:30: L.A. Lakers at Denver (ESPN)
Saturday, Jan. 22
7:30: Utah at Philadelphia (NBA-TV)
8:00: Cleveland at Chicago (WGN)
Monday, Jan. 24
7:30: Washington at New York (NBA-TV)
10:00: Sacramento at Portland (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Jan. 25
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Jan. 26
9:30: San Antonio at Utah (ESPN)
Thursday, Jan. 27
8:00: Miami at New York (TNT)
10:30: Boston at Portland (TNT)
Friday, Jan. 28
10:30: Boston at Phoenix (ESPN)
Saturday, Jan. 29
8:00: Indiana at Chicago (WGN)
8:30: Atlanta at Dallas (NBA-TV)
Sunday, Jan. 30
1:00: Miami at Oklahoma City (ABC)
3:30: Boston at L.A. Lakers (ABC)
10:00: Utah at Golden State (ESPN)
Monday, Jan. 31
7:00: Denver at New Jersey (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Feb. 1
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Feb. 2
8:00: New Orleans at Oklahoma City (NBA-TV)
10:30: Chicago at L.A. Clippers (NBA-TV)
Thursday, Feb. 3
8:00: Miami at Orlando (TNT)
10:30: San Antonio at L.A. Lakers (TNT)
Friday, Feb. 4
8:00: Dallas at Boston (ESPN)
10:30: Utah at Denver (ESPN)
Saturday, Feb. 5
7:00: Atlanta at Washington (NBA-TV)
10:30: Chicago at Golden State (WGN)
Sunday, Feb. 6
2:30: Orlando at Boston (ABC)
Monday, Feb. 7
8:00: Minnesota at New Orleans (NBA-TV)
10:30: Phoenix at Golden State (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Feb. 8
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Feb. 9
7:30: L.A. Clippers at New York (NBA-TV)
10:30: Denver at Golden State (NBA-TV)
Thursday, Feb. 10
8:00: L.A. Lakers at Boston (TNT)
10:30: Dallas at Denver (TNT)
Friday, Feb. 11
8:00: L.A. Lakers at New York (ESPN)
Friday, Feb. 11
10:30: Phoenix at Utah (ESPN)
Saturday, Feb. 12
7:00: Charlotte at Atlanta (NBA-TV)
8:00: Chicago at New Orleans (WGN)
Sunday, Feb. 13
1:00: Miami at Boston (ABC)
3:30: L.A. Lakers at Orlando (ABC)
8:00: Oklahoma City at Golden State (ESPN)
Monday, Feb. 14
7:00: San Antonio at New Jersey (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Feb. 15
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Feb. 16
9:00: Denver at Milwaukee (ESPN)
Thursday, Feb. 17
8:00: San Antonio at Chicago (TNT)
10:30: Dallas at Phoenix (TNT)
Sunday, Feb. 20
TBD All-Star Game (TNT)
Tuesday, Feb. 22
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Feb. 23
8:00: Oklahoma City at San Antonio (ESPN)
10:30: L.A. Lakers at Portland (ESPN)
Thursday, Feb. 24
8:00: Miami at Chicago (TNT)
10:30: Boston at Denver (TNT)
Friday, Feb. 25
8:00: Oklahoma City at Orlando (ESPN)
10:30: Denver at Portland (ESPN)
Saturday, Feb. 26
8:30: Chicago at Milwaukee (NBA-TV, WGN)
Sunday, Feb. 27
2:30: L.A. Lakers at Oklahoma City (ABC)
8:00: New York at Miami (ESPN)
10:30: Atlanta at Portland (ESPN)
Monday, Feb. 28
9:00: Boston at Utah (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, March 1
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, March 2
7:30: Phoenix at Boston (NBA-TV)
10:30: Houston at L.A. Clippers (NBA-TV)
Thursday, March 3
8:00: Orlando at Miami (TNT)
10:30: Denver at Utah (TNT)
Friday, March 4
3:00: Toronto vs. New Jersey at London (NBA-TV, YES)
7:00: Chicago at Orlando (ESPN)
9:30: Miami at San Antonio (ESPN)
Saturday, March 5
3:00: Toronto vs. New Jersey at London (NBA-TV)
Sunday, March 6
1:00: Chicago at Miami (ABC)
3:30: L.A. Lakers at San Antonio (ABC)
6:30: New Orleans at Cleveland (ESPN)
9:00: Boston at Milwaukee (ESPN)
Monday, March 7
7:00: Portland at Orlando (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, March 8
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, March 9
8:00: New York at Memphis (NBA-TV)
Thursday, March 10
8:00: L.A. Lakers at Miami (TNT)
10:30: Denver at Phoenix (TNT)
Friday, March 11
8:00: Atlanta at Chicago (NBA-TV)
Saturday, March 12
8:00: Utah at Chicago (WGN)
8:30: L.A. Lakers at Dallas (NBA-TV)
Sunday, March 13
3:30: Orlando at Phoenix (ABC)
6:00: Milwaukee at Boston (NBA-TV)
Monday, March 14
8:00: San Antonio at Miami (ESPN)
10:30: Orlando at L.A. Lakers (ESPN)
Tuesday, March 15
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, March 16
8:00: Oklahoma City at Miami (ESPN)
10:30: Dallas at Golden State (ESPN)
Thursday, March 17
7:30: Memphis at New York (NBA-TV)
Saturday, March 19
7:30: Denver at Miami (NBA-TV)
Monday, March 21
7:30: Boston at New York (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, March 22
7:00: Chicago at Atlanta (TNT)
9:30: Phoenix at L.A. Lakers (TNT)
Wednesday, March 23
8:00: Orlando at New York (ESPN)
10:30: San Antonio at Denver (ESPN)
Friday, March 25
10:00: New Orleans at Phoenix (NBA-TV)
Saturday, March 26
7:00: New York at Charlotte (NBA-TV)
8:30: Chicago at Milwaukee (WGN)
Sunday, March 27
8:00: Portland at Oklahoma City (ESPN)
10:30: Dallas at Phoenix (ESPN)
Monday, March 28
8:00: Philadelphia at Chicago (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, March 29
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, March 30
7:00: Detroit at Indiana (ESPN)
Thursday, March 31
8:00: Boston at San Antonio (TNT)
10:30: Dallas at L.A. Lakers (TNT)
Friday, April 1
8:00: Boston at Atlanta (ESPN)
10:30: L.A. Lakers at Utah (ESPN)
Saturday, April 2
8:00: Toronto at Chicago (WGN)
10:30: Oklahoma City at L.A. Clippers (NBA-TV)
Sunday, April 3
1:00: Phoenix at San Antonio (ABC)
3:30: Denver at L.A. Lakers (ABC)
9:00: Dallas at Portland (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, April 5
7:00 or 8:00: Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
9:30 or 10:30: Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, April 6
7:00: Milwaukee at Miami (ESPN)
9:30: Denver at Dallas (ESPN)
Thursday, April 7
8:00: Boston at Chicago (TNT)
10:30: Portland at Utah (TNT)
Friday, April 8
8:00: Phoenix at New Orleans (NBA-TV)
Saturday, April 9
8:30: Utah at San Antonio (NBA-TV)
Sunday, April 10
1:00: Chicago at Orlando (ABC)
3:30: Boston at Miami (ABC)
9:30: Oklahoma City at L.A. Lakers (NBA-TV)
Monday, April 11
7:00: Orlando at Philadelphia (NBA-TV)
10:00: Oklahoma City at Sacramento (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, April 12
8:00: Chicago at New York (TNT)
10:30: San Antonio at L.A. Lakers (TNT)
Wednesday, April 13
8:00: Atlanta at Charlotte (ESPN)
10:30: Memphis at L.A. Clippers (ESPN)
The games listed on WGN-TV are those available on WGN America only. (The Bulls games carried just on WGN-TV Chicago are not available nationally.) NBA-TV continues having the fans choose the games for most Tuesday nights. All times ET.
Tuesday, Oct. 26
7:30: Miami at Boston (TNT)
10:30: Houston at L.A. Lakers (TNT)
Wednesday, Oct. 27
8:00: Chicago at Oklahoma City (ESPN)
10:30: Portland at L.A. Clippers (ESPN)
Thursday, Oct. 28
8:00: Washington at Orlando (TNT)
10:30: Phoenix at Utah (TNT)
Friday, Oct. 29
8:00: Orlando at Miami (ESPN)
10:30: L.A. Lakers at Phoenix (ESPN)
Saturday, Oct. 30
8:30: Denver at Houston (NBA-TV)
Sunday, Oct. 31
7:00: Utah at Oklahoma City (NBA-TV)
Monday, Nov. 1
8:00: Portland at Chicago (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Nov. 2
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Nov. 3
8:00: Milwaukee at Boston (ESPN)
10:30: L.A. Lakers at Sacramento (ESPN)
Thursday, Nov. 4
8:00: New York at Chicago (TNT)
10:30: Oklahoma City at Portland (TNT)
Friday, Nov. 5
8:00: Chicago at Boston (ESPN)
10:30: L.A. Clippers at Denver (ESPN)
Saturday, Nov. 6
9:00: Denver at Dallas (NBA-TV)
Sunday, Nov. 7
7:00: Boston at Oklahoma City (NBA-TV)
Monday, Nov. 8
7:00: San Antonio at Charlotte (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Nov. 9
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Nov. 10
7:00: Utah at Orlando (ESPN)
9:30: L.A. Clippers at San Antonio (ESPN)
Thursday, Nov. 11
8:00: Boston at Miami (TNT)
10:30: L.A. Lakers at Denver (TNT)
Friday, Nov. 12
7:00: Utah at Atlanta (ESPN)
9:30: Portland at Oklahoma City (ESPN)
Saturday, Nov. 13
8:00: Washington at Chicago (WGN)
8:30: Golden State at Milwaukee (NBA-TV)
Sunday, Nov. 14
7:30: Houston at New York, (NBA-TV)
Monday, Nov. 15
7:00: Memphis at Orlando (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Nov. 16
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Nov. 17
7:00: Phoenix at Miami (ESPN)
9:30: Chicago at San Antonio (ESPN)
Thursday, Nov. 18
8:00: Phoenix at Orlando (TNT)
10:30: Denver at Portland (TNT)
Friday, Nov. 19
7:00: Oklahoma City at Boston (ESPN)
9:30: Chicago at Dallas (ESPN)
Saturday, Nov. 20
8:00: Dallas at Atlanta (NBA-TV)
Monday, Nov. 21
6:00: New Orleans at Sacramento (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Nov. 23
8:30: Orlando at San Antonio (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Nov. 24
7:30: Miami at Orlando (ESPN)
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Thursday, Nov. 25
8:00: Washington at Atlanta (TNT)
10:30: Sacramento at L.A. Clippers (TNT)
Friday, Nov. 26
7:00: Houston at Charlotte (ESPN2)
9:30: Golden State at Memphis (ESPN2)
Saturday, Nov. 27
7:00: Orlando at Washington (NBA-TV)
10:00: Chicago at Sacramento (WGN)
Sunday, Nov. 28
7:00: Oklahoma City at Houston (NBA-TV)
Monday, Nov. 29
8:30: Houston at Dallas (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Nov. 30
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Dec. 1
7:30: Portland at Boston (NBA-TV)
10:30: San Antonio at L.A. Clippers (NBA-TV)
Thursday, Dec. 2
8:00: Miami at Cleveland (TNT)
10:30: Phoenix at Golden State (TNT)
Friday, Dec. 3
8:00: Chicago at Boston (ESPN)
10:30: Dallas at Utah (ESPN)
Saturday, Dec. 4
8:00: Houston at Chicago (WGN)
8:30: Orlando at Milwaukee (NBA-TV)
Monday, Dec. 6
7:00: Atlanta at Orlando (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Dec. 7
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Dec. 8
7:00: Denver at Boston (ESPN)
Thursday, Dec. 9
8:00: Boston at Philadelphia (TNT)
10:30: Orlando at Portland (TNT)
Friday, Dec. 10
8:00: L.A. Lakers at Chicago (ESPN)
10:30: Miami at Golden State (ESPN)
Saturday, Dec. 11
8:00: Minnesota at Chicago (WGN)
8:30: Utah at Dallas (NBA-TV)
Monday, Dec. 13
8:00: Indiana at Chicago (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Dec. 14
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Dec. 15
7:00: Boston at New York (ESPN)
9:30: Portland at Dallas (ESPN)
Thursday, Dec. 16
8:00: Atlanta at Boston (TNT)
10:30: San Antonio at Denver (TNT)
Friday, Dec. 17
7:00: Miami at New York (ESPN)
9:30: Phoenix at Dallas (ESPN)
Saturday, Dec. 18
7:00: Miami at Washington (NBA-TV)
Sunday, Dec. 19
7:00: Phoenix at Oklahoma City (NBA-TV)
Monday, Dec. 20
7:30: Dallas at Miami (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Dec. 21
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Dec. 22
7:00: Chicago at Washington (NBA-TV)
Thursday, Dec. 23
8:00: San Antonio at Orlando (TNT)
10:30: Miami at Phoenix (TNT)
Saturday, Dec. 25
12:00: Chicago at New York (ESPN)
2:30: Boston at Orlando (ABC)
5:00: Miami at L.A. Lakers (ABC)
8:00: Denver at Oklahoma City (ESPN)
10:30: Portland at Golden State (ESPN)
Monday, Dec. 27
7:00: Detroit at Charlotte (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Dec. 28
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Dec. 29
10:30: Utah at L.A. Clippers (NBA-TV)
Thursday, Dec. 30
7:00: New York at Orlando (TNT)
9:30: San Antonio at Dallas (TNT)
Friday, Dec. 31
3:00: New Jersey at Chicago (WGN)
Sunday, Jan. 2
9:00: Houston at Portland (NBA-TV)
Monday, Jan. 3
8:00: Philadelphia at New Orleans (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Jan. 4
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Jan. 5
10:30: L.A. Lakers at Phoenix (ESPN)
Thursday, Jan. 6
8:00: Oklahoma City at Dallas (TNT)
10:30: Denver at Sacramento (TNT)
Friday, Jan. 7
8:00: Houston at Orlando (ESPN)
10:30: New York at Phoenix (ESPN)
Saturday, Jan. 8
8:00: Boston at Chicago (NBA-TV, WGN)
Sunday, Jan. 9
8:00: Cleveland at Phoenix (NBA-TV)
Monday, Jan. 10
7:30: Houston at Boston (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Jan. 11
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Jan. 12
8:30: Oklahoma City at Houston (NBA-TV)
Thursday, Jan. 13
8:00: Orlando at Oklahoma City (TNT)
10:30: Miami at Denver (TNT)
Friday, Jan. 14
8:00: Dallas at San Antonio (ESPN)
10:30: Portland at Phoenix (ESPN)
Saturday, Jan. 15
8:00: Miami at Chicago (NBA-TV,WGN)
Sunday, Jan. 16
9:00: Denver at San Antonio (ESPN)
Monday, Jan. 17
1:00: Chicago at Memphis (ESPN)
4:00: Sacramento at Atlanta (NBA-TV)
8:00: Orlando at Boston (TNT)
10:30: Oklahoma City at L.A. Lakers (TNT)
Tuesday, Jan. 18
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Jan. 19
9:00: L.A. Lakers at Dallas (ESPN)
Thursday, Jan. 20
8:00: Dallas at Chicago (TNT)
10:30: L.A. Clippers at Portland (TNT)
Friday, Jan. 21
8:00: Phoenix at Washington (ESPN)
10:30: L.A. Lakers at Denver (ESPN)
Saturday, Jan. 22
7:30: Utah at Philadelphia (NBA-TV)
8:00: Cleveland at Chicago (WGN)
Monday, Jan. 24
7:30: Washington at New York (NBA-TV)
10:00: Sacramento at Portland (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Jan. 25
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Jan. 26
9:30: San Antonio at Utah (ESPN)
Thursday, Jan. 27
8:00: Miami at New York (TNT)
10:30: Boston at Portland (TNT)
Friday, Jan. 28
10:30: Boston at Phoenix (ESPN)
Saturday, Jan. 29
8:00: Indiana at Chicago (WGN)
8:30: Atlanta at Dallas (NBA-TV)
Sunday, Jan. 30
1:00: Miami at Oklahoma City (ABC)
3:30: Boston at L.A. Lakers (ABC)
10:00: Utah at Golden State (ESPN)
Monday, Jan. 31
7:00: Denver at New Jersey (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Feb. 1
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Feb. 2
8:00: New Orleans at Oklahoma City (NBA-TV)
10:30: Chicago at L.A. Clippers (NBA-TV)
Thursday, Feb. 3
8:00: Miami at Orlando (TNT)
10:30: San Antonio at L.A. Lakers (TNT)
Friday, Feb. 4
8:00: Dallas at Boston (ESPN)
10:30: Utah at Denver (ESPN)
Saturday, Feb. 5
7:00: Atlanta at Washington (NBA-TV)
10:30: Chicago at Golden State (WGN)
Sunday, Feb. 6
2:30: Orlando at Boston (ABC)
Monday, Feb. 7
8:00: Minnesota at New Orleans (NBA-TV)
10:30: Phoenix at Golden State (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Feb. 8
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Feb. 9
7:30: L.A. Clippers at New York (NBA-TV)
10:30: Denver at Golden State (NBA-TV)
Thursday, Feb. 10
8:00: L.A. Lakers at Boston (TNT)
10:30: Dallas at Denver (TNT)
Friday, Feb. 11
8:00: L.A. Lakers at New York (ESPN)
Friday, Feb. 11
10:30: Phoenix at Utah (ESPN)
Saturday, Feb. 12
7:00: Charlotte at Atlanta (NBA-TV)
8:00: Chicago at New Orleans (WGN)
Sunday, Feb. 13
1:00: Miami at Boston (ABC)
3:30: L.A. Lakers at Orlando (ABC)
8:00: Oklahoma City at Golden State (ESPN)
Monday, Feb. 14
7:00: San Antonio at New Jersey (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Feb. 15
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Feb. 16
9:00: Denver at Milwaukee (ESPN)
Thursday, Feb. 17
8:00: San Antonio at Chicago (TNT)
10:30: Dallas at Phoenix (TNT)
Sunday, Feb. 20
TBD All-Star Game (TNT)
Tuesday, Feb. 22
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Feb. 23
8:00: Oklahoma City at San Antonio (ESPN)
10:30: L.A. Lakers at Portland (ESPN)
Thursday, Feb. 24
8:00: Miami at Chicago (TNT)
10:30: Boston at Denver (TNT)
Friday, Feb. 25
8:00: Oklahoma City at Orlando (ESPN)
10:30: Denver at Portland (ESPN)
Saturday, Feb. 26
8:30: Chicago at Milwaukee (NBA-TV, WGN)
Sunday, Feb. 27
2:30: L.A. Lakers at Oklahoma City (ABC)
8:00: New York at Miami (ESPN)
10:30: Atlanta at Portland (ESPN)
Monday, Feb. 28
9:00: Boston at Utah (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, March 1
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, March 2
7:30: Phoenix at Boston (NBA-TV)
10:30: Houston at L.A. Clippers (NBA-TV)
Thursday, March 3
8:00: Orlando at Miami (TNT)
10:30: Denver at Utah (TNT)
Friday, March 4
3:00: Toronto vs. New Jersey at London (NBA-TV, YES)
7:00: Chicago at Orlando (ESPN)
9:30: Miami at San Antonio (ESPN)
Saturday, March 5
3:00: Toronto vs. New Jersey at London (NBA-TV)
Sunday, March 6
1:00: Chicago at Miami (ABC)
3:30: L.A. Lakers at San Antonio (ABC)
6:30: New Orleans at Cleveland (ESPN)
9:00: Boston at Milwaukee (ESPN)
Monday, March 7
7:00: Portland at Orlando (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, March 8
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, March 9
8:00: New York at Memphis (NBA-TV)
Thursday, March 10
8:00: L.A. Lakers at Miami (TNT)
10:30: Denver at Phoenix (TNT)
Friday, March 11
8:00: Atlanta at Chicago (NBA-TV)
Saturday, March 12
8:00: Utah at Chicago (WGN)
8:30: L.A. Lakers at Dallas (NBA-TV)
Sunday, March 13
3:30: Orlando at Phoenix (ABC)
6:00: Milwaukee at Boston (NBA-TV)
Monday, March 14
8:00: San Antonio at Miami (ESPN)
10:30: Orlando at L.A. Lakers (ESPN)
Tuesday, March 15
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, March 16
8:00: Oklahoma City at Miami (ESPN)
10:30: Dallas at Golden State (ESPN)
Thursday, March 17
7:30: Memphis at New York (NBA-TV)
Saturday, March 19
7:30: Denver at Miami (NBA-TV)
Monday, March 21
7:30: Boston at New York (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, March 22
7:00: Chicago at Atlanta (TNT)
9:30: Phoenix at L.A. Lakers (TNT)
Wednesday, March 23
8:00: Orlando at New York (ESPN)
10:30: San Antonio at Denver (ESPN)
Friday, March 25
10:00: New Orleans at Phoenix (NBA-TV)
Saturday, March 26
7:00: New York at Charlotte (NBA-TV)
8:30: Chicago at Milwaukee (WGN)
Sunday, March 27
8:00: Portland at Oklahoma City (ESPN)
10:30: Dallas at Phoenix (ESPN)
Monday, March 28
8:00: Philadelphia at Chicago (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, March 29
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, March 30
7:00: Detroit at Indiana (ESPN)
Thursday, March 31
8:00: Boston at San Antonio (TNT)
10:30: Dallas at L.A. Lakers (TNT)
Friday, April 1
8:00: Boston at Atlanta (ESPN)
10:30: L.A. Lakers at Utah (ESPN)
Saturday, April 2
8:00: Toronto at Chicago (WGN)
10:30: Oklahoma City at L.A. Clippers (NBA-TV)
Sunday, April 3
1:00: Phoenix at San Antonio (ABC)
3:30: Denver at L.A. Lakers (ABC)
9:00: Dallas at Portland (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, April 5
7:00 or 8:00: Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
9:30 or 10:30: Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, April 6
7:00: Milwaukee at Miami (ESPN)
9:30: Denver at Dallas (ESPN)
Thursday, April 7
8:00: Boston at Chicago (TNT)
10:30: Portland at Utah (TNT)
Friday, April 8
8:00: Phoenix at New Orleans (NBA-TV)
Saturday, April 9
8:30: Utah at San Antonio (NBA-TV)
Sunday, April 10
1:00: Chicago at Orlando (ABC)
3:30: Boston at Miami (ABC)
9:30: Oklahoma City at L.A. Lakers (NBA-TV)
Monday, April 11
7:00: Orlando at Philadelphia (NBA-TV)
10:00: Oklahoma City at Sacramento (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, April 12
8:00: Chicago at New York (TNT)
10:30: San Antonio at L.A. Lakers (TNT)
Wednesday, April 13
8:00: Atlanta at Charlotte (ESPN)
10:30: Memphis at L.A. Clippers (ESPN)
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Sports Media Report - March 16th update.....
You wouldn't think it would take more than one announcer for TBS to replace Chip Caray, but I suppose TBS means well with their new plan to rotate announcers for the MLB coverage starting next month. Most likely depending upon their schedules, Ernie Johnson, Dick Stockton, and Brian Anderson will take turns calling the Sunday afternoon and post-season telecasts.
Ernie Johnson will also call about 25 Braves games for Peachtree TV, having gained his baseball play-by-play experience working Braves TV with his father in the mid-90's. Johnson is best known for his studio hosting on TNT's and NBA-TV coverage of NBA games, along with hosting British Open golf coverage on TNT.
Stockton brings more than 35 years of baseball play-by-play to the booth, having already handled post-season assignments for TBS over the past couple of years along with NBA play-by-play for TNT.
Brian Anderson is also the TV voice of the Milwaukee Brewers and will work a few TBS assignments as his schedule permits, most likely early in the season when the NBA takes priority for Johnson and Stockton.
Game and studio analysts will include John Smoltz (who will also work Braves games for Peachtree TV), Ron Darling, Buck Martinez, Dennis Eckersley, and David Wells.
TBS has also confirmed its April and May telecasts, with Eastern time:
Sunday, April 11 1:30 p.m. New York Yankees @ Tampa Bay Rays
Sunday, April 18 1:30 p.m. Tampa Bay Rays @ Boston Red Sox
Sunday, April 25 2 p.m. Chicago Cubs @ Milwaukee Brewers
Sunday, May 2 1 p.m. Chicago White Sox @ New York Yankees
Sunday, May 9 1:30 p.m. Atlanta Braves @ Philadelphia Phillies
Sunday, May 16 1 p.m. Minnesota Twins @ New York Yankees
Sunday, May 23 1:30 p.m. Boston Red Sox @ Philadelphia Phillies
Sunday, May 30 2:15 p.m. St. Louis Cardinals @ Chicago Cubs
SAN DIEGO: After months of my pointing out how many sports radio stations "report" stories taken from other media (online, newspapers, TV, etc.) when they are supposed to be on top of the news, along comes XX Sports 1090 and its morning show.
Hosts Billy Ray Smith and Scott Kaplan are off the air as of this week. Both the station and the pair have different versions as to what is taking place at the moment regarding the contract status.
In a wild coincidence, both sides have taken to the web to get the word out. First, XX Sports 1090 posted their side on the station web site in a message from CEO John Lynch (shown in part):
"We are very sorry to inform you that Scott and BR will not be on the air until a dispute is resolved. BCA is currently in a contractual dispute with Scott Kaplan and Billy Ray Smith, as a result of Scott and BR's attempt to terminate their agreements prior to its scheduled expiration in 2012. BCA believes that its agreements with both Scott and BR remain in full force and effect, and that their attempted early termination is in violation of their agreements."
Kaplan and Smith responded, but on their web site, TheScottandBrShow.com (in part):
"We are involved in a bitter contract dispute with 1090, as a result, we will not be on the air live Monday. Truth is, not sure we will ever be on 1090 again. However, we are very confident we will be on the radio in SD within the next few weeks."
With all of this keeping up with the station online, I wonder if the sports news hungry fans will still have time to listen.
LOS ANGELES: It continues as the "Myers-Hartman" program on KLAC 570 from Noon to 4 PM weekdays even though Chris Meyers is reducing his station workload. Looks as though Meyers will be heard primarily doing on-location reports and interview segments. In addition to his Fox Network assignments, Meyers will also be host of a NASCAR show on Showtime.
DALLAS: KRLD 105.3 welcomes Gavin Dawson to afternoon drive on March 29th. The 34-year old Dawson comes to Dallas by way of KXTG Portland where he has done mornings for nearly 2 years. Prior, Dawson was on KFXX 1080 The Fan, also in Portland. In his abscence, it is likely that KXTG will save a few dollars and go with Dwight Jaynes and Chad Doing as co-hosts.
BOSTON: Great to have Jerry Remy back in the Red Sox TV booth last weekend and in much better health. Remy missed most of last season due to his fight against cancer. Remy is expected to work with Don Orsillo for the entire season, and here's hoping that happens.
Sorry to see Channel 4 let go of Alice Cook after a 25 year run in the station's Sports Department. The station continues with Steve Burton and Dan Roche. Word is the station might ask her (Cook) to return on an assignment basis for Patriots coverage next season, but it remains to be seen if she would accept, or if she would still be available to accept.
INDIANAPOLIS: WFNI 1070 The Fan is breaking up its afternoon drive show after just over 2 years. Columnist Bob Kravitz is gone, after his Monday (March 15) co-hosting stint on "Kravitz & Eddie". The Indy Star claims that Kravitz' contract was not renewed, and that Kravitz may remain with the show as a contributor.
Eddie White will continue on as primary host of the afternoon show which scored well in the sports talk ratings. Also, host Dan Dakich will move into the 10 AM to Noon slot starting next month.
DETROIT: Fox Sports Detroit has just added former Piston and Michigan State alum Mateen Cleaves as studio analyst for selected games over the final month of the regular season. Cleaves was a key factor for MSU in its 2000 National Championship season. Not sure whether even he can make a Pistons telecast worth watching at this point, but it will be interesting to see if this leads to more TV work for him down the road.
BUFFALO: Kudos for WGR SportsRadio 550. Not only does the station have an interview with Buffalo Sabres General Manager Darcy Regier at 5:30 PM before every Friday home game, but the interview is not your typical fluff piece for the team. Regier had just returned from the NHL General Managers meeting, when host Mike Schopp asked him about it. The GM went into detail about how the GM's are watching the NFL's handling of head injuries, along with addressing the lack of trades involving the team at the recent trade deadline.
Nice to see a scheduled guest appearance by a team official being made interesting and newsworthy.
KNOXVILLE: ESPN 1180 has begun a one-hour weekday show specific to the University of Tennessee sports scene. As of this past Monday (March 15), co-hosts James Bryant and Wes Rucker devote the 10 to 11 AM hour to the school's sports programs.
In a move designed to please UT's fan base not within proximity of Knoxville, the show will be included in the stream at ESPNRadioKnoxville.com. Tony Basilio moves to the 11 AM to 1 PM spot, and Double Coverage with Terry Fair and Fred White from 1 to 3 PM.
SPOKANE: Washington State Cougars play-by-play voice Bud Nameck is now the host of the KXLY 920 Morning News. He has broadcast WSU sports since 1981.
OKLAHOMA CITY: The baseball minor league Oklahoma City Redhawks will again be on KTOK 1000 this season for night games. The station will carry 110 broadcasts, with the other 34 games, mostly afternoon and early evening, to air on sister station KEBC 1340. Each broadcast includes a 20 minute pre-game show. Jim Byers returns to the mic for his 11th season with the team.
SCHEDULES:
NBC-TV has moved the N Y Rangers vs. Boston Bruins game to the national spotlight at 12:30 ET this Sunday (March 21). Although the network has not yet announced its March 28 telecast, Detroit vs. Philadelphia will be shown on April 4th. In another NHL schedule oddity, this will be the only regular season meeting between these teams, and it comes toward the end of the regular season.
Looking to the 2010 college football season, ESPN has announced 14 of its Big East Football telecasts, including four on Thursday nights.
Highlights include Pittsburgh vs. Miami on Sept. 23 (their first matchup since 2003), USF at West Virginia on Oct. 14, and West VA at Pittsburgh on Thanksgiving Friday. Also scheduled is Cincinnati at Louisville on Oct. 15 and against USF on Oct. 22.
The Big Ten Network is going full steam into showing Conference baseball games this season:
2010 Big Ten Network Baseball Schedule
April 9 - Purdue at Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich., 7 PM - Big Ten Network
April 10 - Purdue at Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich., 1 PM - Big Ten Network
April 11 - Purdue at Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich., 12 PM - Big Ten Network
April 17 - Ohio State at Michigan State, East Lansing, 1 PM - Big Ten Network
April 23 - Indiana at Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minn., 7 PM - Big Ten Network
April 24 - Indiana at Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minn., 7 PM - Big Ten Network
April 25 - Indiana at Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minn., 2 PM - Big Ten Network
April 30 - Northwestern at Illinois, Champaign, Ill., 7 PM - Big Ten Network
May 1 - Northwestern at Illinois, Champaign, Ill., 4 PM - Big Ten Network
May 2 - Northwestern at Illinois, Champaign, Ill., 4 PM - Big Ten Network
May 4 - Louisville at Ohio State, Columbus, Ohio, 7 PM - Big Ten Network
May 7 - Iowa at Penn State, State College, Pa., 7 PM - Big Ten Network
May 8 - Iowa at Penn State, State College, Pa., 4 PM - Big Ten Network
May 9 - Iowa at Penn State, State College, Pa., 11 AM - Big Ten Network
May 14 - Indiana at Mich State, East Lansing, Mich., 2 PM - Big Ten Network
May 15 - Indiana at Mich State, East Lansing, Mich., 12 PM - Big Ten Network
May 15 - Purdue at Illinois, Champaign, Ill., 1 PM - Big Ten Network
May 16 - , Indiana at Michigan State, East Lansing, 1 PM - Big Ten Network
May 20 - Minnesota at Ohio State, Columbus, Ohio, 7 PM - Big Ten Network
May 21 - Minnesota at Ohio State, Columbus, Ohio, 7 PM - Big Ten Network
May 22 - Minnesota at Ohio State, Columbus, Ohio, 1 PM - Big Ten Network
Big Ten Baseball Tournament (Columbus, Ohio)
May 26 - Big Ten Tournament Game 1, TBD - Big Ten Network
May 26 - Big Ten Tournament Game 2, TBD - Big Ten Network
May 27 - Big Ten Tournament Game 3, TBD - Big Ten Network
May 27 - Big Ten Tournament Game 4, TBD - Big Ten Network
May 27 - Big Ten Tournament Game 5, TBD - Big Ten Network
May 28 - Big Ten Tournament Game 6, TBD - Big Ten Network
May 28 - Big Ten Tournament Game 7, TBD - Big Ten Network
May 28 - Big Ten Baseball Tournament Semifinals, TBD - Big Ten Network
May 29 - Big Ten Baseball Tournament Semifinals, TBD - Big Ten Network
May 29 - Big Ten Baseball Championship, TBD - Big Ten Network
May 30 - Big Ten Baseball Championship (if necessary), TBD - Big Ten Network
Ernie Johnson will also call about 25 Braves games for Peachtree TV, having gained his baseball play-by-play experience working Braves TV with his father in the mid-90's. Johnson is best known for his studio hosting on TNT's and NBA-TV coverage of NBA games, along with hosting British Open golf coverage on TNT.
Stockton brings more than 35 years of baseball play-by-play to the booth, having already handled post-season assignments for TBS over the past couple of years along with NBA play-by-play for TNT.
Brian Anderson is also the TV voice of the Milwaukee Brewers and will work a few TBS assignments as his schedule permits, most likely early in the season when the NBA takes priority for Johnson and Stockton.
Game and studio analysts will include John Smoltz (who will also work Braves games for Peachtree TV), Ron Darling, Buck Martinez, Dennis Eckersley, and David Wells.
TBS has also confirmed its April and May telecasts, with Eastern time:
Sunday, April 11 1:30 p.m. New York Yankees @ Tampa Bay Rays
Sunday, April 18 1:30 p.m. Tampa Bay Rays @ Boston Red Sox
Sunday, April 25 2 p.m. Chicago Cubs @ Milwaukee Brewers
Sunday, May 2 1 p.m. Chicago White Sox @ New York Yankees
Sunday, May 9 1:30 p.m. Atlanta Braves @ Philadelphia Phillies
Sunday, May 16 1 p.m. Minnesota Twins @ New York Yankees
Sunday, May 23 1:30 p.m. Boston Red Sox @ Philadelphia Phillies
Sunday, May 30 2:15 p.m. St. Louis Cardinals @ Chicago Cubs
SAN DIEGO: After months of my pointing out how many sports radio stations "report" stories taken from other media (online, newspapers, TV, etc.) when they are supposed to be on top of the news, along comes XX Sports 1090 and its morning show.
Hosts Billy Ray Smith and Scott Kaplan are off the air as of this week. Both the station and the pair have different versions as to what is taking place at the moment regarding the contract status.
In a wild coincidence, both sides have taken to the web to get the word out. First, XX Sports 1090 posted their side on the station web site in a message from CEO John Lynch (shown in part):
"We are very sorry to inform you that Scott and BR will not be on the air until a dispute is resolved. BCA is currently in a contractual dispute with Scott Kaplan and Billy Ray Smith, as a result of Scott and BR's attempt to terminate their agreements prior to its scheduled expiration in 2012. BCA believes that its agreements with both Scott and BR remain in full force and effect, and that their attempted early termination is in violation of their agreements."
Kaplan and Smith responded, but on their web site, TheScottandBrShow.com (in part):
"We are involved in a bitter contract dispute with 1090, as a result, we will not be on the air live Monday. Truth is, not sure we will ever be on 1090 again. However, we are very confident we will be on the radio in SD within the next few weeks."
With all of this keeping up with the station online, I wonder if the sports news hungry fans will still have time to listen.
LOS ANGELES: It continues as the "Myers-Hartman" program on KLAC 570 from Noon to 4 PM weekdays even though Chris Meyers is reducing his station workload. Looks as though Meyers will be heard primarily doing on-location reports and interview segments. In addition to his Fox Network assignments, Meyers will also be host of a NASCAR show on Showtime.
DALLAS: KRLD 105.3 welcomes Gavin Dawson to afternoon drive on March 29th. The 34-year old Dawson comes to Dallas by way of KXTG Portland where he has done mornings for nearly 2 years. Prior, Dawson was on KFXX 1080 The Fan, also in Portland. In his abscence, it is likely that KXTG will save a few dollars and go with Dwight Jaynes and Chad Doing as co-hosts.
BOSTON: Great to have Jerry Remy back in the Red Sox TV booth last weekend and in much better health. Remy missed most of last season due to his fight against cancer. Remy is expected to work with Don Orsillo for the entire season, and here's hoping that happens.
Sorry to see Channel 4 let go of Alice Cook after a 25 year run in the station's Sports Department. The station continues with Steve Burton and Dan Roche. Word is the station might ask her (Cook) to return on an assignment basis for Patriots coverage next season, but it remains to be seen if she would accept, or if she would still be available to accept.
INDIANAPOLIS: WFNI 1070 The Fan is breaking up its afternoon drive show after just over 2 years. Columnist Bob Kravitz is gone, after his Monday (March 15) co-hosting stint on "Kravitz & Eddie". The Indy Star claims that Kravitz' contract was not renewed, and that Kravitz may remain with the show as a contributor.
Eddie White will continue on as primary host of the afternoon show which scored well in the sports talk ratings. Also, host Dan Dakich will move into the 10 AM to Noon slot starting next month.
DETROIT: Fox Sports Detroit has just added former Piston and Michigan State alum Mateen Cleaves as studio analyst for selected games over the final month of the regular season. Cleaves was a key factor for MSU in its 2000 National Championship season. Not sure whether even he can make a Pistons telecast worth watching at this point, but it will be interesting to see if this leads to more TV work for him down the road.
BUFFALO: Kudos for WGR SportsRadio 550. Not only does the station have an interview with Buffalo Sabres General Manager Darcy Regier at 5:30 PM before every Friday home game, but the interview is not your typical fluff piece for the team. Regier had just returned from the NHL General Managers meeting, when host Mike Schopp asked him about it. The GM went into detail about how the GM's are watching the NFL's handling of head injuries, along with addressing the lack of trades involving the team at the recent trade deadline.
Nice to see a scheduled guest appearance by a team official being made interesting and newsworthy.
KNOXVILLE: ESPN 1180 has begun a one-hour weekday show specific to the University of Tennessee sports scene. As of this past Monday (March 15), co-hosts James Bryant and Wes Rucker devote the 10 to 11 AM hour to the school's sports programs.
In a move designed to please UT's fan base not within proximity of Knoxville, the show will be included in the stream at ESPNRadioKnoxville.com. Tony Basilio moves to the 11 AM to 1 PM spot, and Double Coverage with Terry Fair and Fred White from 1 to 3 PM.
SPOKANE: Washington State Cougars play-by-play voice Bud Nameck is now the host of the KXLY 920 Morning News. He has broadcast WSU sports since 1981.
OKLAHOMA CITY: The baseball minor league Oklahoma City Redhawks will again be on KTOK 1000 this season for night games. The station will carry 110 broadcasts, with the other 34 games, mostly afternoon and early evening, to air on sister station KEBC 1340. Each broadcast includes a 20 minute pre-game show. Jim Byers returns to the mic for his 11th season with the team.
SCHEDULES:
NBC-TV has moved the N Y Rangers vs. Boston Bruins game to the national spotlight at 12:30 ET this Sunday (March 21). Although the network has not yet announced its March 28 telecast, Detroit vs. Philadelphia will be shown on April 4th. In another NHL schedule oddity, this will be the only regular season meeting between these teams, and it comes toward the end of the regular season.
Looking to the 2010 college football season, ESPN has announced 14 of its Big East Football telecasts, including four on Thursday nights.
Highlights include Pittsburgh vs. Miami on Sept. 23 (their first matchup since 2003), USF at West Virginia on Oct. 14, and West VA at Pittsburgh on Thanksgiving Friday. Also scheduled is Cincinnati at Louisville on Oct. 15 and against USF on Oct. 22.
The Big Ten Network is going full steam into showing Conference baseball games this season:
2010 Big Ten Network Baseball Schedule
April 9 - Purdue at Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich., 7 PM - Big Ten Network
April 10 - Purdue at Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich., 1 PM - Big Ten Network
April 11 - Purdue at Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich., 12 PM - Big Ten Network
April 17 - Ohio State at Michigan State, East Lansing, 1 PM - Big Ten Network
April 23 - Indiana at Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minn., 7 PM - Big Ten Network
April 24 - Indiana at Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minn., 7 PM - Big Ten Network
April 25 - Indiana at Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minn., 2 PM - Big Ten Network
April 30 - Northwestern at Illinois, Champaign, Ill., 7 PM - Big Ten Network
May 1 - Northwestern at Illinois, Champaign, Ill., 4 PM - Big Ten Network
May 2 - Northwestern at Illinois, Champaign, Ill., 4 PM - Big Ten Network
May 4 - Louisville at Ohio State, Columbus, Ohio, 7 PM - Big Ten Network
May 7 - Iowa at Penn State, State College, Pa., 7 PM - Big Ten Network
May 8 - Iowa at Penn State, State College, Pa., 4 PM - Big Ten Network
May 9 - Iowa at Penn State, State College, Pa., 11 AM - Big Ten Network
May 14 - Indiana at Mich State, East Lansing, Mich., 2 PM - Big Ten Network
May 15 - Indiana at Mich State, East Lansing, Mich., 12 PM - Big Ten Network
May 15 - Purdue at Illinois, Champaign, Ill., 1 PM - Big Ten Network
May 16 - , Indiana at Michigan State, East Lansing, 1 PM - Big Ten Network
May 20 - Minnesota at Ohio State, Columbus, Ohio, 7 PM - Big Ten Network
May 21 - Minnesota at Ohio State, Columbus, Ohio, 7 PM - Big Ten Network
May 22 - Minnesota at Ohio State, Columbus, Ohio, 1 PM - Big Ten Network
Big Ten Baseball Tournament (Columbus, Ohio)
May 26 - Big Ten Tournament Game 1, TBD - Big Ten Network
May 26 - Big Ten Tournament Game 2, TBD - Big Ten Network
May 27 - Big Ten Tournament Game 3, TBD - Big Ten Network
May 27 - Big Ten Tournament Game 4, TBD - Big Ten Network
May 27 - Big Ten Tournament Game 5, TBD - Big Ten Network
May 28 - Big Ten Tournament Game 6, TBD - Big Ten Network
May 28 - Big Ten Tournament Game 7, TBD - Big Ten Network
May 28 - Big Ten Baseball Tournament Semifinals, TBD - Big Ten Network
May 29 - Big Ten Baseball Tournament Semifinals, TBD - Big Ten Network
May 29 - Big Ten Baseball Championship, TBD - Big Ten Network
May 30 - Big Ten Baseball Championship (if necessary), TBD - Big Ten Network
Monday, December 28, 2009
Sports Media Update - December 28th
Looking back on the sports media for the zeros, it might have been the decade with the biggest change in terms of coverage. Most good, some not.
Topping the "good" list is the shear number of pro and college games which are televised. The vast majority of pro games are shown in at least one team's market. Many MLB, NBA, and even NHL teams show every game in their market. In addition, the number of national or regional telecasts has increased.
Baseball fans now have network games available on Sundays (TBS in the afternoon and ESPN at night), Mondays (ESPN), Wednesdays (ESPN), Thursdays (MLB Network), and Saturdays (Fox). The addition of the great MLB Network in 2009 also brought us Saturday night telecasts along with some afternoon games and special telecasts throughout the season.
NBA fans have the ESPN/ABC and TNT packages, and now NBA-TV picks up an average of 3 games each week from local telecasts, resulting in at least 4 nights per week of national games. Those NHL fans who can get Versus and NHL Network also get about 4 national telecasts each week, plus those on NBC-TV on Sundays from January on into the playoffs.
The pro league networks (MLB Network, NBA TV, NHL Network) have enhanced coverage of their respective sports beyond belief with extended studio shows including live "look-ins" and instant statistics on games being played. With these shows, along with ESPN producing Baseball Tonight and NBA Tonight, the amount of immediate surrounding coverage of pro games has reached an all-time high. For those of us who grew up before cable TV and the majority of games being televised, this is all an incredible transition, especially during the last part of this decade.
The NFL Network brought us extended game day coverage, along with the ability to replay edited game telecasts throughout the week, as well as providing extended previews and interviews.
On the college sports scene, the number of college football games televised has increased significantly, especially from regional networks from the likes of Fox Sports and Comcast, among others including the Big Ten Network. This past season, it wasn't unusual to have between 5 and 8 early afternoon live telecasts to choose from.
A greater presence from the regional TV networks has brought a local expanded version of a SportsCenter show to most markets. Fans now have a choice for their late night TV highlights and wrapup like never before.
Radio has seen an increase in the number of all sports stations around the country, including most markets now having more than one station competing against each other.
In addition, fans with online access can usually track up to the minute scores and in-game statistics for any and all games they are following. Some teams and web sites are now providing highlights and replays available within minutes.
Combined, it is amazing how easy and wonderful it is to be able to keep track of all of the games every night, whether by TV, radio, or online. And amazing how much our ability to do just that increased during this decade.
So what's not so good about it? All of this game coverage, as great as it is, has come at the expense of the sportscast. Radio and TV sportscasts have generally gone down hill in the past few years. What used to be breaking news and game related statistics has turned into the rumor mill. Reporters seem to spend more time speculating about trades and signings than on trying to break stories. Too much of the "reporting" is about what might happen instead of what did happen. Or by the time it does happen, it doesn't seem like hot news anymore.
Many of the game broadcasts and telecasts have become way too cluttered. While I understand that more advertisers are needed to support the huge broadcast rights fees, the added commercial and promotional time is taking away from us fans getting more information. I'll expand on this point in the weeks to come, but pre-game shows and game telecast and broadcast openings are so cluttered that important information about the game gets delayed. There are too many times when we get 15 minutes of commercials and fluff and don't even get starting lineup information until the game itself is already underway. That needs to change.
But overall, great strides this decade in terms of being able to keep up with all of our favorite sports!
Yet, as we think back on some of the most memorable stories of the decade, it is amazing how much the media played a part in some of them, instead of keeping it to what happened on the field, court, or rink.
And for that matter, possibly next decade. Case in point is Tiger Woods. I, for one, have no second thoughts about Tiger Woods being named Athlete of the Decade for the zeros, even though I am not a fan of the pro golf tours. He clearly was the most dominant at his sport. Yet, the excessive amount of air time because of his recent indiscretions has caused some to question that selection. However, all of this media attention to something that had no impact on the number of tournaments he won, has led to Tiger looking to play in FEWER tournaments in the near future, which could impact his chances for setting more records as we start the next 10 years.
Radio and TV played a huge part in a post-season baseball moment. In the 2003 NLCS when Steve Bartman went for a foul ball that could have been a crucial out for the Chicago Cubs against the Florida Marlins, we had no idea who this person was. If the Chicago Fox-TV affiliate hadn't pursued it and put his name out on the airwaves the next day, we wouldn't know who he is. We shouldn't. So instead of baseball fans remembering the Marlins' comeback in the NLCS to get to the World Series, the memory is overshadowed by a fan who attended one of the games. After all, Bartman didn't play in the 7th game the next night. Yet, the media made him the story instead.
Another instance is what the media did not do. This decade began with the most exciting end of a Super Bowl game. Tennessee and St. Louis in the January 2000 Super Bowl game battled right down to literally the last second at the 1 yard line. Yet, I still can't believe that the game announcers and the network reporters covering the game weren't taking it a step further. As in, one more step to the end zone. Had the Titans scored on that last play, they would have had to choose whether to kick the PAT for the tie or to go for the 2-point conversion and either win or lose the Super Bowl right there.
Now there was a discussion which should have dominated the talk during that last drive, and even for days after. But it hardly even came up. It would have been fascinating to see what percentage of fans would have gone for the win since there was no guarantee that the Titans would have won the coin toss for overtime or even touched the ball. Yet, even the possibility wasn't raised. I still can't believe that. And the lack of that discussion, even though it didn't come to pass, was overlooked by the media.
Here's hoping for a Happy New Year and New Decade for all of you, and for another 10 years of great sports memories. On the field, court, and ice!
Meanwhile, so much has been written and said already about the untimely death of George Michael last week. (By the way, some airchecks of his top 40 days in Philly are available via MajorLeaguePrograms.com.) It is hard to believe he is gone, and that he was only 70 years of age.
Many people are just now learning of his accomplishments above and beyond his "George Michael Sports Machine" Sunday TV show. He was a top 40 DJ on Philadelphia's Famous 56 WFIL from 1966 to 1974. (One of his engineers at that station was Howard Eskin, as in the long time WIP sports host.)
George went on to New York and did play-by-play for the N.Y. Islanders, as well as some filling in on Howard Cosell's "Speaking of Sports" radio shows. He reportedly turned down an offer to replace Lindsey Nelson on Mets TV before going to Washington D. C. and WRC-TV, where the Sports Machine show was eventually born. Now I feel as though the moment I get to heaven, he'll be there to show me highlights from everyone else already there.
Back to the current week. NBC-TV has "flexed" its muscles and moved the N.Y. Jets game against Cincinnati into its final Sunday Night Football telecast of this season. In addition, Fox has moved the Philly at Dallas game from an early slot to its doubleheader game on Sunday afternoon.
With all of the college bowl games coming up, there is a ton of games to watch in bringing in the new year and decade. Yet, I'm disappointed that the decade begins with Pat Summerall coming back to call the Cotton Bowl for Fox next Saturday afternoon from Cowboys Stadium. On his recent comebacks for NFL games he has managed to sound even more boring than ever before. Hardly the over hyped bowl game banter we are used to. The Westwood One Radio broadcast looks like a good alternative with the TV sound on mute, since Cowboys voice Brad Sham will call the game with former UCLA coach Terry Donahue on color.
NBA-TV picks up an increased share of telecasts this week while ESPN focuses on the bowl games:
Tues. Dec. 29 - Cleveland at Atlanta
Weds. Dec. 30 - Boston at Phoenix
Fri. Jan. 1 - New York at Atlanta
Sat. Jan. 2 - Denver at Utah
Sun. Jan. 3 - San Antonio at Toronto
INDIANAPOLIS: John "JMV" Vincent has left WNDE 1260 where he aired from 3 to 7 PM most recently, ending a 10 year stint at the station. At least for now, he continues working weekends at WTHR-TV.
St. LOUIS: Bob Stelton is the newest addition to ESPN 101.1 FM, and is expected to begin on the air next week.
Happy New Year!!
Topping the "good" list is the shear number of pro and college games which are televised. The vast majority of pro games are shown in at least one team's market. Many MLB, NBA, and even NHL teams show every game in their market. In addition, the number of national or regional telecasts has increased.
Baseball fans now have network games available on Sundays (TBS in the afternoon and ESPN at night), Mondays (ESPN), Wednesdays (ESPN), Thursdays (MLB Network), and Saturdays (Fox). The addition of the great MLB Network in 2009 also brought us Saturday night telecasts along with some afternoon games and special telecasts throughout the season.
NBA fans have the ESPN/ABC and TNT packages, and now NBA-TV picks up an average of 3 games each week from local telecasts, resulting in at least 4 nights per week of national games. Those NHL fans who can get Versus and NHL Network also get about 4 national telecasts each week, plus those on NBC-TV on Sundays from January on into the playoffs.
The pro league networks (MLB Network, NBA TV, NHL Network) have enhanced coverage of their respective sports beyond belief with extended studio shows including live "look-ins" and instant statistics on games being played. With these shows, along with ESPN producing Baseball Tonight and NBA Tonight, the amount of immediate surrounding coverage of pro games has reached an all-time high. For those of us who grew up before cable TV and the majority of games being televised, this is all an incredible transition, especially during the last part of this decade.
The NFL Network brought us extended game day coverage, along with the ability to replay edited game telecasts throughout the week, as well as providing extended previews and interviews.
On the college sports scene, the number of college football games televised has increased significantly, especially from regional networks from the likes of Fox Sports and Comcast, among others including the Big Ten Network. This past season, it wasn't unusual to have between 5 and 8 early afternoon live telecasts to choose from.
A greater presence from the regional TV networks has brought a local expanded version of a SportsCenter show to most markets. Fans now have a choice for their late night TV highlights and wrapup like never before.
Radio has seen an increase in the number of all sports stations around the country, including most markets now having more than one station competing against each other.
In addition, fans with online access can usually track up to the minute scores and in-game statistics for any and all games they are following. Some teams and web sites are now providing highlights and replays available within minutes.
Combined, it is amazing how easy and wonderful it is to be able to keep track of all of the games every night, whether by TV, radio, or online. And amazing how much our ability to do just that increased during this decade.
So what's not so good about it? All of this game coverage, as great as it is, has come at the expense of the sportscast. Radio and TV sportscasts have generally gone down hill in the past few years. What used to be breaking news and game related statistics has turned into the rumor mill. Reporters seem to spend more time speculating about trades and signings than on trying to break stories. Too much of the "reporting" is about what might happen instead of what did happen. Or by the time it does happen, it doesn't seem like hot news anymore.
Many of the game broadcasts and telecasts have become way too cluttered. While I understand that more advertisers are needed to support the huge broadcast rights fees, the added commercial and promotional time is taking away from us fans getting more information. I'll expand on this point in the weeks to come, but pre-game shows and game telecast and broadcast openings are so cluttered that important information about the game gets delayed. There are too many times when we get 15 minutes of commercials and fluff and don't even get starting lineup information until the game itself is already underway. That needs to change.
But overall, great strides this decade in terms of being able to keep up with all of our favorite sports!
Yet, as we think back on some of the most memorable stories of the decade, it is amazing how much the media played a part in some of them, instead of keeping it to what happened on the field, court, or rink.
And for that matter, possibly next decade. Case in point is Tiger Woods. I, for one, have no second thoughts about Tiger Woods being named Athlete of the Decade for the zeros, even though I am not a fan of the pro golf tours. He clearly was the most dominant at his sport. Yet, the excessive amount of air time because of his recent indiscretions has caused some to question that selection. However, all of this media attention to something that had no impact on the number of tournaments he won, has led to Tiger looking to play in FEWER tournaments in the near future, which could impact his chances for setting more records as we start the next 10 years.
Radio and TV played a huge part in a post-season baseball moment. In the 2003 NLCS when Steve Bartman went for a foul ball that could have been a crucial out for the Chicago Cubs against the Florida Marlins, we had no idea who this person was. If the Chicago Fox-TV affiliate hadn't pursued it and put his name out on the airwaves the next day, we wouldn't know who he is. We shouldn't. So instead of baseball fans remembering the Marlins' comeback in the NLCS to get to the World Series, the memory is overshadowed by a fan who attended one of the games. After all, Bartman didn't play in the 7th game the next night. Yet, the media made him the story instead.
Another instance is what the media did not do. This decade began with the most exciting end of a Super Bowl game. Tennessee and St. Louis in the January 2000 Super Bowl game battled right down to literally the last second at the 1 yard line. Yet, I still can't believe that the game announcers and the network reporters covering the game weren't taking it a step further. As in, one more step to the end zone. Had the Titans scored on that last play, they would have had to choose whether to kick the PAT for the tie or to go for the 2-point conversion and either win or lose the Super Bowl right there.
Now there was a discussion which should have dominated the talk during that last drive, and even for days after. But it hardly even came up. It would have been fascinating to see what percentage of fans would have gone for the win since there was no guarantee that the Titans would have won the coin toss for overtime or even touched the ball. Yet, even the possibility wasn't raised. I still can't believe that. And the lack of that discussion, even though it didn't come to pass, was overlooked by the media.
Here's hoping for a Happy New Year and New Decade for all of you, and for another 10 years of great sports memories. On the field, court, and ice!
Meanwhile, so much has been written and said already about the untimely death of George Michael last week. (By the way, some airchecks of his top 40 days in Philly are available via MajorLeaguePrograms.com.) It is hard to believe he is gone, and that he was only 70 years of age.
Many people are just now learning of his accomplishments above and beyond his "George Michael Sports Machine" Sunday TV show. He was a top 40 DJ on Philadelphia's Famous 56 WFIL from 1966 to 1974. (One of his engineers at that station was Howard Eskin, as in the long time WIP sports host.)
George went on to New York and did play-by-play for the N.Y. Islanders, as well as some filling in on Howard Cosell's "Speaking of Sports" radio shows. He reportedly turned down an offer to replace Lindsey Nelson on Mets TV before going to Washington D. C. and WRC-TV, where the Sports Machine show was eventually born. Now I feel as though the moment I get to heaven, he'll be there to show me highlights from everyone else already there.
Back to the current week. NBC-TV has "flexed" its muscles and moved the N.Y. Jets game against Cincinnati into its final Sunday Night Football telecast of this season. In addition, Fox has moved the Philly at Dallas game from an early slot to its doubleheader game on Sunday afternoon.
With all of the college bowl games coming up, there is a ton of games to watch in bringing in the new year and decade. Yet, I'm disappointed that the decade begins with Pat Summerall coming back to call the Cotton Bowl for Fox next Saturday afternoon from Cowboys Stadium. On his recent comebacks for NFL games he has managed to sound even more boring than ever before. Hardly the over hyped bowl game banter we are used to. The Westwood One Radio broadcast looks like a good alternative with the TV sound on mute, since Cowboys voice Brad Sham will call the game with former UCLA coach Terry Donahue on color.
NBA-TV picks up an increased share of telecasts this week while ESPN focuses on the bowl games:
Tues. Dec. 29 - Cleveland at Atlanta
Weds. Dec. 30 - Boston at Phoenix
Fri. Jan. 1 - New York at Atlanta
Sat. Jan. 2 - Denver at Utah
Sun. Jan. 3 - San Antonio at Toronto
INDIANAPOLIS: John "JMV" Vincent has left WNDE 1260 where he aired from 3 to 7 PM most recently, ending a 10 year stint at the station. At least for now, he continues working weekends at WTHR-TV.
St. LOUIS: Bob Stelton is the newest addition to ESPN 101.1 FM, and is expected to begin on the air next week.
Happy New Year!!
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Sports Media Update - December 8th
We are a long way off from March Madness, at least in basketball terms, although a report from Sports Business Journal the other day has started a lot of discussion among fans and the media.
The possibility exists that the NCAA could add still another week of games to the Tournament. More games means more telecasts and broadcasts, and according to the report the possibility of more networks becoming involved.
As a fan, I'm totally frustrated by this, and it is far from actually happening. I lost some interest in the Tournament over 25 years ago when it expanded from 24 to 32 teams. Why have a regular season when more than one team can go from the same conference? But that is for another column.
From a media perspective, I see where this could be of benefit. More tourney games translates to more ad revenue. Especially with NFL ratings through the roof this season and the NBA ratings off to a good start, especially with teen viewers, as detailed here last week.
Yet, I think CBS has done a very good job with their coverage over the years. It is really only the first two days when games conflict, and now streaming has reduced many of those concerns.
However, more post-season telecasts are probably likely across the board. This NCAA possibility fits in with MLB talking about filling in the early post-season Division Series off days by adding more games to go from best of five to best of seven series.
Speaking of the NBA, a great move by NBA-TV on Monday night (Dec. 7). Instead of sticking with its originally scheduled feed of the Washington at Detroit game, NBA-TV wisely switched to show the Denver vs. Philadelphia game featuring the return of Allen Iverson. A great fan-friendly move that deserves a lot of attention.
In addition to NFL games continuing to score great ratings, CBS also rocked the ratings world from Saturday's (Dec. 5) SEC Championship Game telecast. The Florida vs. Alabama telecast wound up as the best rating ever for an SEC Championship since its debut in 1992, and the network's highest rated "non-bowl" telecast in 20 years (Notre Dame vs. Miami in 1989).
Fox TV scored its best overnight ratings in 3 years with the Cowboys vs. Giants doubleheader game this past Sunday (Dec. 6). For the season, the Fox NFL ratings are now up 8% over last year, and the playoff races are about to heat up for the final 4 weeks.
NBC won Sunday Night with Sunday Night Football - again - this past Sunday after switching to the Minnesota vs. Arizona game. Compared with week 13 last year, NBC showed a 23% increase, even though the Vikings were involved in the 2008 Week 13 telecast. Brett Favre is winning almost as much as the TV networks, and all have been around a lot of years!
TBS (Turner) Sports has found a way to not have Chip Caray make errant calls on any more baseball post-season telecasts. Or regular season for that matter. Neither party shared any details, but the problem has been resolved because Caray won't be back. As funny as the line would normally be, given that Chip is the son of Skip and grandson of Harry Caray, I prefer not to think of him as a "Chip off the old block".
Fox Radio Sports has made a change on its morning show. Out is Steve Czaban, whose last "scoop" for the network was breaking the news on his own blog earlier this week after a 7 year run. Czaban had also filled in for Jim Rome during his time with the network.
His replacement is Steven A. Smith, who most fans know from his days on ESPN. On ESPN Steven seemed to always be yelling at someone with his comments, so it will be interesting to hear if he can tone it down for mornings.
CINCINNATI: The Reds have finalized their broadcast teams for 2010 by replacing the now retired George Grande. Thom Brennaman is going to reduce his baseball role for Fox and handle 100 Reds telecasts. He had joined the Reds' booth in 2007 and has shared some broadcasts with his father Marty, which is expected to continue. Chris Welsh continues as TV analyst, with Jeff Brantley moving over to TV on occasion. Paul Keels, the voice of Ohio State football on radio and former Sports Director of WLW, will call the games that Thom Brennaman does not.
Even though it was only the Detroit Lions playing the Bengals this past Sunday Fox TV 19 pulled out all of the stops for one of the two Bengals telecasts it got this season. The Cincinnati Fox affiliate pre-empted the Fox NFL pre-game show in favor of a 90 minute local pregame show. News anchors Tricia Macke and Dan Carroll co-hosted along with sports anchor Zach Wells.
As it turned out, they were right. This past weekend the Bengals win over the Lions even drew better than Saturday's college game putting the U. of Cincinnati against Pittsburgh locally. The college game was the Saturday ratings leader, but more households were tuned to the Bengals on Sunday.
HOUSTON: Big changes are underway this week at KBME 790. Matt Jackson and Adam Wexler have taken over as morning team from 6 to 10 AM, with Dylan Guinn from 10 to Noon. Matt Thomas returns to his native area from Minneapolis to host Noon to 3 PM, as well as Astros pre and post-game coverage. Thomas is also remembered locally as the Public Address announcer during the NBA Rockets championship season.
Tom Franklin will no longer host a show, but is expected to continue play-by-play of University of Houston football and basketball. The station is also giving up the "Sports Animal" brand in favor of "Sports Talk 790". Can't help but joke about how many thousands of dollars it took to come up with the new moniker of "Sports Talk 790".
PHILADELPHIA: The success of sports radio continues, based on the latest ratings for late October to mid-November. This time not a surprise since this ratings period included the Phillies participation in the World Series. WIP 610 finished first among 25 to 54 males, while every daypart was up. Rival WPEN AM and FM finished in the top 10 in males during its first "full" ratings period, including a strong showing afternoons from Mike Missanelli.
DENVER: Chris "Birdman" Andersen of the Nuggets now has a weekly radio show, and it airs in morning drive. "A Birdman's View" airs on ESPN 1600 each Thursday morning at 8:00, at least through the NBA season.
St. LOUIS: It is always an honor to have a street named after you. But in St. Louis, the feeling was that the late Jack Buck deserved more than just a street. As of this week, a stretch of Interstate 64 in St. Louis has been renamed "The Jack Buck Highway". Gives new meaning to his call of "There's a long drive........".
WEST PALM BEACH: Even though WPTV Channel 5 earlier got rid of two sportscasters, the station has not given up on sportscasts during its local news. Starting with the coming new year, reporters from ESPN 760 radio will handle the TV reporting, along with the 15 minute extended wrap-up on Sunday nights. This includes hosts Evan Cohen and Jason Pugh.
SYRACUSE: During the first quarter of 2010, WTLA 1200 and WSGO 1440 (from nearby Oswego) will switch to all sports.
BATON ROUGE: WNXX, licensed to Jackson LA, changes over to sports and will carry ESPN programming, expected to be in place before the first of the year.
CEDAR RAPIDS: The Iowa vs. UNI game lost to "The Biggest Loser" on Tuesday night (Dec. 8). KWWL-TV decided to carry the TV show instead of the game feed from Panther Sports Network. The station was scheduled to air the game on its digital channel instead. However, the digital channel is not available on all of the area's satellite owners nor on certain outlying cable systems. Local fans of either team might just make the TV show ratings "the biggest loser" in the future. As if that show couldn't have been shown on delay.
LINCOLN NE: ESPN 1480 has canceled the local show "The Spread" with Jason Peter and Jeff Wilkerson and replaced it with The Doug Gottlieb Show. Wilkerson is also out as Program Director. This past March, Omaha's Big Sports 590 dropped its afternoon show with Matt Perrault and replaced him with Fox Sports Radio programming.
RICHMOND: The baseball minor league Richmond Flying Squirrels have announced a 2 year deal with Sports Radio 910 to become the team's flagship station and carry all 142 games. Jon Laaser and Anthony Oppermann will handle play-by-play for the AA affiliate of the Giants. Can't help but wonder if the Flying Squirrels will get off to a "rocky" start.
RALEIGH: It's not really a place you have to go to for job security. Although the minor league Carolina Mudcats will have their games aired on WDWG 98.5 starting next season. Patrick Kinas returns for what will be his 12th season calling the games, which will also be streamed on the team's web site while some will also be aired on WDOX 570 AM. The job security? Kinas' company actually owns the broadcasts rights along with handling all of the advertising sales and production of each broadcast.
The possibility exists that the NCAA could add still another week of games to the Tournament. More games means more telecasts and broadcasts, and according to the report the possibility of more networks becoming involved.
As a fan, I'm totally frustrated by this, and it is far from actually happening. I lost some interest in the Tournament over 25 years ago when it expanded from 24 to 32 teams. Why have a regular season when more than one team can go from the same conference? But that is for another column.
From a media perspective, I see where this could be of benefit. More tourney games translates to more ad revenue. Especially with NFL ratings through the roof this season and the NBA ratings off to a good start, especially with teen viewers, as detailed here last week.
Yet, I think CBS has done a very good job with their coverage over the years. It is really only the first two days when games conflict, and now streaming has reduced many of those concerns.
However, more post-season telecasts are probably likely across the board. This NCAA possibility fits in with MLB talking about filling in the early post-season Division Series off days by adding more games to go from best of five to best of seven series.
Speaking of the NBA, a great move by NBA-TV on Monday night (Dec. 7). Instead of sticking with its originally scheduled feed of the Washington at Detroit game, NBA-TV wisely switched to show the Denver vs. Philadelphia game featuring the return of Allen Iverson. A great fan-friendly move that deserves a lot of attention.
In addition to NFL games continuing to score great ratings, CBS also rocked the ratings world from Saturday's (Dec. 5) SEC Championship Game telecast. The Florida vs. Alabama telecast wound up as the best rating ever for an SEC Championship since its debut in 1992, and the network's highest rated "non-bowl" telecast in 20 years (Notre Dame vs. Miami in 1989).
Fox TV scored its best overnight ratings in 3 years with the Cowboys vs. Giants doubleheader game this past Sunday (Dec. 6). For the season, the Fox NFL ratings are now up 8% over last year, and the playoff races are about to heat up for the final 4 weeks.
NBC won Sunday Night with Sunday Night Football - again - this past Sunday after switching to the Minnesota vs. Arizona game. Compared with week 13 last year, NBC showed a 23% increase, even though the Vikings were involved in the 2008 Week 13 telecast. Brett Favre is winning almost as much as the TV networks, and all have been around a lot of years!
TBS (Turner) Sports has found a way to not have Chip Caray make errant calls on any more baseball post-season telecasts. Or regular season for that matter. Neither party shared any details, but the problem has been resolved because Caray won't be back. As funny as the line would normally be, given that Chip is the son of Skip and grandson of Harry Caray, I prefer not to think of him as a "Chip off the old block".
Fox Radio Sports has made a change on its morning show. Out is Steve Czaban, whose last "scoop" for the network was breaking the news on his own blog earlier this week after a 7 year run. Czaban had also filled in for Jim Rome during his time with the network.
His replacement is Steven A. Smith, who most fans know from his days on ESPN. On ESPN Steven seemed to always be yelling at someone with his comments, so it will be interesting to hear if he can tone it down for mornings.
CINCINNATI: The Reds have finalized their broadcast teams for 2010 by replacing the now retired George Grande. Thom Brennaman is going to reduce his baseball role for Fox and handle 100 Reds telecasts. He had joined the Reds' booth in 2007 and has shared some broadcasts with his father Marty, which is expected to continue. Chris Welsh continues as TV analyst, with Jeff Brantley moving over to TV on occasion. Paul Keels, the voice of Ohio State football on radio and former Sports Director of WLW, will call the games that Thom Brennaman does not.
Even though it was only the Detroit Lions playing the Bengals this past Sunday Fox TV 19 pulled out all of the stops for one of the two Bengals telecasts it got this season. The Cincinnati Fox affiliate pre-empted the Fox NFL pre-game show in favor of a 90 minute local pregame show. News anchors Tricia Macke and Dan Carroll co-hosted along with sports anchor Zach Wells.
As it turned out, they were right. This past weekend the Bengals win over the Lions even drew better than Saturday's college game putting the U. of Cincinnati against Pittsburgh locally. The college game was the Saturday ratings leader, but more households were tuned to the Bengals on Sunday.
HOUSTON: Big changes are underway this week at KBME 790. Matt Jackson and Adam Wexler have taken over as morning team from 6 to 10 AM, with Dylan Guinn from 10 to Noon. Matt Thomas returns to his native area from Minneapolis to host Noon to 3 PM, as well as Astros pre and post-game coverage. Thomas is also remembered locally as the Public Address announcer during the NBA Rockets championship season.
Tom Franklin will no longer host a show, but is expected to continue play-by-play of University of Houston football and basketball. The station is also giving up the "Sports Animal" brand in favor of "Sports Talk 790". Can't help but joke about how many thousands of dollars it took to come up with the new moniker of "Sports Talk 790".
PHILADELPHIA: The success of sports radio continues, based on the latest ratings for late October to mid-November. This time not a surprise since this ratings period included the Phillies participation in the World Series. WIP 610 finished first among 25 to 54 males, while every daypart was up. Rival WPEN AM and FM finished in the top 10 in males during its first "full" ratings period, including a strong showing afternoons from Mike Missanelli.
DENVER: Chris "Birdman" Andersen of the Nuggets now has a weekly radio show, and it airs in morning drive. "A Birdman's View" airs on ESPN 1600 each Thursday morning at 8:00, at least through the NBA season.
St. LOUIS: It is always an honor to have a street named after you. But in St. Louis, the feeling was that the late Jack Buck deserved more than just a street. As of this week, a stretch of Interstate 64 in St. Louis has been renamed "The Jack Buck Highway". Gives new meaning to his call of "There's a long drive........".
WEST PALM BEACH: Even though WPTV Channel 5 earlier got rid of two sportscasters, the station has not given up on sportscasts during its local news. Starting with the coming new year, reporters from ESPN 760 radio will handle the TV reporting, along with the 15 minute extended wrap-up on Sunday nights. This includes hosts Evan Cohen and Jason Pugh.
SYRACUSE: During the first quarter of 2010, WTLA 1200 and WSGO 1440 (from nearby Oswego) will switch to all sports.
BATON ROUGE: WNXX, licensed to Jackson LA, changes over to sports and will carry ESPN programming, expected to be in place before the first of the year.
CEDAR RAPIDS: The Iowa vs. UNI game lost to "The Biggest Loser" on Tuesday night (Dec. 8). KWWL-TV decided to carry the TV show instead of the game feed from Panther Sports Network. The station was scheduled to air the game on its digital channel instead. However, the digital channel is not available on all of the area's satellite owners nor on certain outlying cable systems. Local fans of either team might just make the TV show ratings "the biggest loser" in the future. As if that show couldn't have been shown on delay.
LINCOLN NE: ESPN 1480 has canceled the local show "The Spread" with Jason Peter and Jeff Wilkerson and replaced it with The Doug Gottlieb Show. Wilkerson is also out as Program Director. This past March, Omaha's Big Sports 590 dropped its afternoon show with Matt Perrault and replaced him with Fox Sports Radio programming.
RICHMOND: The baseball minor league Richmond Flying Squirrels have announced a 2 year deal with Sports Radio 910 to become the team's flagship station and carry all 142 games. Jon Laaser and Anthony Oppermann will handle play-by-play for the AA affiliate of the Giants. Can't help but wonder if the Flying Squirrels will get off to a "rocky" start.
RALEIGH: It's not really a place you have to go to for job security. Although the minor league Carolina Mudcats will have their games aired on WDWG 98.5 starting next season. Patrick Kinas returns for what will be his 12th season calling the games, which will also be streamed on the team's web site while some will also be aired on WDOX 570 AM. The job security? Kinas' company actually owns the broadcasts rights along with handling all of the advertising sales and production of each broadcast.
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