The impact of social media on the sports world had not been as evident as it has become over the past few days. Especially for NFL fans.
Obviously, the biggest sports story of the week (and perhaps the entire season) was Monday night's referee fiasco at the conclusion of the Green Bay vs. Seattle game. ESPN did a tremendous job of covering the reaction and providing analysis of the play that changed the season. Not just because they televised the game and had access to resources at the stadium and with the NFL.
It was social media that added even more to the thorough ESPN coverage that extended into the following day on their SportsCenter and other shows. Wisely, ESPN showed numerous Twitter comments, including from players on both the Packers and Seahawks as well as players from around the NFL. Their providing this brought fans additional input about how players and team personnel were feeling and dealing with the situation. In the 'old days', when reporters would pick up the phone and attempt to get players and team personnel to comment for use on the air, many players would either say "no comment", or ask that their comments not be used on the air. They would not want to be linked to anything controversial and/or something they would have to defend later.
But with Twitter and Facebook, reporters are able to find direct quotes from the players (and team and league personnel) which are public and use them to contribute to their news stories and coverage. I give ESPN a ton of credit for having a system in place that enabled them to gather and present comments from players and others from around the country within a short period of time.
Even though the SportsCenter format of moving from sport to sport to sport and not having a flow for viewers especially interested in one sport or league can be annoying, the fact that the SportsCenter which followed the Packers vs. Seahawks game attracted record numbers for SportsCenter shows that fans are thinking ESPN for breaking sports news.
The NFL has had its share of other social media dealings this month. There was the recent situation where a fan of the K.C. Chiefs went on Twitter and in a moment of frustration blasted the team's ownership and its unwillingness to spend the big bucks. It seems that someone in the front office of the Chiefs saw this Tweet, and sent out a Twitter reply via the team's offical feed which questioned this fan's knowledge and told him it was "your choice to be a fan". It seems the team also went ahead and blocked this fan from the team's Twitter account.
Then it turns out that the team official apologized. However, since the fan was blocked from future tweets, the fan was not aware of any apology and had already spread the word about getting such a negative response from the team.
(For those not aware of all of this, the specifics are at http://mashable.com/2012/09/12/nfl-fan-chiefs/ )
As a result, there was more embarrassment caused to the Chiefs than to this fan based on this story getting out into the media. Obviously, without this form of social media, we don't have this story. But because of it, millions of NFL fans are aware of how a team official berated one of its fans publicly.
Then, on Sunday (9/23), those DirecTV viewers with Sunday Ticket who were watching the overtime of the Detroit vs. Tennessee game saw an accidental and very ill-timed start to a commercial during the game's most important play. As the game-tying "hail Mary" pass was completed to Titus Young, commercial started and played for a few seconds. Viewers missed anywhere from part of the actual play to the immediate reaction, depending on the timing of their local system. And how do we know this? Because, obviously, fans who spend hundreds of dollars to have Sunday Ticket went to Twitter and Facebook to express their frustration with DirecTV, regardless of their feeling about the outcome of one of the most exciting games we'll have all season.
Tie it all together, and it shows how many facts, opinions, and incidents we wouldn't otherwise know about if it wasn't for social media.
Not all of the social media use is good, but at least social media gives us the ability to move ahead to the next post and/or delete and move on.
Take the case of Comcast SportsNet Chicago earlier this week. Their news feed, usually consisting of local sports news, interviews, and features, included sending out the video of a brand new commerical featuring Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls. Asking fans to watch a commercial just because it features a local star seems a bit much for what is otherwise presented as a news organization.
Meanwhile, CBS Sports Radio Network is adding the Jim Rome Show to its national network lineup to start on January 2nd. What this does is helps to make CBS Sports Radio a formidable option for stations, and perhaps listeners in smaller markets, instead of Fox Sports Radio programming.
TBS has put together its announcing teams for its upcoming MLB post-season coverage. The number one team will be Ernie Johnson along with John Smoltz and Ron Darling. Look for them to call the Yankees games (if and as they make the post-season and win the first round) for both its ALDS and ALCS coverage. Brian Anderson will call a division series along with Joe Simpson. In addition, the other two division series will have announcing teams of Dick Stockton and Bob Brenly, as well as Don Orsillo and Buck Martinez, who have (with the exception of Brenly) worked multiple seasons on the TBS post-season coverage. Although Smoltz and Darling each do solid jobs as analysts, it does not make sense to have two pitchers and no position players in analyst roles at the game.
ATLANTA: The Game 92.9 Sports Radio will now make its debut in mid-October, and should be announcing its lineup within the next few days. I suppose that since this is a CBS station they want to get somewhat established before the first of the year and the new national network. Yet, the timing of this is strange. The start of this station could come more than a week after the Braves play their last game, although they could be in the NLCS at the time. The football season is well underway, obviously, meaning that the pro and college football fans most likely already have the football based shows they listen to already established.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Media Competes Just Like The Teams
Is the impact that sports has on media greater than the impact media is having on sports right now? Several developments on both fronts this week make that a most interesting question.
NBC is at both ends of the spectrum in terms of the sports impact on the media. Its NFL opener and two Sunday Night Football telecasts have brought tremendous ratings, as expected, and the network has several major matchups to bring us, including its first ever Thanksgiving prime-time telecast. However, the NHL lockout (as of press time) and its threat to delay or even wipe out the scheduled season would mean a severe blow to NBC Sports Network on cable/satellite. NBCSN started to enjoy the benefits of its thorough and expanded NHL coverage from last season, which included the first time showing every post-season game on a national basis.
Since NBC has not been a serious contender (to this point) for any of the MLB or NBA telecasts, the NHL games became the central focus for NBCSN. Although the network has added a few "lesser" college football telecasts and just began some MLS telecasts (with dismal ratings), the lack of live pro sports content without the NHL would be a severe blow to its progress. In addition, the newly added NBC Sports Radio Network loses much of its promotional opportunity from TV until or unless the masses have a real reason to tune in to NBCSN. Yet, this is a sports impact, since NBC has no control over whether or not there is an NHL season or a sufficient number of games available for its audience.If the NHL lockout does go on for weeks, certainly the fans, owners, and current players lose out big time. In this instance, so would NBCSN and indirectly the new NBC Sports Radio Network.
The competition also continues to heat up between CBS Radio Sports and ESPN Radio, although in this instance more at the local level than on a national platform. We have already seen the effort by CBS in New York to maintain its Yankees and Mets rights and keep local baseball away from the expanded signal of ESPN on FM there.
Now, CBS Radio wants to get into the act in Cleveland. Word is that WKRK 92.3 (a CBS station) is making a serious bid to air the Indians baseball games starting with the 2013 season, which would end the long-time run on WTAM 1100. Here is a case where the Indians' bottom line could benefit because of the influx of radio sports networks and for no other reason. This is the Cleveland Indians, fresh off their typical season of falling off the face of the earth after the All-Star break and playing spoiler in front of dropping crowds. If it wasn't for CBS and NBC Radio starting sports networks this quarter, I'd have a hard time believing there would be anything even close to a bidding war for Indians baseball on the radio. Realistically, the team might instead be negotiating for the time to sell its own advertising and hope to do better than break even.
In Boston, ESPN Radio has managed to firm up its battle against CBS' WEEI based on a major announcement earlier this week. While CBS' WBZ-FM The Sports Hub continues to generate strong overall ratings and looks to be one of the stronger CBS Radio Sports Network stations in terms of a major market presence, WEEI is allowing ESPN to take a stronger position in the market. WEEI will no longer simulcast its AM and FM signals as of October 5th, when 850 AM will switch to full-time "national" ESPN Radio, while 93.7 FM will continue the local "regular" WEEI programming, including the Red Sox and Celtics play-by-play. This seems like an ESPN corporate push in the radio battle with CBS, but may not have anywhere near the impact ESPN seems to think it will. The passionate "local" fans would be more likely to switch over to the Sports Hub than to a national feed. Where this could (and emphasis on "could") make a difference would be in fringe areas beyond the FM signal who also can easily receive WFAN 660 from NYC. Some of those listeners might choose the ESPN brand over what WFAN has to offer. I'm just not sure it will make enough of a ratings difference to justify this locally, although ESPN Radio will gain financially based on increased national and/or regional sales.
Still another reminder of media impact on the game comes with the unfortunate passing of Steve Sabol earlier this week. The former President of NFL Films, along with his late father Ed Sabol, spent the past 50 years revolutionizing how football is televised. It wasn't only the innovations, such as slow-motion replays, reverse angle replays, and implementing showing single plays from multiple angles that made NFL Films so great. Nor was it just the amazing editing and packaging of game highlights lasting anywhere from 30 seconds of key plays to 30 minutes of highlights from a single game. Nor was it the unforgettable voices of John Facenda and Harry Kalas making every play seem legendary to our ears.
We can't overlook how comparably little TV coverage the NFL had when the Sabols were in their prime with NFL Films. When Monday Night Football first started in 1970, ABC-TV used NFL Films for their half-time highlights of the Sunday games. At that point in time, every NFL market would have either two or three games shown on Sunday afternoon. The network pre-game shows were 30 minutes, and some (but not all) NFL markets added another half hour pre-game on Sunday mornings. The "post-game" we saw on Sunday afternoons was often up to five minutes to go through the scoreboard and maybe show us a key touchdown or two from around the country.
Even into the 1970's, fans often waited for the following Saturday after a specific NFL game to see extended highlights on the half hour "NFL Game of the Week" TV series, and only then if the featured game was the one they were most interested in. It was within this extended highlights format that fans learned to watch plays in slow motion, from different angles, and hear player and coach reaction from the moment. These aspects of NFL coverage that we all take for granted today were started 40+ years ago by the Sabols. Media coverage of football, and for that matter all sports, was brought to this level with a big thanks from NFL Films. How wonderful that Ed Sabol (Steve's father) was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011, and that Steve was around to enjoy it.
Even with the later 4:25 ET start time for NFL primary doubleheader game telecasts this season, it's good to see the networks are sensitive to wanting fans to see the conclusion of a long running opening game. This past Sunday (9/15), CBS stayed with the conclusion of the Baltimore at Philadelphia game before switching viewers over to the Jets vs. Steelers doubleheader game in many northeast markets. In this instance, the New York and Pittsburgh markets, along with nearby "secondary" markets for the respective teams, did get switched to the Jets vs. Steelers in time for the start.
However, the Ravens vs. Eagles telecast could have gone a lot better, especially when CBS' #2 NFL team of Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf were involved. The telecast showed Ravens safety Bernard Pollard injured on a play, but for whatever non-acceptable reason, failed to follow up. Several minutes of playing time elapsed before Gumbel and Dierdorf even mentioned Pollard's replacement. Despite the fact that Pollard made a key first quarter interception in the end zone to stop an Eagles drive in perhaps the most significant play of the first half. Pollard did not return to the game, yet his injury and its status went uncovered. Here was one of the few instances when a game telecast could have actually had some benefit from having a "sideline reporter", and CBS blows an important in-game injury story.
Over at Fox Sports, their Saturday afternoon MLB coverage on Saturday (9/14) scored the highest overnight for a Fox Saturday baseball telecast in more than 2 months. Then, its USC vs. Stanford prime-time college football telecast was the highest of the first three weeks of its Saturday night games, showing an increase each week, and less domination by the ABC prime-time telecasts.
The new Pac-12 Network has added "coach" Rick Neuheisel to its Saturday football studio coverage.
Speaking of new TV networks, Comcast SportsNet Houston is getting ready to make its debut on October 1st, in time to begin its Rockets coverage as the team's new TV home. CSN Houston also takes over televising the Astros for next season, with the challenge of being a new network having to showcase a team which lost over 100 games as it begins play in a new league. Kelli Johnson has been signed as an anchor and reporter, coming over from CSN Mid-Atlantic where she had been covering the Nationals on a regular basis.
NBC is at both ends of the spectrum in terms of the sports impact on the media. Its NFL opener and two Sunday Night Football telecasts have brought tremendous ratings, as expected, and the network has several major matchups to bring us, including its first ever Thanksgiving prime-time telecast. However, the NHL lockout (as of press time) and its threat to delay or even wipe out the scheduled season would mean a severe blow to NBC Sports Network on cable/satellite. NBCSN started to enjoy the benefits of its thorough and expanded NHL coverage from last season, which included the first time showing every post-season game on a national basis.
Since NBC has not been a serious contender (to this point) for any of the MLB or NBA telecasts, the NHL games became the central focus for NBCSN. Although the network has added a few "lesser" college football telecasts and just began some MLS telecasts (with dismal ratings), the lack of live pro sports content without the NHL would be a severe blow to its progress. In addition, the newly added NBC Sports Radio Network loses much of its promotional opportunity from TV until or unless the masses have a real reason to tune in to NBCSN. Yet, this is a sports impact, since NBC has no control over whether or not there is an NHL season or a sufficient number of games available for its audience.If the NHL lockout does go on for weeks, certainly the fans, owners, and current players lose out big time. In this instance, so would NBCSN and indirectly the new NBC Sports Radio Network.
The competition also continues to heat up between CBS Radio Sports and ESPN Radio, although in this instance more at the local level than on a national platform. We have already seen the effort by CBS in New York to maintain its Yankees and Mets rights and keep local baseball away from the expanded signal of ESPN on FM there.
Now, CBS Radio wants to get into the act in Cleveland. Word is that WKRK 92.3 (a CBS station) is making a serious bid to air the Indians baseball games starting with the 2013 season, which would end the long-time run on WTAM 1100. Here is a case where the Indians' bottom line could benefit because of the influx of radio sports networks and for no other reason. This is the Cleveland Indians, fresh off their typical season of falling off the face of the earth after the All-Star break and playing spoiler in front of dropping crowds. If it wasn't for CBS and NBC Radio starting sports networks this quarter, I'd have a hard time believing there would be anything even close to a bidding war for Indians baseball on the radio. Realistically, the team might instead be negotiating for the time to sell its own advertising and hope to do better than break even.
In Boston, ESPN Radio has managed to firm up its battle against CBS' WEEI based on a major announcement earlier this week. While CBS' WBZ-FM The Sports Hub continues to generate strong overall ratings and looks to be one of the stronger CBS Radio Sports Network stations in terms of a major market presence, WEEI is allowing ESPN to take a stronger position in the market. WEEI will no longer simulcast its AM and FM signals as of October 5th, when 850 AM will switch to full-time "national" ESPN Radio, while 93.7 FM will continue the local "regular" WEEI programming, including the Red Sox and Celtics play-by-play. This seems like an ESPN corporate push in the radio battle with CBS, but may not have anywhere near the impact ESPN seems to think it will. The passionate "local" fans would be more likely to switch over to the Sports Hub than to a national feed. Where this could (and emphasis on "could") make a difference would be in fringe areas beyond the FM signal who also can easily receive WFAN 660 from NYC. Some of those listeners might choose the ESPN brand over what WFAN has to offer. I'm just not sure it will make enough of a ratings difference to justify this locally, although ESPN Radio will gain financially based on increased national and/or regional sales.
Still another reminder of media impact on the game comes with the unfortunate passing of Steve Sabol earlier this week. The former President of NFL Films, along with his late father Ed Sabol, spent the past 50 years revolutionizing how football is televised. It wasn't only the innovations, such as slow-motion replays, reverse angle replays, and implementing showing single plays from multiple angles that made NFL Films so great. Nor was it just the amazing editing and packaging of game highlights lasting anywhere from 30 seconds of key plays to 30 minutes of highlights from a single game. Nor was it the unforgettable voices of John Facenda and Harry Kalas making every play seem legendary to our ears.
We can't overlook how comparably little TV coverage the NFL had when the Sabols were in their prime with NFL Films. When Monday Night Football first started in 1970, ABC-TV used NFL Films for their half-time highlights of the Sunday games. At that point in time, every NFL market would have either two or three games shown on Sunday afternoon. The network pre-game shows were 30 minutes, and some (but not all) NFL markets added another half hour pre-game on Sunday mornings. The "post-game" we saw on Sunday afternoons was often up to five minutes to go through the scoreboard and maybe show us a key touchdown or two from around the country.
Even into the 1970's, fans often waited for the following Saturday after a specific NFL game to see extended highlights on the half hour "NFL Game of the Week" TV series, and only then if the featured game was the one they were most interested in. It was within this extended highlights format that fans learned to watch plays in slow motion, from different angles, and hear player and coach reaction from the moment. These aspects of NFL coverage that we all take for granted today were started 40+ years ago by the Sabols. Media coverage of football, and for that matter all sports, was brought to this level with a big thanks from NFL Films. How wonderful that Ed Sabol (Steve's father) was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011, and that Steve was around to enjoy it.
Even with the later 4:25 ET start time for NFL primary doubleheader game telecasts this season, it's good to see the networks are sensitive to wanting fans to see the conclusion of a long running opening game. This past Sunday (9/15), CBS stayed with the conclusion of the Baltimore at Philadelphia game before switching viewers over to the Jets vs. Steelers doubleheader game in many northeast markets. In this instance, the New York and Pittsburgh markets, along with nearby "secondary" markets for the respective teams, did get switched to the Jets vs. Steelers in time for the start.
However, the Ravens vs. Eagles telecast could have gone a lot better, especially when CBS' #2 NFL team of Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf were involved. The telecast showed Ravens safety Bernard Pollard injured on a play, but for whatever non-acceptable reason, failed to follow up. Several minutes of playing time elapsed before Gumbel and Dierdorf even mentioned Pollard's replacement. Despite the fact that Pollard made a key first quarter interception in the end zone to stop an Eagles drive in perhaps the most significant play of the first half. Pollard did not return to the game, yet his injury and its status went uncovered. Here was one of the few instances when a game telecast could have actually had some benefit from having a "sideline reporter", and CBS blows an important in-game injury story.
Over at Fox Sports, their Saturday afternoon MLB coverage on Saturday (9/14) scored the highest overnight for a Fox Saturday baseball telecast in more than 2 months. Then, its USC vs. Stanford prime-time college football telecast was the highest of the first three weeks of its Saturday night games, showing an increase each week, and less domination by the ABC prime-time telecasts.
The new Pac-12 Network has added "coach" Rick Neuheisel to its Saturday football studio coverage.
Speaking of new TV networks, Comcast SportsNet Houston is getting ready to make its debut on October 1st, in time to begin its Rockets coverage as the team's new TV home. CSN Houston also takes over televising the Astros for next season, with the challenge of being a new network having to showcase a team which lost over 100 games as it begins play in a new league. Kelli Johnson has been signed as an anchor and reporter, coming over from CSN Mid-Atlantic where she had been covering the Nationals on a regular basis.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Out Fox The Coverage
Promoting the wrong game might not rank with giving out inaccurate scores or information, but it does show the need to verify information before it goes out on the air. Fox Sports seems to have gotten away with promoting a non-existent game this past Saturday (9/8) several times during an approximately 90 minute period. Looks like a case of their Saturday MLB Game going up against a strong weekend of college football helped save some of the embarassment.
The upper midwest was shown the Chicago White Sox hosting the Kansas City Royals as one of its regional telecasts. Each half inning during the scroll of MLB scores and runs of Fox Sports promos (including the following day's NFL openers), included was the schedule of Fox regional games for Saturday 9/15. Or so they'd like us to believe. This game was also of interest to Detroit Tigers fans, since their team is chasing the White Sox in the A.L. Central and was playing later that night. Yet, for the first five innings, Fox promoted "Det @ Minn" among its scheduled upcoming games.
It so happens that on Saturday 9/15, the White Sox are playing at Minnesota, and the game is NOT one of the Fox games. I couldn't help but wonder why no one double checked or caught this. Finally, in the 6th inning, with no fanfare, the promo was changed to indicate that the "Det @ Cleve" game will be among their regional telecasts. Yet, no correction (at least that I was aware of) was shown, nor did play-by-play voice Steve Physioc mention the correction. Not faulting Physioc, but viewers should feel insulted that Fox Sports simply changed an error and didn't acknowledge it. Considering how fans often rely on the bottom line scroll, especially when also watching other games or sports, it makes me hope that we are getting accurate scores and fantasy information.
As it is, I have no idea if this wrong game also appeared on the other regional telecasts or not, since none of my friends or contacts were watching.
Of course, Fox Sports was all over the media news due to its involvement in the Big-12 Conference TV rights deal made public late last week. Fox Sports and ESPN/ABC will be televising Big-12 games to their hearts' content. I'm thinking the only winners with all of this are the play-by-play announcers and analysts, since so many college games will continue to be televised.
How can rights fees for college sports have reached the point where the biggest networks are now sharing a package? That is disturbing for people getting fed up with the increased cost of cable or satellite. The networks, in this instance, will undergo processes for selecting which network shows which games and when. Fair as it may be, ESPN and Fox will be losing key games to the other. In addition, there will be numerous conflicting telecasts, and many "other" telecasts such as "smaller" sports and additional women's basketball.
(I'm not against women's basketball, by the way. Just not seeing how those telecasts should be part of a multi-million dollar agreement when the ratings and the audience aren't there.)
CHICAGO: Bears receiver Brandon Marshall has been signed as a "regular weekly contributor" to WMAQ-TV Channel 5's Bears related coverage, having been scheduled to make his debut hours after his first regular season game with the team this past Sunday (9/9). He is scheduled to appear each Sunday on "Sports Sunday" throught the regular season.
Former WMAQ-TV Sportscaster Chet Coppock attended the Bears' season opener hosting the Indy Colts this past Sunday. Normally not anything worth reporting. Until you realize that Coppock always attends, going back to growing up and aspiring to be a sportscaster. This was his 62nd consecutive Bears home opener in person.
It turns out that Dial Global Sports' NFL broadcasts will air in Chicago after all this season. It did not look like there would be room on any of the sports or talk stations until classic rock station WLUP 97.9 announced it will carry Monday Night Football and Thursday Night Football broadcasts which do not involve the Bears.
NEW YORK: An interesting move by ESPN Deportes at 1050 AM (which was ESPN Radio until the move over to the stronger 98.7 signal earlier this year). The station has announced a deal to air Jets football games in Spanish. Interesting that all of a sudden both NYC and Chicago stations are now broadcasting local NFL teams in Spanish - after all of these years of none.
BOSTON: Former Celtic and fan favorite Brian Scalabrine is returning to the Boston area now that his NBA playing career has ended. Scalabrine has joined CSN New England's Celtics coverage. His role is expected to include studio work, and filling in as analyst in place of Tommy Heinsohn for the 11 telecasts which Heinsohn is scheduled to miss.
As a result, CSN New England picks up on the popularity of Scalabrine's appearances a few years back on the Toucher and Rich Show on 98.5 Sports Hub. We have to believe that eventually taking over full-time for Heinsohn is Scalabrine's job to lose for the next season or two. But this seems like a good hire.
BUFFALO: You can tell the only major league team in town is into their season. WGR-AM Sports Radio 550 is overdosing on its Bills coverage. Take the weeks of 1 PM ET Bills broadcasts (with John Murphy and Mark Kelso). Their local pre-game shows now begin at 7 AM and continue up to kickoff. Post-game coverage will run until 8 PM, ending moments before the Sunday Night Football game. Then, on Mondays, every daypart includes at least one Bills related segment, including on-air visits from coach Chan Gailey and QB Ryan Fitzpatrick during morning drive.
BALTIMORE: Congrats to Johnny Holliday, the long-time voice of University of Maryland football and basketball, who will receive a well deserved John Steadman Lifetime Achievement Award from the Maryland State Athletic Hall of Fame in early November.
TAMPA: WHBO 1040 Sports Talk Florida adds Charlie Bernstein (from Fox Sports and NFL Radio on Sirius) as its afternoon drive host.
PHARR TX: KVJY 840 has dropped its sports-talk format and gone to Spanish programming. However, the station will now air Astros baseball and Cowboys football play-by-play, but each will now be the Spanish versions.
CRESTON IA: KSIB 1520 has switched to sports, adding Fox Sports Radio. However, this is a daytime only station, so they'll be off the air when the weeknight games are taking place.
The upper midwest was shown the Chicago White Sox hosting the Kansas City Royals as one of its regional telecasts. Each half inning during the scroll of MLB scores and runs of Fox Sports promos (including the following day's NFL openers), included was the schedule of Fox regional games for Saturday 9/15. Or so they'd like us to believe. This game was also of interest to Detroit Tigers fans, since their team is chasing the White Sox in the A.L. Central and was playing later that night. Yet, for the first five innings, Fox promoted "Det @ Minn" among its scheduled upcoming games.
It so happens that on Saturday 9/15, the White Sox are playing at Minnesota, and the game is NOT one of the Fox games. I couldn't help but wonder why no one double checked or caught this. Finally, in the 6th inning, with no fanfare, the promo was changed to indicate that the "Det @ Cleve" game will be among their regional telecasts. Yet, no correction (at least that I was aware of) was shown, nor did play-by-play voice Steve Physioc mention the correction. Not faulting Physioc, but viewers should feel insulted that Fox Sports simply changed an error and didn't acknowledge it. Considering how fans often rely on the bottom line scroll, especially when also watching other games or sports, it makes me hope that we are getting accurate scores and fantasy information.
As it is, I have no idea if this wrong game also appeared on the other regional telecasts or not, since none of my friends or contacts were watching.
Of course, Fox Sports was all over the media news due to its involvement in the Big-12 Conference TV rights deal made public late last week. Fox Sports and ESPN/ABC will be televising Big-12 games to their hearts' content. I'm thinking the only winners with all of this are the play-by-play announcers and analysts, since so many college games will continue to be televised.
How can rights fees for college sports have reached the point where the biggest networks are now sharing a package? That is disturbing for people getting fed up with the increased cost of cable or satellite. The networks, in this instance, will undergo processes for selecting which network shows which games and when. Fair as it may be, ESPN and Fox will be losing key games to the other. In addition, there will be numerous conflicting telecasts, and many "other" telecasts such as "smaller" sports and additional women's basketball.
(I'm not against women's basketball, by the way. Just not seeing how those telecasts should be part of a multi-million dollar agreement when the ratings and the audience aren't there.)
CHICAGO: Bears receiver Brandon Marshall has been signed as a "regular weekly contributor" to WMAQ-TV Channel 5's Bears related coverage, having been scheduled to make his debut hours after his first regular season game with the team this past Sunday (9/9). He is scheduled to appear each Sunday on "Sports Sunday" throught the regular season.
Former WMAQ-TV Sportscaster Chet Coppock attended the Bears' season opener hosting the Indy Colts this past Sunday. Normally not anything worth reporting. Until you realize that Coppock always attends, going back to growing up and aspiring to be a sportscaster. This was his 62nd consecutive Bears home opener in person.
It turns out that Dial Global Sports' NFL broadcasts will air in Chicago after all this season. It did not look like there would be room on any of the sports or talk stations until classic rock station WLUP 97.9 announced it will carry Monday Night Football and Thursday Night Football broadcasts which do not involve the Bears.
NEW YORK: An interesting move by ESPN Deportes at 1050 AM (which was ESPN Radio until the move over to the stronger 98.7 signal earlier this year). The station has announced a deal to air Jets football games in Spanish. Interesting that all of a sudden both NYC and Chicago stations are now broadcasting local NFL teams in Spanish - after all of these years of none.
BOSTON: Former Celtic and fan favorite Brian Scalabrine is returning to the Boston area now that his NBA playing career has ended. Scalabrine has joined CSN New England's Celtics coverage. His role is expected to include studio work, and filling in as analyst in place of Tommy Heinsohn for the 11 telecasts which Heinsohn is scheduled to miss.
As a result, CSN New England picks up on the popularity of Scalabrine's appearances a few years back on the Toucher and Rich Show on 98.5 Sports Hub. We have to believe that eventually taking over full-time for Heinsohn is Scalabrine's job to lose for the next season or two. But this seems like a good hire.
BUFFALO: You can tell the only major league team in town is into their season. WGR-AM Sports Radio 550 is overdosing on its Bills coverage. Take the weeks of 1 PM ET Bills broadcasts (with John Murphy and Mark Kelso). Their local pre-game shows now begin at 7 AM and continue up to kickoff. Post-game coverage will run until 8 PM, ending moments before the Sunday Night Football game. Then, on Mondays, every daypart includes at least one Bills related segment, including on-air visits from coach Chan Gailey and QB Ryan Fitzpatrick during morning drive.
BALTIMORE: Congrats to Johnny Holliday, the long-time voice of University of Maryland football and basketball, who will receive a well deserved John Steadman Lifetime Achievement Award from the Maryland State Athletic Hall of Fame in early November.
TAMPA: WHBO 1040 Sports Talk Florida adds Charlie Bernstein (from Fox Sports and NFL Radio on Sirius) as its afternoon drive host.
PHARR TX: KVJY 840 has dropped its sports-talk format and gone to Spanish programming. However, the station will now air Astros baseball and Cowboys football play-by-play, but each will now be the Spanish versions.
CRESTON IA: KSIB 1520 has switched to sports, adding Fox Sports Radio. However, this is a daytime only station, so they'll be off the air when the weeknight games are taking place.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Nearly Out-Foxed By NCAA Opener
It's been a week of positives from some of the national sports networks. However nerve wracking it was for Fox Sports on Saturday (9/1), they came through with flying colors in their transition from the MLB Game of the Week to their prime-time college football telecast.
The network was able to delay the opening kickoff of its USC vs. Hawaii telecast so that the entire country would get the entire game when two of their three MLB telecasts ran long. Fox lucked out when neither its Nationals vs. Cardinals or Phillies vs. Braves telecasts went into extra innings, especially given the length of both games. This allowed the majority of viewers around the country to see the entire baseball game they were shown while not missing any of the football action.
In a wonderful coincidence for Fox, its regional telecast of the Angels vs. Mariners, shown in Southern California (including L.A., the home market) ended early enough to enable Fox to produce its scheduled pre-game show for the "home" region of USC. Had either baseball game gone extra innings, I'm sure there would have been complaints to Fox for sticking with the conclusion of the baseball game(s) it was contracted to show. For those of you saying "I certainly would have complained", I'd ask you how you felt when the 'early' NFL game was interrupted to go to the kickoff of the doubleheader game in your market. The new 4:25 PM ET start which goes into effect on Sunday (9/9) should remedy that problem, but there are no guarantees.
The upgraded ESPN deal for MLB games through 2021 looks great on paper. The only negative I see is that it provides still more opportunity for ESPN to keep consumer prices up for our cable or satellite TV, and that's a big negative. The increase in the number of games and daily coverage is a positive. That local markets will no longer be blacked out (as of 2014) on Monday and Wednesday night telecasts is also a positive. Frankly, if a team's local telecasts are well produced and fans are happy with the announcers, having another version of the same telecast shouldn't be a problem.
In those cities where fans have to put up with overly cluttered telecasts and/or subpar announcers, those paying each month to receive these channels should have the option to watch the game where they please. The team receives revenue from both telecasts anyway.
Meanwhile, both CBS and NBC Sports have begun their new radio sports networks this week. CBS has the clear early advantage due to having more prominent stations at this point.
Allen Pinkett will return to the Notre Dame football radio booth, but not until the 4th game of the season, after serving a three broadcast "suspension" without pay due to comments made on a Chicago sports talk show last week. This is somewhere between reasonable and harsh, but it's good to see that Pinkett did not lose his job over comments made separately from a Notre Dame broadcast.
NEW YORK: After weeks of hype about ESPN Radio supposedly going all out for the Yankees broadcasts, the Yankees quietly extended their agreement to remain on WCBS-AM 880 through the 2013 season. ESPN's NYC FM signal helps, but clearly doesn't replace the CBS Radio cluster of stations, which also include WFAN 660 and the highly rated music station WCBS-FM. The thinking here is that ESPN Radio will drive up the bidding for WCBS for 2014, but that the team will keep the games on 880 instead. As mentioned above, ESPN-TV will be able to show the Monday and Wednesday night Yankees national telecasts locally. The Yankees won't want their radio station promoting that "both ESPN Radio and TV will have the game starting at......" when so much revenue is driven through its YES TV coverage. Keeping the games on another radio chain, especially when WFAN competes with, and at this point is ahead of, ESPN Radio, prevents ESPN Radio from additional promotion of ESPN telecasts to Yankees fans.
MINNEAPOLIS: After weeks of hype about the Twins changing flagship radio stations, it will happen for the 2013 season. KTWN-FM will begin airing all games. Not a surprise, considering that KTWN-FM is owned by a company owned by the Pohlad family which also owns the Twins. Yet, KSTP-AM, an ESPN Radio affiliate which has been airing the games, is not being completely shut out after this season. As of now, the plan is for KSTP-AM to continue to provide some Twins related programming, given that KTWN-FM is not an all-sports station. No word yet about the future of the play-by-play team, but they are expected to continue.
SAN FRANCISCO: KGMZ 95.7 The Game continues its quest to make a dent in the ratings of KNBR 680. It reamins to be seen whether or not the Oakland A's being in unexpected contention will show up in the ratings for the flagship station. Now the station deals with the loss of Eric Davis from its afternoon show as Davis heads off to The NFL Network. Starting Thursday (9/6), Ric Bucher of ESPN moves into a co-host role during The Game's afternoon drive show along with Brandon Tierney.
MIAMI: WQAM is again adjusting its weekday lineup this week, shifting Dan Sileo from afternoon drive into the 10 AM to 1 PM spot formerly held by Michael Irvin. A familiar voice steps in to the 3 to 7 PM spot, as Jorge Sedano, who had been 790 The Ticket's morning host earlier this year, takes over. Sedano will be busy, as he is expected to continue with his TV gigs for Sun Sports (hosting pre game post-game shows) and filling in on Channel 4 sportscasts from time to time. Sileo had only been on afternoons for a few months, having replaced Sid Rosenberg earlier this year.
WAXY has hired former Dolphin Jason Taylor as an additional NFL analyst during Dan LeBatard's Monday show.
BOSTON: Comcast SportsNet New England has a new anchor/reporter, as Trenni Kusnierek is the new hire. Kusnierek, who left MLB Network a couple of years ago to be a sportscaster at top-rated WTMJ 620 Milwaukee, replaces Nicole Zaloumis, now with The NFL Network.
The network has also announced a truckload of Patriots related programming during the week and game day coverage, including a two-hour "pre-game" show on Sunday mornings. CSN Chicago provides similiar coverage of the Bears, although does not currently air pre-game programming.
Although WEEI and WBZ-FM don't figure to have much to worry about (other than each other) WWZN 1510 has picked up the NBC Radio Sports Network from 7 PM until 5 AM five days a week.
DENVER: Sandy Clough has begun is 9 AM to Noon show on The Fan 104.3, with Sports Director Nate Lundy taking over evenings while the station looks for a new night host. The station, understandably, wants Clough on the air at a time other than when the games are in progress.
PITTSBURGH: WBGG has named David Todd as host of its 2 to 4 PM weekday show.
And now, let's all get ready to enjoy the coming weekend, with NFL opener, a full NCAA slate of games, and MLB going strong. Happy viewing!
The network was able to delay the opening kickoff of its USC vs. Hawaii telecast so that the entire country would get the entire game when two of their three MLB telecasts ran long. Fox lucked out when neither its Nationals vs. Cardinals or Phillies vs. Braves telecasts went into extra innings, especially given the length of both games. This allowed the majority of viewers around the country to see the entire baseball game they were shown while not missing any of the football action.
In a wonderful coincidence for Fox, its regional telecast of the Angels vs. Mariners, shown in Southern California (including L.A., the home market) ended early enough to enable Fox to produce its scheduled pre-game show for the "home" region of USC. Had either baseball game gone extra innings, I'm sure there would have been complaints to Fox for sticking with the conclusion of the baseball game(s) it was contracted to show. For those of you saying "I certainly would have complained", I'd ask you how you felt when the 'early' NFL game was interrupted to go to the kickoff of the doubleheader game in your market. The new 4:25 PM ET start which goes into effect on Sunday (9/9) should remedy that problem, but there are no guarantees.
The upgraded ESPN deal for MLB games through 2021 looks great on paper. The only negative I see is that it provides still more opportunity for ESPN to keep consumer prices up for our cable or satellite TV, and that's a big negative. The increase in the number of games and daily coverage is a positive. That local markets will no longer be blacked out (as of 2014) on Monday and Wednesday night telecasts is also a positive. Frankly, if a team's local telecasts are well produced and fans are happy with the announcers, having another version of the same telecast shouldn't be a problem.
In those cities where fans have to put up with overly cluttered telecasts and/or subpar announcers, those paying each month to receive these channels should have the option to watch the game where they please. The team receives revenue from both telecasts anyway.
Meanwhile, both CBS and NBC Sports have begun their new radio sports networks this week. CBS has the clear early advantage due to having more prominent stations at this point.
Allen Pinkett will return to the Notre Dame football radio booth, but not until the 4th game of the season, after serving a three broadcast "suspension" without pay due to comments made on a Chicago sports talk show last week. This is somewhere between reasonable and harsh, but it's good to see that Pinkett did not lose his job over comments made separately from a Notre Dame broadcast.
NEW YORK: After weeks of hype about ESPN Radio supposedly going all out for the Yankees broadcasts, the Yankees quietly extended their agreement to remain on WCBS-AM 880 through the 2013 season. ESPN's NYC FM signal helps, but clearly doesn't replace the CBS Radio cluster of stations, which also include WFAN 660 and the highly rated music station WCBS-FM. The thinking here is that ESPN Radio will drive up the bidding for WCBS for 2014, but that the team will keep the games on 880 instead. As mentioned above, ESPN-TV will be able to show the Monday and Wednesday night Yankees national telecasts locally. The Yankees won't want their radio station promoting that "both ESPN Radio and TV will have the game starting at......" when so much revenue is driven through its YES TV coverage. Keeping the games on another radio chain, especially when WFAN competes with, and at this point is ahead of, ESPN Radio, prevents ESPN Radio from additional promotion of ESPN telecasts to Yankees fans.
MINNEAPOLIS: After weeks of hype about the Twins changing flagship radio stations, it will happen for the 2013 season. KTWN-FM will begin airing all games. Not a surprise, considering that KTWN-FM is owned by a company owned by the Pohlad family which also owns the Twins. Yet, KSTP-AM, an ESPN Radio affiliate which has been airing the games, is not being completely shut out after this season. As of now, the plan is for KSTP-AM to continue to provide some Twins related programming, given that KTWN-FM is not an all-sports station. No word yet about the future of the play-by-play team, but they are expected to continue.
SAN FRANCISCO: KGMZ 95.7 The Game continues its quest to make a dent in the ratings of KNBR 680. It reamins to be seen whether or not the Oakland A's being in unexpected contention will show up in the ratings for the flagship station. Now the station deals with the loss of Eric Davis from its afternoon show as Davis heads off to The NFL Network. Starting Thursday (9/6), Ric Bucher of ESPN moves into a co-host role during The Game's afternoon drive show along with Brandon Tierney.
MIAMI: WQAM is again adjusting its weekday lineup this week, shifting Dan Sileo from afternoon drive into the 10 AM to 1 PM spot formerly held by Michael Irvin. A familiar voice steps in to the 3 to 7 PM spot, as Jorge Sedano, who had been 790 The Ticket's morning host earlier this year, takes over. Sedano will be busy, as he is expected to continue with his TV gigs for Sun Sports (hosting pre game post-game shows) and filling in on Channel 4 sportscasts from time to time. Sileo had only been on afternoons for a few months, having replaced Sid Rosenberg earlier this year.
WAXY has hired former Dolphin Jason Taylor as an additional NFL analyst during Dan LeBatard's Monday show.
BOSTON: Comcast SportsNet New England has a new anchor/reporter, as Trenni Kusnierek is the new hire. Kusnierek, who left MLB Network a couple of years ago to be a sportscaster at top-rated WTMJ 620 Milwaukee, replaces Nicole Zaloumis, now with The NFL Network.
The network has also announced a truckload of Patriots related programming during the week and game day coverage, including a two-hour "pre-game" show on Sunday mornings. CSN Chicago provides similiar coverage of the Bears, although does not currently air pre-game programming.
Although WEEI and WBZ-FM don't figure to have much to worry about (other than each other) WWZN 1510 has picked up the NBC Radio Sports Network from 7 PM until 5 AM five days a week.
DENVER: Sandy Clough has begun is 9 AM to Noon show on The Fan 104.3, with Sports Director Nate Lundy taking over evenings while the station looks for a new night host. The station, understandably, wants Clough on the air at a time other than when the games are in progress.
PITTSBURGH: WBGG has named David Todd as host of its 2 to 4 PM weekday show.
And now, let's all get ready to enjoy the coming weekend, with NFL opener, a full NCAA slate of games, and MLB going strong. Happy viewing!
Monday, August 27, 2012
Manning The NFL Telecast Schedules
Now that CBS-TV has provided its announcer assignments for the first four weeks of the upcoming NFL regular season, it confirms that all of the networks (which televise the NFL) are banking on Peyton Manning being a ratings draw as the Broncos' season gets underway.
Of course, Manning's Broncos regular season debut kicks off Sunday Night Football (9/9) when Denver hosts Pittsburgh on NBC. Then, the Broncos get 11 days off (plus a bye week later) before their Monday Night Football game on Sept. 17th on ESPN.
CBS is obviously hoping that the Broncos show well in the first two games and/or that Manning will be a big ratings draw. For Week 3, the #1 announcer team of Jim Nantz and Phil Simms will call the Houston at Denver telecast of the primary doubleheader game at 4:25 ET. In Week 4, CBS does not have the doubleheader telecast (with Fox having New Orleans at Green Bay at 4:25 ET), but does have Oakland at Denver as a 4:05 PM ET regional telecast.
Since the Giants play on NBC Sunday Night Football that night, and the Jets host San Francisco in a 1:00 ET game that will be on Fox, it means that the New York and San Francisco markets are among those which figure to carry the Broncos game as a regional telecast. Thus, Nantz and Simms have been booked to call that game as well.
Marv Albert and Rich Gannon have been assigned to the two regional N.Y. Jets games (within the first four weeks) that CBS will carry. Those are the opener on Sept. 9th vs. Buffalo and then Week 3 against Miami, both of which are 1:00 ET telecasts. Otherwise, CBS continues its trend of assigning announcers based on game importance, whereas Fox often keeps its regional announcers within certain divisions.
CBS-TV also gets to show a live college football telecast this coming Saturday (Sept. 1st), something it usually is not able to do because of its U.S. Open commitment. However, the Notre Dame vs. Navy game is being played in Dublin, Ireland, and therefore will be shown live at 9 AM ET, which is 6 AM PT. Verne Lundquist and Gary Danielson will call the game. In addition, cable's CBS Sports Network kicks in with a live two-hour pre-game show, even though it will air starting at 7 AM ET 4 AM PT. Doing this gives CBS-TV the opening Saturday college telecast. Not bad considering they usually don't get to show any games on that day.
Rodney Harrison, known for his role on NBC-TV "Football Night In America" will begin a two-hour radio show next week on the new NBC Sports Radio Network. The "Safety Blitz with Rodney Harrison" begins on Saturday Sept. 8th, although the number of stations which will actually carry the show is not yet known. September 8th is the first "full" Saturday of college football along with a full slate of MLB games, leaving many sports stations with one or more play-by-play commitments on that day.
Chris Rose has a sportscaster "first" among his list of career accomplishments. In addition to his weekday work on MLB Network, Rose will also be a part of NFL Network's roster starting next week. Rose is expected to work the NFL GameDay Highlights and later be a part of NFL GameDay Final on Sundays. Although it makes for a 6-day work week for Rose, that part does not conflict with his "Intentional Talk" show weekdays on MLB Network. However, Rose is also expected to host the post-game show for NFL Network's Thursday Night Football package, which will make for a long day each Thursday.
Over at Fox Sports, it seems comparably quiet regarding its upcoming NFL coverage. That became even more obvious when the only announcement is that Fox NFL Sunday will again have a "comedic prognosticator". I'm not sure that is necessary, considering how some of the "experts" pick the games, but Fox seems to. For those keeping track, Frank Caliendo is being replaced by Rob Riggle (formerly of The Daily Show) to handle the prediction segments with Terry Bradshaw, Jimmy Johnson, Howie Long, and Michael Strahan. Frankly, the fact that there was a Press Release about this is more funny than these segments have been in the past.
Perhaps there is more to the Comcast SportsNet group dropping Fox Sports programming than dumping The Dan Patrick Show telecasts after all. As we commented on last week, the CSN group also lost out on some college football telecasts it used to carry from Fox Sports. The announcement that Comcast SportsNet Chicago has added 17 live college football telecasts starting next week could signal that the other CSN regional networks might not be far behind. CSN Chicago has scheduled five telecasts of regional interest, with each game involving either Northern Illinois University or Illinois State University games.
In addition, CSN Chicago will carry nine live Conference USA telecasts (including Texas State at Houston this coming Saturday 9/1), and plans to carry three SEC games later in the season.
Of course, Manning's Broncos regular season debut kicks off Sunday Night Football (9/9) when Denver hosts Pittsburgh on NBC. Then, the Broncos get 11 days off (plus a bye week later) before their Monday Night Football game on Sept. 17th on ESPN.
CBS is obviously hoping that the Broncos show well in the first two games and/or that Manning will be a big ratings draw. For Week 3, the #1 announcer team of Jim Nantz and Phil Simms will call the Houston at Denver telecast of the primary doubleheader game at 4:25 ET. In Week 4, CBS does not have the doubleheader telecast (with Fox having New Orleans at Green Bay at 4:25 ET), but does have Oakland at Denver as a 4:05 PM ET regional telecast.
Since the Giants play on NBC Sunday Night Football that night, and the Jets host San Francisco in a 1:00 ET game that will be on Fox, it means that the New York and San Francisco markets are among those which figure to carry the Broncos game as a regional telecast. Thus, Nantz and Simms have been booked to call that game as well.
Marv Albert and Rich Gannon have been assigned to the two regional N.Y. Jets games (within the first four weeks) that CBS will carry. Those are the opener on Sept. 9th vs. Buffalo and then Week 3 against Miami, both of which are 1:00 ET telecasts. Otherwise, CBS continues its trend of assigning announcers based on game importance, whereas Fox often keeps its regional announcers within certain divisions.
CBS-TV also gets to show a live college football telecast this coming Saturday (Sept. 1st), something it usually is not able to do because of its U.S. Open commitment. However, the Notre Dame vs. Navy game is being played in Dublin, Ireland, and therefore will be shown live at 9 AM ET, which is 6 AM PT. Verne Lundquist and Gary Danielson will call the game. In addition, cable's CBS Sports Network kicks in with a live two-hour pre-game show, even though it will air starting at 7 AM ET 4 AM PT. Doing this gives CBS-TV the opening Saturday college telecast. Not bad considering they usually don't get to show any games on that day.
Rodney Harrison, known for his role on NBC-TV "Football Night In America" will begin a two-hour radio show next week on the new NBC Sports Radio Network. The "Safety Blitz with Rodney Harrison" begins on Saturday Sept. 8th, although the number of stations which will actually carry the show is not yet known. September 8th is the first "full" Saturday of college football along with a full slate of MLB games, leaving many sports stations with one or more play-by-play commitments on that day.
Chris Rose has a sportscaster "first" among his list of career accomplishments. In addition to his weekday work on MLB Network, Rose will also be a part of NFL Network's roster starting next week. Rose is expected to work the NFL GameDay Highlights and later be a part of NFL GameDay Final on Sundays. Although it makes for a 6-day work week for Rose, that part does not conflict with his "Intentional Talk" show weekdays on MLB Network. However, Rose is also expected to host the post-game show for NFL Network's Thursday Night Football package, which will make for a long day each Thursday.
Over at Fox Sports, it seems comparably quiet regarding its upcoming NFL coverage. That became even more obvious when the only announcement is that Fox NFL Sunday will again have a "comedic prognosticator". I'm not sure that is necessary, considering how some of the "experts" pick the games, but Fox seems to. For those keeping track, Frank Caliendo is being replaced by Rob Riggle (formerly of The Daily Show) to handle the prediction segments with Terry Bradshaw, Jimmy Johnson, Howie Long, and Michael Strahan. Frankly, the fact that there was a Press Release about this is more funny than these segments have been in the past.
Perhaps there is more to the Comcast SportsNet group dropping Fox Sports programming than dumping The Dan Patrick Show telecasts after all. As we commented on last week, the CSN group also lost out on some college football telecasts it used to carry from Fox Sports. The announcement that Comcast SportsNet Chicago has added 17 live college football telecasts starting next week could signal that the other CSN regional networks might not be far behind. CSN Chicago has scheduled five telecasts of regional interest, with each game involving either Northern Illinois University or Illinois State University games.
In addition, CSN Chicago will carry nine live Conference USA telecasts (including Texas State at Houston this coming Saturday 9/1), and plans to carry three SEC games later in the season.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
The Same Football Voices......
Football teams may change but this year announcing teams don't. At least very little. On the college side, Brent Musburger has been extended via a multi-year contract extension, as the lead voice on ABC/ESPN college football coverage for Saturday prime time telecasts as well as the two "remaining" BCS title games (under the current format). In addition, Musburger will continue college hoops play-by-play for ESPN in coming seasons. Hard as it may be to believe, the 73-year old Musburger, who first joined ABC Sports in 1990, has actually been with ABC longer than he was with CBS Sports back in the day.
On the NFL side, although Fox announced a couple of additions to its broadcast roster (as shown here last week), CBS is keeping it where it is. Jim Nantz and Phil Simms remain its #1 announcing team, with Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf close behind. Ian Eagle, Marv Albert, Kevin Harlan, Bill Macatee, and Spero Dedes will each call regional games. However, two of the long-time TV voices of NFL football will not be back. Don Criqui, who was a regional voice for CBS back when it had the NFL all to itself (going back before his call of the Tom Dempsey 63-yard field goal for New Orleans), and analyst Randy Cross, have been eliminated for this season. Word is that it is certainly not a reflection on them, but is due to fewer Sunday games now available for CBS due to the Thursday night package being extended to the entire season.
CBS Sports Network is expanding its NFL programming for the coming season. Already definite is a Monday evening "NFL Monday QB" show to review the weekend action. Scheduled for a 6:30 PM ET start (except for an earlier start for the Sept. 10 opener due to the early MNF starting time), the one hour show will include the CBS Sports roster of QB analysts, including Phil Simms, Rich Gannon, Steve Beuerlein, Dan Fouts, and Dan Marino. Adam Schein will host. The Network is also planning extended programming for the week leading into the Super Bowl in February, an obvious fit since CBS-TV airs it for this season.
On the radio side, Boomer Esiason will be heard on the new CBS Sports Radio network, to include about 90 stations, on weekday mornings starting just after Labor Day.
Meanwhile, the impact of the scandal at Penn State is already showing an impact beyond the school and the current players on the football team. Granted, WLPA 1490 in Lancaster PA is one of the smaller affiliates on the Penn State Football Radio Network, but the fact that the station will no longer air PSU football or basketball games is significant. Station officials revealed that the decision was made due to a significant lack of local advertisers. Instead, the station plans to air its Fox Sports Radio programming instead. Lancaster is located within reasonable range of PSU broadcasts from Harrisburg, among other communities, so it will be interesting to see if other nearby stations gain in audience - or not. As of press time, WLPA is the only station that I am aware of to drop these broadcasts since the scandal.
As much as I understand that TBS wants all of the favorable publicity it can muster for its MLB coverage, they went overboard on Sunday (Aug. 19). I'll give that there is some appeal to their having a two-time Olympic Softball gold medalist in the booth during the Dodgers vs. Braves telecast, which was the case as Michele Smith joined Ernie Johnson and John Smoltz. However, Smith is a softball player and (obviously, since she is female) not a former MLB player. But what I don't understand is that TBS made a big deal about this, as if she was "the first female analyst on a national telecast".
It's not that someone who never played minor or big league baseball could not be a good analyst. What gets me is that while Smith was in the booth for the entire game, former pitchers such as Dennis Eckersley remain in the studio. As baseball (or whatever sport is being shown) fans, we are entitled to the most expert opinions available. Since most networks now have former players (or coaches, managers) as studio analysts, a special guest such as Michele Smith should either be brought on as a "guest" or kept in the studio for opinions. That is whether male or female. After all, I can't name a male softball player (with zero MLB or minor league experience) brought on as a national telecast "analyst" before. This was not "history" as TBS was trying to make it appear.
101 WXOS ESPN St. Louis is starting a series that brings ideal audience participation to the station. The station's "Speaker Series" begins next Thursday (Aug. 30) at a local sports bar, which is the day of the Rams' final pre-season game against the Ravens. The "Game Day Luncheon" is scheduled to have Head Coach Jeff Fisher and GM Les Sneed among its live guests. Several station personalities, along with analysts D'Marco Farr and Rick Venturi, will be on hand for the luncheon and broadcast. This is an excellent idea, and the station plans to have a "Speaker Series" broadcast once per quarter.
The station's web site has info about tickets, which include lunch. Definitely better programming than simply having fans comment on how they think the Rams will do. Here's hoping this one is a winner for the station and its listeners!
HOUSTON: KILT is moving into an increased Texans mode to start the season. Marc Vandermeer, who now is the Texan's Director of Broadcasting, returns to host 2-hour Texans shows on Tuesdays, Wednesday, and Fridays throughout the season. In addition, KILT will have a separate show featuring (running back) Arian Foster. Tuesday nights will include a condensed re-broadcast of the past weekend's Texans game. Although the condensed game re-broadcast may be a stretch (showing the plays on TV is one thing), the other team related shows should have some substance to please the serious fan.
KTRK-TV 13 has its new Sports Director in place, as Greg Bailey takes over on or about September 1st. He will gradually replace Bob Allen, who remains with the station for the remainder of 2012.
KGOW 1560 is going for laughs with its upcoming new afternoon show. Local comic John Wessling has been named as co-host for the 3 to 7 PM show, working with Adam Clanton, who comes over from KPRC-TV 2. Texans linemen Antonio Smith and Duane Brown will each have once weekly appearances on the show. They might as well have some fun until or unless the ratings start to appear for the station, mired at or near last place overall in recent months.
ATLANTA: The Fan 680 is beefing up its football analysis, adding Brian Finneran to its air staff starting after Labor Day. Finneran is a former Falcons receiver, who has worked on the Rude Awakening (morning show) back in 2009. The station also has former Braves pitching coach Leo Mazzone as its baseball analyst, and announced that Mazzone will return for the 2013 season.
CHICAGO: Although Mike North continues to be heard nationally on Fox Sports Radio, WIND 560 has stopped airing his Sunday night show from Fox. WIND is a general talk station otherwise (airing occasional play-by-play overflow from WGN Radio) and had only aired North on Sunday night as its only regular sports programming. The irony is that Chicago is where North's home market and now is national but not carried there. At present, WIND will occasionally have North on for sports analysis during its morning show.
MOBILE: WABB-AM 1480 has plans to simulcast The Ticket sports programming from WTKE-FM 100.3 starting next week (Aug. 27). This will create "The Ticket Sports Network", since WTKE is licensed to Niceville FL, and will also include WTKP-FM 93.5 from Port Saint Joe FL.
On the NFL side, although Fox announced a couple of additions to its broadcast roster (as shown here last week), CBS is keeping it where it is. Jim Nantz and Phil Simms remain its #1 announcing team, with Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf close behind. Ian Eagle, Marv Albert, Kevin Harlan, Bill Macatee, and Spero Dedes will each call regional games. However, two of the long-time TV voices of NFL football will not be back. Don Criqui, who was a regional voice for CBS back when it had the NFL all to itself (going back before his call of the Tom Dempsey 63-yard field goal for New Orleans), and analyst Randy Cross, have been eliminated for this season. Word is that it is certainly not a reflection on them, but is due to fewer Sunday games now available for CBS due to the Thursday night package being extended to the entire season.
CBS Sports Network is expanding its NFL programming for the coming season. Already definite is a Monday evening "NFL Monday QB" show to review the weekend action. Scheduled for a 6:30 PM ET start (except for an earlier start for the Sept. 10 opener due to the early MNF starting time), the one hour show will include the CBS Sports roster of QB analysts, including Phil Simms, Rich Gannon, Steve Beuerlein, Dan Fouts, and Dan Marino. Adam Schein will host. The Network is also planning extended programming for the week leading into the Super Bowl in February, an obvious fit since CBS-TV airs it for this season.
On the radio side, Boomer Esiason will be heard on the new CBS Sports Radio network, to include about 90 stations, on weekday mornings starting just after Labor Day.
Meanwhile, the impact of the scandal at Penn State is already showing an impact beyond the school and the current players on the football team. Granted, WLPA 1490 in Lancaster PA is one of the smaller affiliates on the Penn State Football Radio Network, but the fact that the station will no longer air PSU football or basketball games is significant. Station officials revealed that the decision was made due to a significant lack of local advertisers. Instead, the station plans to air its Fox Sports Radio programming instead. Lancaster is located within reasonable range of PSU broadcasts from Harrisburg, among other communities, so it will be interesting to see if other nearby stations gain in audience - or not. As of press time, WLPA is the only station that I am aware of to drop these broadcasts since the scandal.
As much as I understand that TBS wants all of the favorable publicity it can muster for its MLB coverage, they went overboard on Sunday (Aug. 19). I'll give that there is some appeal to their having a two-time Olympic Softball gold medalist in the booth during the Dodgers vs. Braves telecast, which was the case as Michele Smith joined Ernie Johnson and John Smoltz. However, Smith is a softball player and (obviously, since she is female) not a former MLB player. But what I don't understand is that TBS made a big deal about this, as if she was "the first female analyst on a national telecast".
It's not that someone who never played minor or big league baseball could not be a good analyst. What gets me is that while Smith was in the booth for the entire game, former pitchers such as Dennis Eckersley remain in the studio. As baseball (or whatever sport is being shown) fans, we are entitled to the most expert opinions available. Since most networks now have former players (or coaches, managers) as studio analysts, a special guest such as Michele Smith should either be brought on as a "guest" or kept in the studio for opinions. That is whether male or female. After all, I can't name a male softball player (with zero MLB or minor league experience) brought on as a national telecast "analyst" before. This was not "history" as TBS was trying to make it appear.
101 WXOS ESPN St. Louis is starting a series that brings ideal audience participation to the station. The station's "Speaker Series" begins next Thursday (Aug. 30) at a local sports bar, which is the day of the Rams' final pre-season game against the Ravens. The "Game Day Luncheon" is scheduled to have Head Coach Jeff Fisher and GM Les Sneed among its live guests. Several station personalities, along with analysts D'Marco Farr and Rick Venturi, will be on hand for the luncheon and broadcast. This is an excellent idea, and the station plans to have a "Speaker Series" broadcast once per quarter.
The station's web site has info about tickets, which include lunch. Definitely better programming than simply having fans comment on how they think the Rams will do. Here's hoping this one is a winner for the station and its listeners!
HOUSTON: KILT is moving into an increased Texans mode to start the season. Marc Vandermeer, who now is the Texan's Director of Broadcasting, returns to host 2-hour Texans shows on Tuesdays, Wednesday, and Fridays throughout the season. In addition, KILT will have a separate show featuring (running back) Arian Foster. Tuesday nights will include a condensed re-broadcast of the past weekend's Texans game. Although the condensed game re-broadcast may be a stretch (showing the plays on TV is one thing), the other team related shows should have some substance to please the serious fan.
KTRK-TV 13 has its new Sports Director in place, as Greg Bailey takes over on or about September 1st. He will gradually replace Bob Allen, who remains with the station for the remainder of 2012.
KGOW 1560 is going for laughs with its upcoming new afternoon show. Local comic John Wessling has been named as co-host for the 3 to 7 PM show, working with Adam Clanton, who comes over from KPRC-TV 2. Texans linemen Antonio Smith and Duane Brown will each have once weekly appearances on the show. They might as well have some fun until or unless the ratings start to appear for the station, mired at or near last place overall in recent months.
ATLANTA: The Fan 680 is beefing up its football analysis, adding Brian Finneran to its air staff starting after Labor Day. Finneran is a former Falcons receiver, who has worked on the Rude Awakening (morning show) back in 2009. The station also has former Braves pitching coach Leo Mazzone as its baseball analyst, and announced that Mazzone will return for the 2013 season.
CHICAGO: Although Mike North continues to be heard nationally on Fox Sports Radio, WIND 560 has stopped airing his Sunday night show from Fox. WIND is a general talk station otherwise (airing occasional play-by-play overflow from WGN Radio) and had only aired North on Sunday night as its only regular sports programming. The irony is that Chicago is where North's home market and now is national but not carried there. At present, WIND will occasionally have North on for sports analysis during its morning show.
MOBILE: WABB-AM 1480 has plans to simulcast The Ticket sports programming from WTKE-FM 100.3 starting next week (Aug. 27). This will create "The Ticket Sports Network", since WTKE is licensed to Niceville FL, and will also include WTKP-FM 93.5 from Port Saint Joe FL.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Divsion Among Baseball Scores
Baseball fans are being blessed with a season that as of mid-August still has the majority of its Major League teams still within playoff contention, along with every one of the six divisions (as of press time) having a leader no more than six games in front while still having to face the immediate rival at least once more. Often by this time at least one or two of the divisions are virtually locked up.
Yet, many of the radio and TV stations, as well as some of the online scoreboards, seem to overlook this unusual occurence. It seems that many more updates are just "baseball scores" with no rhyme or reason, often mixing in scores from both leagues, not to mention failing to highlight division races.
It always made sense to follow, for example, a Yankees score with the score of the Baltimore, Tampa, Toronto, or Boston score based on which team(s) were closest to the Yankees. The other night I heard an all sports station follow the Yankees score with the Pittsburgh Pirates score. Granted, the Pirates are, surprisingly, in second place and a big story. But they also play in the National League. I'm hearing less of "and in the National League......." and more of "Here are the scores" with both leagues and their various divisions all mashed together.
This season also marks the debut of a second Wild Card team for each league, and a one game "play-in". Here we are in mid-August with every division race still up in the air, and some media members are bringing as much, or more, attention to the two Wild Card races than they are to the division battles. They seem to forget that the Division winners get into a best of seven Division Series game, while one of the Wild Card winners will only play one more game. Which is really more important?
At least when loking at the scores online, most of the scoreboards are based on the starting time for each game, regardless of which league, and maintain a steady order for the various scores throughout the day/night based on that. This does allow fans interested in their team and the division it is in to easily track the games they are most interested in.
However, the growing failure of radio and TV stations and networks, including some actual game broadcasts, makes this a reason to use these stations or networks as a "go to" for the important scores.
As it is, social media is making steady gains in terms of providing the most and best information for fans. Radio and TV score coverage has almost always presented the scoreboards with separation by league and often by game importance. Now many are reducing the quality of their coverage, and without good reason other than laziness or lack of caring.
It can't be due to the increased number of fantasy league players. Many of the scoreboard updates are just that, and do not include information about how specific players are performing.
If the "reporters" or the TV graphics people responsible for presenting the scores to us fans continue to slack off in this regard, it will leave us with fewer reasons to "go to" the station or network for important score coverage. If they are too lazy to present the scores as they should be, how fast will they be to report on transactions?
Meanwhile, a good move by Comcast SportsNet's regional networks to no longer carry The Dan Patrick Show in markets such as Philadelphia, Chicago, New England, San Francisco, and Washington D.C. as of this month. It has enabled the regional CSN Networks to return to expanded "sports update" shows complete with late night results and highlights, game replays from the previous night, and in many cases more timely programming. Although the CSN Networks carried Patrick live, the failure to have a replacement and be a live show anytime Patrick himself was off was getting to be downright embarassing. The holiday mornings would especially hurt these networks, as well as many radio stations, when they would have a re-run of an obviously outdated segment instead of live discussion about the big games and events of any holiday. The Friday after Thanksgiving was perhaps the most glaring example.
However, the CSN Networks are also now without an agreement with Fox Sports to air Big 12 and Conference USA football telecasts which begin next month. Although it is understandable that Fox Sports wants to keep NBC Sports to time-filler telecasts other than the NHL, it would be a shame for football fans to lose out on some quality telecasts on weekends because of it. From a strategic standpoint, Fox Sports should allow the CSN Networks to carry those football telecasts, and blanket them with Fox Sports promos throughout, such as its NFL and MLB post-season telecasts.
NBC Sports is clearly looking to add something of quality other than the NHL. In an obvious effort to prepare MLB for a near future baseball bid, NBC Sports Group has begun "Caught Looking", a series of fresh weekly one hour episodes going in-depth to one important MLB weekend series. These episodes will then be produced on the Monday and Tuesday and air on Thursdays in prime time through the regular season (with the final one on Oct. 4th). The series will then show a World Series wrap up episode on November 8th. At the same time, MLB Network, which always televises a game on Thursday nights (during the time that "Caught Looking" airs on NBC Sports Network), will be exclusively showing one Division Series game for each league in October as it enters into the baseball package.
Fox Sports prepares for its regular season NFL coverage by adding two new game telecast analysts. Former assistant coach Mike Martz joins the staff and will be paired with Ron Pitts on regional coverage, while former fullback Heath Evans will work other regional telecasts with Sam Rosen. In addition to Joe Buck and Kenny Albert as Fox's two play-by-play leaders, Thom Brennaman, Dick Stockton, and Chris Myers will also be calling games for Fox again this season.
NEW YORK: ESPN 98.7 hopes to cut into the popularlity of Mike Francesa on WFAN with its roster of NFL and Giants/Jets analysis during its afternoon Michael Kay Show. Bill Parcells has been signed for a Thursday afternoon (to start) segment. Jets coach Rex Ryan will guest each Monday (moved to Tuesdays when the Jets will play on Monday nights), while other analysts with weekly afternoon segments will include Steve Young and Joe Namath. In fact, on most Mondays, Rex Ryan, Steve Young, AND Joe Namath will each appear to review the weekend games.
If the Giants and Jets get off to decent starts, and with the Yankees likely headed for the MLB post-season (Kay is their TV play-by-play voice), this could prove to be a big chance for ESPN Radio to make some inroads in the market.
BOSTON: As expected, Scott Zolak was officially named as lead analyst on Patriots radio, working with Gil Santos on 98.5 WBZ-FM Sports Hub. Zolak had been the "third man" in the booth prior to the retirement of Gino Cappelletti as lead analyst a few weeks back.
CINCINNATI: Fans have taken notice of the Reds hot streak and continue to watch the Fox Sports telecasts. The month of July, which included a 10 game win streak, is reportedly the highest viewed month ever of Reds baseball for Fox. Overall season ratings are up about 10% compared with last season, and remained solid against the Olympics as well.
DENVER: KKFN-FM 104.3 The Fan has a new multi-year agreement to air the Air Force football broadcasts including pre and post-game shows, along with the weekly (coach) Troy Calhoun show.
TOLEDO: WLQR is ending the AM/FM all sports to only air "The Ticket" on 106.5 FM. WLQR-AM 1470 will now turn to syndicated news/talk programming.
MOBILE: SportsRadio 105.5 has brought in Chip Ramsey as Program Director. Ramsey has programmed sports stations in Nashville and Milwaukee previously.
LAFAYETTE: 103.7 The Game has hired Amy Jones to host a weekly sports talk show, although it will only be for one hour to start. Although Jones has some sportscasting experience, she most recently has served as an executive for public relations firms which have worked with NFL teams (as well as political campaigns), and therefore brings a behind-the-scenes point of view. In a curious move, The Game has placed her show on Tuesday mornings from 8 to 9 AM. This is an interesting move, but it may depend on fans remembering to tune in at 8 AM on Tuesdays to make it a success.
TUSCOLA MI: 92.1 FM brings back "Let's Talk Sports" this coming Saturday (8/18), which focuses only on local high school sports. This will be the fourth year of this show, hosted by Derek Bosley and Christian Selich, who also call Friday night game broadcasts for the station. The show will air at 10 AM on Saturdays through the high school football season.
Yet, many of the radio and TV stations, as well as some of the online scoreboards, seem to overlook this unusual occurence. It seems that many more updates are just "baseball scores" with no rhyme or reason, often mixing in scores from both leagues, not to mention failing to highlight division races.
It always made sense to follow, for example, a Yankees score with the score of the Baltimore, Tampa, Toronto, or Boston score based on which team(s) were closest to the Yankees. The other night I heard an all sports station follow the Yankees score with the Pittsburgh Pirates score. Granted, the Pirates are, surprisingly, in second place and a big story. But they also play in the National League. I'm hearing less of "and in the National League......." and more of "Here are the scores" with both leagues and their various divisions all mashed together.
This season also marks the debut of a second Wild Card team for each league, and a one game "play-in". Here we are in mid-August with every division race still up in the air, and some media members are bringing as much, or more, attention to the two Wild Card races than they are to the division battles. They seem to forget that the Division winners get into a best of seven Division Series game, while one of the Wild Card winners will only play one more game. Which is really more important?
At least when loking at the scores online, most of the scoreboards are based on the starting time for each game, regardless of which league, and maintain a steady order for the various scores throughout the day/night based on that. This does allow fans interested in their team and the division it is in to easily track the games they are most interested in.
However, the growing failure of radio and TV stations and networks, including some actual game broadcasts, makes this a reason to use these stations or networks as a "go to" for the important scores.
As it is, social media is making steady gains in terms of providing the most and best information for fans. Radio and TV score coverage has almost always presented the scoreboards with separation by league and often by game importance. Now many are reducing the quality of their coverage, and without good reason other than laziness or lack of caring.
It can't be due to the increased number of fantasy league players. Many of the scoreboard updates are just that, and do not include information about how specific players are performing.
If the "reporters" or the TV graphics people responsible for presenting the scores to us fans continue to slack off in this regard, it will leave us with fewer reasons to "go to" the station or network for important score coverage. If they are too lazy to present the scores as they should be, how fast will they be to report on transactions?
Meanwhile, a good move by Comcast SportsNet's regional networks to no longer carry The Dan Patrick Show in markets such as Philadelphia, Chicago, New England, San Francisco, and Washington D.C. as of this month. It has enabled the regional CSN Networks to return to expanded "sports update" shows complete with late night results and highlights, game replays from the previous night, and in many cases more timely programming. Although the CSN Networks carried Patrick live, the failure to have a replacement and be a live show anytime Patrick himself was off was getting to be downright embarassing. The holiday mornings would especially hurt these networks, as well as many radio stations, when they would have a re-run of an obviously outdated segment instead of live discussion about the big games and events of any holiday. The Friday after Thanksgiving was perhaps the most glaring example.
However, the CSN Networks are also now without an agreement with Fox Sports to air Big 12 and Conference USA football telecasts which begin next month. Although it is understandable that Fox Sports wants to keep NBC Sports to time-filler telecasts other than the NHL, it would be a shame for football fans to lose out on some quality telecasts on weekends because of it. From a strategic standpoint, Fox Sports should allow the CSN Networks to carry those football telecasts, and blanket them with Fox Sports promos throughout, such as its NFL and MLB post-season telecasts.
NBC Sports is clearly looking to add something of quality other than the NHL. In an obvious effort to prepare MLB for a near future baseball bid, NBC Sports Group has begun "Caught Looking", a series of fresh weekly one hour episodes going in-depth to one important MLB weekend series. These episodes will then be produced on the Monday and Tuesday and air on Thursdays in prime time through the regular season (with the final one on Oct. 4th). The series will then show a World Series wrap up episode on November 8th. At the same time, MLB Network, which always televises a game on Thursday nights (during the time that "Caught Looking" airs on NBC Sports Network), will be exclusively showing one Division Series game for each league in October as it enters into the baseball package.
Fox Sports prepares for its regular season NFL coverage by adding two new game telecast analysts. Former assistant coach Mike Martz joins the staff and will be paired with Ron Pitts on regional coverage, while former fullback Heath Evans will work other regional telecasts with Sam Rosen. In addition to Joe Buck and Kenny Albert as Fox's two play-by-play leaders, Thom Brennaman, Dick Stockton, and Chris Myers will also be calling games for Fox again this season.
NEW YORK: ESPN 98.7 hopes to cut into the popularlity of Mike Francesa on WFAN with its roster of NFL and Giants/Jets analysis during its afternoon Michael Kay Show. Bill Parcells has been signed for a Thursday afternoon (to start) segment. Jets coach Rex Ryan will guest each Monday (moved to Tuesdays when the Jets will play on Monday nights), while other analysts with weekly afternoon segments will include Steve Young and Joe Namath. In fact, on most Mondays, Rex Ryan, Steve Young, AND Joe Namath will each appear to review the weekend games.
If the Giants and Jets get off to decent starts, and with the Yankees likely headed for the MLB post-season (Kay is their TV play-by-play voice), this could prove to be a big chance for ESPN Radio to make some inroads in the market.
BOSTON: As expected, Scott Zolak was officially named as lead analyst on Patriots radio, working with Gil Santos on 98.5 WBZ-FM Sports Hub. Zolak had been the "third man" in the booth prior to the retirement of Gino Cappelletti as lead analyst a few weeks back.
CINCINNATI: Fans have taken notice of the Reds hot streak and continue to watch the Fox Sports telecasts. The month of July, which included a 10 game win streak, is reportedly the highest viewed month ever of Reds baseball for Fox. Overall season ratings are up about 10% compared with last season, and remained solid against the Olympics as well.
DENVER: KKFN-FM 104.3 The Fan has a new multi-year agreement to air the Air Force football broadcasts including pre and post-game shows, along with the weekly (coach) Troy Calhoun show.
TOLEDO: WLQR is ending the AM/FM all sports to only air "The Ticket" on 106.5 FM. WLQR-AM 1470 will now turn to syndicated news/talk programming.
MOBILE: SportsRadio 105.5 has brought in Chip Ramsey as Program Director. Ramsey has programmed sports stations in Nashville and Milwaukee previously.
LAFAYETTE: 103.7 The Game has hired Amy Jones to host a weekly sports talk show, although it will only be for one hour to start. Although Jones has some sportscasting experience, she most recently has served as an executive for public relations firms which have worked with NFL teams (as well as political campaigns), and therefore brings a behind-the-scenes point of view. In a curious move, The Game has placed her show on Tuesday mornings from 8 to 9 AM. This is an interesting move, but it may depend on fans remembering to tune in at 8 AM on Tuesdays to make it a success.
TUSCOLA MI: 92.1 FM brings back "Let's Talk Sports" this coming Saturday (8/18), which focuses only on local high school sports. This will be the fourth year of this show, hosted by Derek Bosley and Christian Selich, who also call Friday night game broadcasts for the station. The show will air at 10 AM on Saturdays through the high school football season.
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