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Athens, GA (Aug 24, 2009) - The following is the 2009 National Football League (NFL) Television Broadcast Schedule.

This has been set up so you can filter data by conference, team, network, division, inter-division, as well as intra-division/conference match-ups.

If you have any difficulties viewing this, or have any other comments, questions suggestions, please drop us a line and let us know.

If you love college football as well, we also have the 2009 College Football Television Broadcast Schedule available as well.

Tim D. from Iowa wrote and asked:

I live in Iowa. Which regional game will I be able to see on FOX Saturday, August 22?

Yankees vs Red Sox

Cubs vs Dodgers

Sometime the answer we think might be the answer does not always hold true to form. But if you look at the Fox Sports press release for this weekend games below, it would seems that the Cubs-Dodgers game is being sent to your region of the country.

As he did not say where in Iowa he lives, the Iowa Fox affiliates have the following games listed

Affiliate		City		Game
KDSM (Fox 17)		Des Moines		Cubs vs. Dodgers
KPTH (Fox 44)		Souix City		Cubs vs. Dodgers
KJLB (Fox 18)		Davenport		Cubs vs. Dodgers
KFXA-DT (28.1)		Cedar Rapids		Cubs vs. Dodgers (HD)
KFXADT2 (28.2)		Cedar Rapids		Cubs vs. Dodgers

Fox Sports Press Release for August 22, 2009 Games

Game		New York Yankees at Boston Red Sox
Location		Fenway Park – Boston, MA
Probable Pitchers:		A.J. Burnett, RHP (10-6, 3.69 ERA) vs. Junichi Tazawa, RHP (1-2, 5.40 ERA)
Talent		Kenny Albert, Tim McCarver, & Ken Rosenthal
Percent of Country		0.63
MARKETS
Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Birmingham, Boston, Buffalo, Charlotte, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, Fort Myers, Greensboro, Greenville, Hartford, Jacksonville, Knoxville, Miami, Minneapolis, New Orleans, New York, Norfolk, Orlando, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Portland, Providence, Raleigh, Richmond, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, Seattle, Tampa, Washington, West Palm Beach
Game		Chicago Cubs at Los Angeles Dodgers
Location		Dodger Stadium – Los Angeles, CA
Probable Pitchers		Ryan Dempster, RHP (6-7, 4.28) vs. Chad Billingsley, RHP (12-6, 3.70 ERA)
Talent		Dick Stockton & Eric Karros
Percent of Country		0.36
MARKETS
Albuquerque, Chicago, Cincinnati, Dayton, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Louisville, Memphis, Milwaukee, Nashville, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, St. Louis, Tulsa

Athens, GA (Aug 20, 2009) - The following is the 2009 College Football Television Broadcast Schedule.

Note that this schedule is based on the best available information at the time of initial data validation, as provided by the schools, conferences, and networks. It is subject to update and correction as the season progresses.

If you see any errors or omissions, please let us know and we will correct it as soon as possible.

You cannot call University of Kentucky Coach John Calipari "Teflon" Cal, like they called Don Gotti "Teflon Don." That is because the clouds around his former programs do not seem to have the opportunity to try and stick to him.

So as the University of Memphis waits to hear what the NCAA is going to dump on them today, Calipari can just sit back and chuckle that nothing has hot him again (or at least maybe). So why not call him "Calcium Cal?"

Why "Calcium Cal?"

Calipari is tough as nails. He is smooth, he flows easily, his heart never seems to skip a beat, and he never seems to be weakened when his former employers get slapped by the NCAA. When UMass got hit, he had moved on up the ladder to the University of Memphis. Now that it looks like Memphis is going to get hit, he has moved up the food chain to the University if Kentucky (UK).

And just look at his winning smile. He could sell a used car to someone who lives on an island with no roads. He could still drive millions in sales for Dr. Kilmer's swamp root.

Nothing seems to break his veneer.

Some say that UK may have really made a deal with a devil in replacing Billy Gillespie. But with the devil, the bill always comes do at some point.

So what is the coach thinking today? Will Calcium Cal just sit back and laugh?

Here is the report from Dana O'Neil at ESPN:

NBC Sports and the National Football League have announced a two-year extension of their agreement for the Sunday Night Football package. According to the press release, there are no other substantive changes to the original six-year pact.

Here is the full text of the release as issued by NBC Sports.

NFL & NBC ANNOUNCE TWO-YEAR CONTRACT EXTENSION


NEW YORK August 19, 2009 The National Football League and NBC Sports today announced a two-year extension of their broadcast partnership under which NBC will remain the home of "Sunday Night Football" for the 2012 and 2013 seasons. NFL clubs approved the extension at a league meeting today in Chicago.

The original six-year deal between NBC Sports and the NFL, which includes innovative flexible scheduling, started with the 2006 season and runs through the 2011 season. As with the original agreement, NBC will broadcast 16 regular season "Sunday Night Football" games, each season's "NFL Opening Kickoff" Thursday night primetime game, both Wild Card Saturday games and preseason games in primetime. The NFL will continue to provide flexible game scheduling over the final seven weeks of the regular season to ensure quality matchups and games with playoff implications.

"Sunday Night Football" is preceded each week at 7 p.m. ET by "Football Night in America," which provides comprehensive highlights and analysis of the day's events in the NFL, along with a preview of that night's "Sunday Night Football" contest.

NBC & THE NFL: NBC's long history with the NFL dates back 70 years to 1939 when NBC became the first network to televise an NFL game Philadelphia Eagles vs. Brooklyn Dodgers from Ebbets Field to the approximately 1,000 sets then in New York. NBC first broadcast the NFL Championship Game in 1955. In 1964, NBC signed a five-year contract to televise the AFL. NBC was awarded the AFC package in 1970, an association that would continue through the 1997-98 season. NBC televised the first Super Bowl in 1967, the historic New York Jets' upset of the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III in 1969, and this past February broadcast Super Bowl XLIII, the most-watched program in television history.

CBS Sports' James Brown interviewed Michael Vick on this past Sunday's edition of 60 Minutes. In the following video from CBSSports.com, JB talks about his perceptions of the video. The poor grammar on the last graphic of a question is CBS' error in the posted video.

Watch CBS Videos Online


Posted August 19, 2009

It was just this past weekend that I watched "Good Night and Good Luck,", the story of Edward R. Murrow's fight with Senator Joe McCarthy. Part of the story is that lengendary CBS News/60 Minutes producer Don Hewitt (pictured left) was part of Murrow's team, one of "Murrow's Boys."

Hewitt set the standard for the long-standing quality of "60 Minutes,", taking his lessons from Murrow what television news journalism should be. Never once have we seen the legacy tarnished in the ways that NBC's "Dateline" and ABC's "20/20" have over the years.

Following on the heels of Walter Cronkite's death, CBS News has once again suffered the loss of a news giant. Don Hewitt has passed away at the age of 86.

Watch CBS Videos Online


Here is what AP has reported:

Don Hewitt, the CBS Newsman who invented "60 Minutes" and produced the popular newsmagazine for 36 years, has died. He was 86.

He died of pancreatic cancer Wednesday at his home in Bridgehampton, N.Y., said CBS.

Hewitt joined CBS News in television's infancy in 1948, and produced the first televised presidential debate between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon in 1960.

He made his mark in the late 1960s when CBS agreed to try his idea of a one-hour broadcast that mixed hard news and feature stories. The television newsmagazine was born on Sept. 24, 1968, when the "60 Minutes" stopwatch began ticking.

I was caddying for Mark Rhode at the Greater Milwaukee Open back in the early 1980's, and we had a very, very early tee time. The "luxury" hotel that I was staying in for about $18 a night did not have an alarm clock. I had no car and no ride to the golf course in the morning. But I had to show up to keep my job.

So after I left a local watering hole after last call, I walked and hitchhiked my way to the golf course and for there about 3:00 AM. I found a golf cart, and went to sleep. I was awakened by the sound of the mowers and the smell of the morning dew. I was on time for our pre-round practice session.

It was definitely not the best sleeping accommodations, but it ranked right up there with the YMCA in White Plains for the Westchester Classic, the $5 a night (Canadian) dorm room at Sheridan Nurses College for the Canadian Open, and Bruce Edward's (Tom Watsons long-time caddie) van in a hotel parking lot. At least I never slept in a bunker at the golf course.

Such was the life of an aspiring, wet behind the ears caddie on the PGA Tour back before the creation of the all-exempt tour, Tiger Woods, and the huge purses we see on the tour today. Nowadays a caddie can earn a pretty nice living on the tour. The only problem is that it is much harder for caddies to get a long-time bag to work. As long-time caddie Butchie Vail told me at the Nationwide Tour's Athens Regional Foundation Classic last spring, it is really brutal out there.

My experiences were limited to three summers in college because I decided trying to make money as a caddie was a heck of a lot more fun than working as a dishwasher in a local hotel restaurant (that job lasted three days). During those summers, I met some of the most unforgettable characters I have ever known, and had the time of my life. I told myself that I should right a book about it someday. Of course I didn't.

But Greg "Piddler" Martin, longtime caddy of veteran tour player Dan Forsman, has taken the plunge. Caddie Confidential: Inside Stories from the Caddies of the PGA Tour (Triumph Books, 171 pages, ISBN-10: 160078190X, ISBN-13: 978-1600781902, April 10, 2009), released this past spring, is a collection of stories and anecdotes from a number of long-time tour caddies. For me, it was a very interesting read because I know many of the caddies offering stories for the book, or referred to in the book. Because I caddied alongside and against some of them, I am a perfect audience for the book.

People like me will know immediately who Woody Blackburn and David Thore are, and this gives context to the stories about them. But for today's mainstream golf fans, the book may be a disappointment. Despite the title and cover picture, you may not get the stories you want to read. For the stories that are told, there is no real point of reference for the reader. A whole chapter talks about caddie's nicknames. However, there are no photos of the caddies, so a golf fan could not distinguish them from any other caddie if they are at a tournament.

You are not going to read about how and why Mike "Fluff" Cowan got fired by Tiger Woods. You are not going to come across any really juicy tidbits about the big players (or even the not so big players) or the marquee caddies like Steve Williams. You are not going to get information on how much they get paid today.

The reason is simple: fear. Throughout the book, caddies talk about getting fired, how many times caddies get fired, and some of the silly reasons for getting fired. There is no way they can be as candid as people would want and still hope to get and keep a bag on today's tour. The money is too good to pass up. That is their very simple reality.

If you want to read stories from what many would call a bygone era of golf, i.e. before the PGA Tour created the all-exempt tour and the purses grew to obscene levels, when players actually had to grind out a living, then the book provides some, but limited, insight into the men (mostly men anyway) and the experiences they have lived.

There is one story in the book that, at least for this reader, is pee your pants funny. Without going into detail, it is about a caddie that really gave a shart (and then some) to make sure he was to work on time.

While the book hints at potential "greatness" for the casual golf reader, it falls short by not telling the full story (or as Paul Harvey would say, "the rest of the story").

For example, there is a story of a Tour player (one who I have always liked and is a fan favorite) who's wife sent a letter out complaining that Tour caddies were making too much money. What the reader does not know is that this player's first wife was often his caddy in an effort to save money.

Another story tells about some caddies who perform valet services such as dropping off and picking up laundry for their player. It does not go on to tell of one particular player who not only requires that his caddy do those tasks, but to also cook his meals, clean the dishes, and so forth (caddies are much more forthcoming in casual conversations in the parking lot than they might be on the record).

Still another story tells of a caddie nick-named "Last Call" because he never failed to miss last call in a bar. It is hinted that he got this name as a caddie, when the reality is different. He earned that moniker as a player, and that behavior might be one of the reasons he never really made it as a player.

Even though as a whole I enjoyed the book, I am often drawn to little details and errors that others might not notice or even care about.

For example, long-time legendary CBS Sports Associate Director Chuck Will is referred to as "Chuck Wills" in a couple of places. It is not clear if this was intentional as a direct quote or just missed in the editing process.

In the chapter on caddie nicknames, there is a reference to Jeff "Squeaky" Medlin, saying he "HAS (emphasis added) a really high-pitched voice." The only problem here is syntax, as Squeaky died in 1997 of leukemia. If it is not Medlin he is referring to, then a distinction should be made.

Should you read this book? If you keep your expectations low and don't let the tile seduce you, it is a good but not great read. It worked for me because if my ties to many of the players mentioned (and I once caddied for Mark Calcavecchia, who wrote one of the forewords to the book). But this may not work for everybody.

There are better books out there for those who want deeper stories and insights. For me, the gold standard has always been Michael Bamberger's The Green Road Home. There is also the recently published Kaddy Korner - Life and Times on the PGA Tour , self-published by Mark Huber. It is this latter book that you really learn why Lynn Strickler is called the "Growler", an attitude that had not changed when I ran into him at a Tampa restaurant in 1999, 16 years after I left the greatest job someone could have.

For the record, I have been fired as a caddie. The only time it happened with the word "fired" (as opposed to not being on the same bag in consecutive weeks without explanation) was when Curt Byrum of The Golf Channel fired me before our practice round at the Quad Cities Open in Moline, Illinois. We had made the cut in Milwaukee the week before. Call it karma or fate, I picked up a Gary Trivisonno's bag for the Monday qualifier, we qualified for the tournament, and made the cut. Curt did not make the cut.

Updated at 3:02 PM, August 18, 2009

To remove some ambiguity in how people are interpreting this commentary, I have made some changes/adjustments below. To be clear, I am not saying that the illegal videos from earlier this year should be condoned in any way, shape, or form. I am saying that the environment that developed that allowed someone to shoot and distribute those videos was the result of many factors, and the selling of sexuality in print and media is just as much a factor as the web sites.blogs the publish the material.

I feel used and manipulated. I feel like someone who took the bait and stood up and defended a person whose privacy was defiled. I criticized sites such as Deadspin for objectifying and sexualizing a female public figure, and contributing to an environment which led to problems.

Yes, I jumped on the bandwagon for the poor, helpless Erin Andrews who was suffering because of the illegally taken and posted videos from her hotel room. But I was not the only one. I wonder if they feel the same as I do right now?

Why am I waxing ruefully over my criticisms of the person who posted the video, and the web sites that took great glee and web hits over the years by posting provocative pictures of Andrews and others?

Because Erin Andrews has blown it. She has thrown out any credibility as the "victim" of sexual personification and obsession. She has lost credibility in my eyes. But will she lose it in the eyes of others?

No, I am not saying she was not wronged. She clearly was, and hopefully the person who posted the video(s) is found and prosecuted.

However, if Andrews really felt wronged, she should never have allowed GQ to go forward with this month's sexually provocative photo and video shoot that she WILLINGLY participated. Yes the shoot occurred last April. The contracts were signed before then, and once the pictures/video was in the can, she had no control over when GQ would publish them.

Then why should she have agreed to do the shoot at all? Is it because using sexuality might help boost a career (and this applies to anyone who appears to be doing so)?

But just read this quote from the GQ article:

“I’ve always looked out for my career first."

She sure does and is. It is just appears hypocritical on its face.

Ma, and just maybe, ESPN should consider how much more egregious this appears than anything someone might say on Facebook or Twitter, and modify that policy accordingly.

And no, I will not link to the GQ article, photos, or video. I will not be an enabler.

I...I...I just feel so violated.

Thanks to Ed Berliner of Stone Cold Sports for posting information about this GQ piece on Facebook.

Enrique Oliu (pictured left), the Spanish voice of Tampa Bay Rays baseball, was born blind. But that has not stopped him from fulfilling his passion.

An October 1998 Associated Press article said that the then ten-year old native of Nicaragua he was sent by his parents to attend the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind in St. Augustine. A communications major at the University of South Florida, he got his first crack with the Jacksonville-based Montreal Expos farm team. In 1998 the Tampa Bay Devil Rays made the call, asking him to be the color analyst of the team.


Via Daryn Kagan, here is a video from CBS News about his story.

Watch CBS Videos Online

It may not really be that much of a stretch, given that Ronald Reagan did baseball play-by-play from a radio station based on wire reports.

You can hear more about his story from the WUSF radio series Stories from Winners.

Thanks to Daryn Kagen for posting this video this morning.

Photo courtesy of ESPN Deportes

During this years Masters telecast, CBS Sports played shuffle with the leaderboard to make sure Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson appeared on "page one" to help hype the coverage of the next round. Golf purists probably did not like it as it went against the traditional way of posting scores.

But that was to get him on "page one." But what happens if Tiger is already firmly planted on the first page of the leaderboard? Well T(iger)NT Sports (aka TNT Sports) answered that question with their online "marquee group" coverage this past week. Tiger was tied for the lead at the time, but technically should not have been listed first because he was playing behind Graeme McDowell.

So here is the full page leaderboard posted by TNT. Compare it with the leaderboard embedded on the same interactive web site at the same time (Click on image for full size):


Yes, Tiger Woods is driving golf ratings and money. But golf is a game of etiquette and rules. Can't the networks please apply it to their reporting of scores and information as well?

Conversations in press boxes can be illuminating at times. At last year's Southeastern Conference (SEC) Championship Game in Atlanta, a local Atlanta sportscaster talked about the challenges facing African-Americans who aspire to be head football coaches, as well as those who aspire to call games on one of the major networks. A specific example he talked about was the Big Ten Network's Charles Davis (pictured left) who has also called BCS bowl games for Fox Sports.

Sam said that in his mind, there was no reason that Davis could not easily and immediately step in and fill a role such as CBS Sports College Football Analyst Gary Danielsen. Now Davis is getting his chance from Fox Sports. For whatever reason, Fox Sports Executive Producer Ed Goren has always liked Davis. With Fox losing the BCS to ESPN, he wanted to keep Davis as part of his talent pool,

To do this, he has paired him with longtime play-by-play man Dick Stockton on the "C" team.

Frankly, I do not understand why. I have tried to watch games that Davis has been assigned to and have not been impressed. While is knowledge is unquestioned, it is often times very painful to listen to him call a game. His timing is off, he often looked and sounded uncomfortable, and it became painfully clear in one game that he did not appear to have fully done his preparation homework.

ESPN Regional Television/SEC Network play-by-play man Dave Neal once said that the in-booth performance has a lot to do with the chemistry between the play-by-play, the color analyst, and the team in the truck. Given that Davis was working with largely unfamiliar people, it is possible that this had an effect.

So for me a simple question remains. Is Goren seeing something that the viewing audience is not hearing or seeing, and will this move pay off?

NFL on FOX announcer pairings for 2009

Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Pam Oliver



Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, Tony Siragusa

Dick Stockton, Charles Davis	Thom Brennaman, Brian Billick
Sam Rosen, Tim Ryan	Ron Pitts, John Lynch

Chris Myers, Trent Green

Many years ago, the Athens Banner-Herald (ABH) made history and had readers rolling their eyes with a photo cutline that touted the papal election of John Paul II that read "Election of a non-Catholic cardinal to the papacy was signaled Monday." Of course what they meant to say was he was the first non-Italian.

Well the folks in the ABH sports section, through their headline writer/copy editor have topped that with an (unintentionally?) humorous headline about probable University of Georgia starting quarterback Joe Cox that reads (at least online) "Cox deserves happy ending to UGA story."


I will not got further into it, but some people will get the bathroom humor. I am sure Jay Leno would have fun with it.

The Southeastern Conference, after a lot of negative feedback has revised its media credential policy for the 2009-2010 school year.

In re-issuing the policy, SEC Commissioner Mike Slive said “During the last week, we have heard from members of the media about the credential policy. “This revised policy reflects many of the concerns that we have heard. It is a balance between the media’s ability to cover our sporting events and the SEC’s ability to protect its digital rights and trademarks.”

The SEC Media Credential Policy will be reviewed annually and the conference will seek feedback from media members on the policy.

It does not, however, address the controversial sections on ticketholders.

Here is the full text of the policy:

SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE MEDIA CREDENTIALS

Terms and Conditions for Use

By accepting or using a media credential (“Credential”) for access to any game or athletic contest sponsored or hosted by the Southeastern Conference (the “SEC”) or by any one or more of its member institutions (herein an “Event” or the “Events”) each person and entity issued such a Credential (herein referred to, along with the employer of each such person, collectively as a “Bearer”) agrees to the following terms and conditions:

General

Each Bearer must be and hereby represents that he or she is acting on a specific assignment for an accredited media agency and has a legitimate working function in connection with the Event attended. The Credential is not transferable and may be revoked at any time without cause.

The rights and privileges granted to Bearer shall automatically terminate if any term or condition for use of the Credential is breached. The unauthorized use of the Credential subjects the Bearer to ejection from the Event and prosecution for criminal trespass.

While within the Event venue, Bearer shall, at all times, adhere to the policies in place for the Event, abide by and respect access limitations, and accept and follow directions provided by the SEC or the SEC member institution(s) hosting the Event.

Bearer assumes all risks incidental to the performance by the Bearer of Bearer’s services in connection with the Event and assumes all risks incidental to each Event, whether occurring before, during or after the actual playing of the Event, and agrees that the SEC, its member institutions, and their respective agents, employees, directors, officers, student-athletes, coaches, and contractors shall not be liable for bodily injury, property damage or theft losses suffered or incurred by Bearer at the Event. Bearer understands that sports contests are physical, and that in the normal course of play it is possible for balls, players, or other objects to leave the court, track, course, or field of play and impact spectators. Bearer hereby waives and releases any and all Claims (as defined below) against the SEC and its member institutions arising directly or indirectly from any such injury, including those attributable to their negligence or that of their agents.

In the event that the name or likeness of Bearer is included in any broadcast, telecast, photograph, film, video or other media taken in connection with any Event, Bearer grants the SEC (or, if the media is controlled by a SEC member, grants such SEC member) the non-exclusive, transferable, perpetual right and license to use (and to sub-license the use of) such name and likeness in any media worldwide whether now known or thereafter devised.

Bearer agrees to indemnify and save harmless the SEC, its member institutions, and their respective agents, employees, directors, officers, student-athletes, coaches, and contractors, of and from any and all claims, liabilities, demands and causes of action (jointly “Claims”) arising out of any act or omission, or anything done or purported to have been done, by Bearer, including but not limited to Claims arising from Bearer’s breach of any term or condition hereof.

With respect to any Claim that might give rise to liability of the Bearer as an indemnitor, the indemnified party shall: (a) have the right to fully participate in the litigation of such claim with counsel selected by the indemnified party at the sole expense of the Bearer, and (b) not be obligated, without its consent, to participate in any settlement of such Claim.

Media—General

With respect to the Event, Bearer agrees to make no use of any account, description, picture, photograph, video, audio, reproduction, or other information or material subject to protection under the copyright laws of the United States other than in news coverage, editorials, or magazine stories as specifically authorized herein, or with the prior written consent of the SEC.

Except for video (with accompanying news audio) and still photographs of the Event shot by Bearer in compliance with the requirements and restrictions of this Credential (herein referred to as “Bearer Generated Video” and “Bearer Generated Photographs,” or collectively as “Bearer Generated Images”), Bearer acknowledges that all broadcast rights, copyrights, trademarks, and other proprietary rights to the Event, and to the respective names, mascots, logos, uniform designs, and trademarks of the Southeastern Conference and its member institutions are exclusively owed and/or licensed by the Southeastern Conference, its member institutions, and/or third parties with which the Conference or its members have agreements. Except for use for news and editorial purposes as expressly permitted herein, Bearer will not use any photographs, audio, or video of an Event or any Southeastern Conference or member institution name or team name, and Bearer acknowledges that all trademark rights in the names, logos, trademarks, mascots, and uniform designs are retained by the Conference and its members.

Except for permitted use of broadcast feeds strictly in conformity herewith, nothing in these terms and conditions authorizes or allows Bearer to use or to violate any of the trademarks, copyrights and other proprietary or intellectual property rights of the SEC or of its member institutions.

Bearer is prohibited from making available any game film or video of an Event to any
organization, person or entity without advance written permission from the SEC, even though the planned use may be news or editorial in nature. Such film or video may be broadcast only by Bearer as permitted herein.

Bearer Generated Images

The Credential confers on Bearer a limited, non-exclusive and non-transferable license (with no right of sublicense) to take Bearer Generated Images of the Event and to use such Bearer Generated Images only as specifically permitted herein for news coverage of, or magazines, or stories about, the Event, other editorial purposes, and reprints of news pages from Bearer’s publications; provided, however that (a) such use is not likely to create and does not actually create confusion in the minds of the trade or public that Bearer or its reprints or any elements therein, or the items on which they are reprinted, are sponsored or endorsed by, or are associated or affiliated with the SEC or its member institutions, or that the SEC or a member institution licensed Bearer to use its trademarks or copyrights, and (b) if required by the SEC or by the member hosting an Event, and if a broadcast feed of the Event via video and audio distributing facilities is provided by the SEC or its member institution, Bearer shall not take any Bearer Generated Video of the Event and shall use only such feed. Except for distribution of Bearer Generated Photographs to accredited media agencies for legitimate news coverage and in publications sold and distributed by Bearer, Bearer may not resell or license Bearer Generated Images taken at the Events. Without limitation, Bearer may not sell any photograph, video or image that features a single individual and is licensed, sold or used to profit from the name or likeness of the individual.

In exchange for the access granted by the Credential, the SEC (for itself or for any one or more of its member institutions) shall have the right to purchase prints of any published photographs of the Event taken by Bearer (i.e., Bearer Generated Photographs that are published) at the most favorable financial terms offered to third parties for pictures of similar Events (for which no prohibition on sale of photographs is in force), and Bearer hereby grants the SEC and its member institutions a license at no additional charge to use the photographs for news coverage purposes and for display on their official websites and in their official publications. The SEC and its member institutions may not distribute reproductions of the photographs to others or license others to reproduce the photographs.

Broadcast Feeds – Television Use

The Credential confers on Bearer a limited, non-exclusive and non-transferable license (with no right of sublicense) to use broadcast video feeds of the Event only for regularly scheduled television newscasts aired only on television by Bearer (and in a single, non-archived online simulcast by Bearer) within the period expiring at midnight on the seventh day after the Event (i.e., for an Event on Saturday afternoon, the seven day period expires the following Saturday at midnight), and no video (i.e., a video highlight or clip) used for such purposes shall exceed three minutes in length. Bearer may not broadcast any video of an Event that is broadcast live until the Event has been completed. No other uses of broadcast video feeds of the Event are permitted absent the express prior written consent of the SEC and the member institution. For the avoidance of doubt, Bearer may not sell or relicense images or video from or constituting broadcast video feeds.

Bearer Generated Video – Television Use

Bearer agrees to use Bearer Generated Video of the Event only for regularly scheduled television newscasts aired only on television by Bearer (and in a single, non-archived online simulcast by Bearer), and no Bearer Generated Video (i.e., a video highlight or clip) used for such purposes shall exceed three minutes in length. Bearer may not broadcast any video (including Bearer Generated Video) of an Event that is broadcast live until the Event has been completed. No other use of Bearer Generated Video of the Event is permitted absent the express prior written consent of the SEC and the member institution. For the avoidance of doubt, Bearer may not sell or relicense Bearer Generated Video or images therefrom.

Internet Use—Video and Audio

Upon execution of a separate agreement with terms and conditions governing its use, Bearer will be afforded access to video and audio of broadcast Events for use on Bearer’s official news website(s), at no premium or charge. Otherwise, except as specifically permitted herein (with respect to online, non-archived simulcasts), Bearer shall not post, place or distribute video (or audio from broadcast feeds) of any Event (including any Bearer Generated Video of an Event) on or through the internet or any other new media distribution platform (i.e., any platform other than print media or over-the-air television) including, without limitation, wireless handsets, podcasts, or cell phones or PDAs.

Internet Use – Photographs

Still photographs of the Event (including Bearer Generated Photographs) may be posted on the internet only in connection with and as part of regular print news coverage, including internet print news coverage. Still photographs of the Event shall not otherwise be posted, placed, or distributed on the Internet.

Blogging

No Bearer may produce or disseminate in any form a “real-time” description or transmission of the Event in any manner that constitutes, or is intended to provide or is promoted or marketed as, a substitute for television or video coverage of such Event. Periodic updates of scores, statistics or other brief descriptions of the competition throughout the Event are acceptable provided that the Bearer conforms to the blogging policies separately published by the SEC, as such policies may be revised from time to time. Bearer agrees that the determination of whether a blog is a real-time description or transmission shall be made by the SEC in its sole discretion. If the SEC deems that a Bearer is producing a real-time description of the Event, the SEC reserves the right to pursue all available remedies against the Bearer including but not limited to the revocation of this Credential.

Additional General Provisions

No rights afforded Bearer may be assigned, transferred or otherwise conveyed to any
organization, person, or entity. Any organization, person or entity wishing to use film or video of an Event in any manner not expressly permitted herein must obtain written permission for such usage from the SEC.

Any use not explicitly authorized herein (including but not limited to any secondary use) of any photograph, picture, audio description, audio, videotape, film or drawing of the Event taken or made by the Bearer (including, but not limited to, for non-editorial, advertising, sales promotion or merchandising use) is prohibited without prior specific written approval of the SEC.

Unless short (ten to thirty second) live updates are allowed by the SEC or its member hosting the Event, radio stations that have not licensed rights to the Event shall not broadcast any report from the venue on a live basis or broadcast any live description of any Event while it is still in progress.

Bearer agrees that it shall not assert a Claim against the SEC, its member institutions, or any other owner or operator of the Event venue for or as a result of lack of space for broadcasting or production of any media transmission, either live or delayed.




Thousands upon thousands of Allied and German casualties occurred on the beachhead of Anzio during World War II. Thankfully my uncle survived. Sadly organizers of the 2009 World Baseball Cup, to be held in Nettuno, Italy from 22-27 September 2009, have stepped over a line. They have released a promotional video for the event, simulating a baseball "invasion" of Anzio.

Ken Fang of Fang's Bites is quite correct that the promo is eye-catching. He also notes that it was filmed at Anzio, home to the "largest American military cemetery in Europe." If belittling the efforts and lives given by both sides in that battle was not bad enough, the tag line is even worse: "The battlefield is back in Nettuno."

So watch this video for yourself, and think about your reaction to it. A poll follows the video.

Online Surveys & Market Research

The 2009 Men's National Invitation Tournament (NIT) Tip-Off (officially known as the 2009 Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off Tournament) will begin on November 16, 2009. It will be televised on the ESPN family of networks,

The field was announced Wednesday, with Duke as the number 1 seed. Sadly, this is not meant to be an exiting tournament that generates the possible upset buzz of the NCAA Tournament. It is clearly seeded to get the teams that the organizers and ESPN want to be in the final four, oops I mean First Four^TM. It is disheartening to just look at the match-ups.

In fact, since the NCAA now owns the NIT, it is disingenuous for them to say they believe in balanced competition and equity. While it is great for the lower seeds to get game against the big boys, the NCAA cannot possibly say, with a straight face, that they are only pushing the Marque teams. Surely there must have been more competitive teams for the lower seeds?

Nonetheless, here is the field and the first round match-ups as announced on Wednesday, August 12, 2009:

Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham, NC (East Region)

Coastal Carolina (11-20, 5-13 Big South) vs. #1 Duke (30-7, 11-5 ACC)
Elon (11-20, 7-13 Southern Conference) vs. #8 Charlotte (11-20, 5-11 A10)

Wells Fargo Arena, Tempe, AZ (West Region)

Texas State (14-16, 7-9 Southland) vs. #4 Arizona State (25-10, 11-7 PAC 10)
Cal State Northridge (17-14, 11-5 Big West) vs. #5 TCU (14-17, 5-11 Mountain West)

Pete Maravich Assembly Center, Baton Rouge, LA (South Region)

Indiana State (11-21, 7-11 MVC) vs. #3 LSU (27-8, 13-3 SEC)
Milwaukee (17-14, 11-7 Horizon) vs. #5 Western Kentucky (25-9, 15-3 Sun Belt)

Harry A. Gampel Pavillion, Storrs, CT (East Region)

Colgate (10-20, 5-9 Patriot) vs. #2 UConn (31-5, 15-3 Big East)
Yale (13-15, 8-6 Ivy) vs. #6 Hofstra (21-11, 11-7 Colonial)

The regional championships and first round consolation games will be played on November 17, 2009. Consolation games for the regional final losers will be played on November 23 and 24, 2009. The national semifinals will be played on November 25, 2009 in Madison Square Garden, with the championship and consolation game played on November 27, 2009 in the Garden.

Finally, here is the official press release as issued by the tournament organizers.

The Run to the "First Four^TM"

2009 Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off Marks 25th Anniversary: Announces Field and Sites for the Run to the "First Four^TM" at Madison Square Garden in New York City, November 25 and 27

NEW YORK - Marking its 25th anniversary, the 2009 Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off Tournament field was announced today by C.M. Newton, chair of the NIT Selection Committee.

"Anyone who is a fan of college basketball knows the storied history behind this tournament - the foundation of the great fields started with the first NIT in 1985, when three of the NCAA Final Four® teams that played in March met in the NIT Season Tip-Off championships at Madison Square Garden, a kind of "First FourTM," commented Newton, who is in the College Basketball Hall of Fame.

The 2009 Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off teams and brackets are as follows:

The East Regional will take place at Duke University where the Blue Devils, three time champions of the NIT Season Tip-Off (1985, 2000, 2005), will play the Big South Conference's Coastal Carolina University, while the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, from the Atlantic 10 Conference, will face Southern Conference representative Elon University.

In the West Regional, Arizona State University, a 1997 fourth-place finisher in the NIT Season Tip-Off, is the host site for its game against Texas State University-San Marcos out of the Southland Conference, and for the Texas Christian University (TCU) vs. Cal State Northridge matchup.

The Southeastern Conference's Louisiana State University is the site for the South Regional, and the Tigers will tip against Indiana State University from the Missouri Valley Conference, while Western Kentucky University, who finished second in the 1986 NIT Season Tip-Off, will play the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, from the Horizon League.

In the North Regional, the University of Connecticut, twice a third-place finisher in the NIT Season Tip-Off (1997, 2003), is the host against the Patriot League's, Colgate University, while Hofstra University, from the Colonial Athletic Association faces Yale University.

The regional games will be played on November 16 and 17, the consolation bracket will take place on November 23 and 24 (sites to be determined), and the Championship round comes to New York City's Madison Square Garden for the "First Four" semifinal and final doubleheaders, November 25 and 27. The NIT Season Tip-Off assures every participating team four games once again this year.

First- and second-round games will be played at the home campus of the four highest-seeded teams. The winners of those sites will move onto New York City. The remaining 12 teams will play third- and fourth-round games on the home campus sites of the three highest remaining seeds. Participating teams will not play any team twice, and the third and fourth rounds will be assigned to the most geographically compatible site possible.

ESPN will provide coverage throughout the event, televising games on ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNU. Games on ESPN and ESPN2 will be simulcast on ESPN360.com

Related Link(s)

Tournament Web site

One of the saddest stories in this sordid Rick Pitino affair is that he said he paid for Karen Sypher to have an abortion.

Under the Canon Law of the Roman Catholic Church, that is one of the 9 grounds for excommunication from the Church:

1. Heresy
2. Violating the species - i.e. taking the consecrated host off for black magic rituals or trampling on it or doing other wrong things with it.
3. Using force against the body of the Pontiff
4. Giving absolution to a person who is a partner in violation of the 6th commandment except in time of death.
5. Pretending to be a priest (i.e. saying mass hearing confessions etc)
6. Consecrating someone a bishop who isn't a priest.
7. Breaking the seal of confession
8. Being an interpreter and breaking the seal of confession
9. Procuring an abortion


The city of Louisville grew up around the Cathedral of the Assumption. Given how high profile this case has become, will Archbishop Joseph Kurtz (pictured right) have any choice but to excommunicate Pitino if the allegation is true?

While abortion is legal in the United States, the Catholic Church has no grey area on this topic. There may have been many members of the Catholic Church who have had abortions but kept it quiet. This story is far from quiet.

The Archbishop cannot take a neutral stance if the allegation is true. In this century, the Church excommunicated the mother of a nine-year old Brazilian rape victim, for obtaining an abortion for her daughter, as well as the doctors performing the abortion (source: Wikipedia). Is there any way they can be silent in the Pitino case?

It is a perfect storm that would give the Church to take a hugely visible stand and make an example of Pitino to show President Obama, the Congress, and the American people that its position on abortion is more than words.

Pitino is a coach, a human being with faults as we all do, who is not being slapped by the University of Louisville administration. At least not yet. At least not publicly.

But what will the Church do?

Update: August 14, 2009

According to the Canon Law site In the Light of the Law, Pitino may not face excommunication because a five year statute of limitations has run out, and a Canonical investigation cannot be started:

We may be spared having to think through the 20-plus ways of dodging excommunication latae sententiae (automatic) -- which institute, as I have said before, is disappearing from canon law and should be dropped entirely -- nor need we discuss the admittedly fewer loopholes available to defendants in excommunication ferendae sententiae (formal) cases for the simple reason that the canonical statute of limitations has already run: the abortion canon,c. 1398, has a five-year "prescription" period per 1983 CIC 1362, meaning that a canonical investigation cannot be opened now regarding an abortion that all sides agree occurred on August 29, 2003.

Risk is everywhere. The key to dealing with risk is doing the best you can to assess the risk, and decide how best to deal with it. With the release of their recent draft of a new media credentialing and ticket-holder policy, not only does it appear that the Southeastern Conference (SEC) misread the risk, but the conference set themselves up as an example of the perfect example of how NOT to develop and implement a policy.

As a result, the SEC is in scramble mode, trying to react the the fierce and justified criticism over what was contained in the draft policy.

The intent of the new policy is clear. The SEC has taken a lot of money from CBS Sports, ESPN, and XOS to launch what could be the dominant pseudo-network for media content in college athletics.

Eye on Sports Media conducted an e-mail interview with Charles Bloom, SEC Associate Commissioner for Media Relations. What follows is the text of that interview, followed by a discussion of what seemed to be missing in the initial answers.

Readers need to note that Mr. Bloom is the messenger in this policy debacle, and has been heads down in a fire drill to revise the policy before the start of the football season in a few weeks. And there were follow up questions sent yesterday that Mr. Bloom that he said were "tough follow-ups" and he will talk more with us about them after the policy is completed. These will also be discussed later in this piece.

Eye on Sports Media (EOSM): Was the driver of this new policy because of the new agreement with XO, or because of the agreement with ESPN and or CBS, or all three? What internal and external parties/stakeholders were involved in the development of the draft policy?

Charles Bloom (CB): The intent of the policy is to protect the conference and its institutions for on-line video content. There are implications for the policy with our agreements with XOS as well as our television arrangements.

EOSM: My read of the policy is that credentialed media will be able to blog and twitter from the event sites, but they just cannot do a live play-by-play, or give stats/scores as they are happening. Is this a correct interpretation?

CB: That would be correct. In fact, we have had that policy in effect for several years now.

EOSM: There seems to be a lot of angst over the section that says:

Each Bearer must be and hereby represents that he or she is (i) acting on a specific assignment for an accredited media agency, and (ii) is the agency's full-time salaried employee who has a legitimate working function in connection with the Event attended.

On one hand, I totally understand the need to keep people who are taking up seats just to be there out of the box so working media get the spots they need. I also understand that schools and the SEC cannot physically accommodate every Tom Dick and Harry out there.

But I totally agree with the critics who say the "full-time salaried employee" is just way to restrictive. For example, the publisher of totaluga.com is self-employed, but he is not technically employed or salaried. The same would go for others who write freelance pieces for AOL, ESPN, etc.

You also have the situation where newspapers are eliminating full-time positions and going more and more with stringers. For example, the Athens Banner-Herald hired two stringers to report from the Nationwide Tour's Athens Regional Foundation Classic last year. No full-time staff was on-site.

And then you have people who write for sites such as NewsVine, NowPublic, AOL Fanhouse, and Bleacher Report. In fact, Bleacher Report has the deal with CBSSports.com to embed über-short form correspondents with each NFL Team (see Washington Redskins Fan Getting Paid to Cover His Love ).

I have run into this situation myself. I have been credentialed by the Anaheim Ducks, the Nationwide Tour, UGA, and just last week the Washington Redskins. The Redskins understood why I requested the credential, and went out of their way to help me with the resulting series of articles I am publishing (see Talking New Media at the Washington Redskins Training Camp ).

Yet, the Washington Nationals balked at a request I made because I wanted to do a story on the Nationals ballpark and the economic impact it was having on that traditionally run down but now exploding part of Washington, D.C. The reaction when I told media "colleagues" from ESPN and local DC outlets about the rejection was a universal "Are you kidding me? They should be willing to pay you to come and give them print!". One person also told me that when he walked into the press box just before the game started, he saw a ghost town.

I picked up one of LSU' s basketball media guides from last year and they had a pretty strict policy for "Website Credential Qualifications". I think they key is in the first numbered item that says the online site

"Must be a legal corporate entity which has been in business at least one calendar year and has provided coverage of LSU for at least one year."

I think the "Corporate entity" is too narrowly defined because it leaves out S Corps, LLC/LLPs. Partnerships, etc which are all legally recognized business forms. But the policy also says exceptions could be made by the SID.

So the question is, given that this is a draft document, is the SEC looking to better define the terms "accredited media agency" and "agency's full-time salaried employee?" How will this apply to student newspapers and student-run television stations? How will this apply to independent start up media such as my site, which turns 2 in November? How much flexibility will local SID's having in applying the definition locally?

CB: The section of the policy as it relates to full-time, salaried employees is one that will likely get cut. As you can imagine, we are also dealing with student media as well and that would not go over very well with journalism professors on our campuses.

EOSM: TV Stations are up in arms on the video use policy. How will they be able to use video from a previous game (either in the current season or before) for special packages on upcoming games, or stories about a particular player? How will newspapers be able to use photographs? For example, I will take pictures and use them for stories as the season unfolds.

CB: That is an issue that is still being discussed. There are different aspects to the different mediums involved.

EOSM: The ticket-holder section also has people rolling their eyes. Will it even be possible for the SEC and member schools to ban people from bringing cameras and cell-phones into the stadium, or to enforce this policy? What is the purpose behind this policy? Is it to prevent people from selling pictures they took commercially? Does the SEC, the member schools, and your media partners see a risk allowing people to do what they have done for years, and as technology evolves putting their personal photos on Facebook, MySpace, FlickR, etc?

CB: I do not envision a ban on cellphones and cameras. That has not come up in our discussions.

EOSM: The text for the back of tickets and/or credentials say that the bearer/holder is subject, by reference, to the full rules and regulations as posted on the SEC web site. I looked for them and could not find them. What will the SEC do to make this information more readily available for ticketed fans? How does the SEC see this as enforceable for fans buying tickets on the fly the day of a game?

CB: We will definitely have to work hard in informing fans and media about the new policies. It is definitely a work in progress process and we don't expect that everyone will be up to speed by the first game.

The answers provided in the first round were a good start but many were unanswered for the time being. However,the unanswered questions are the key to this discussion in terms of effective risk management and policy development/implementation.

Effective policy development requires true risk assessment. The elements of risk, and the definition, is shown in this slide our parent company, The Cayuga Group, LLC, uses in our seminar presentations on risk assessment, risk mitigation, and policy development:



If you look at those terms and the formula, it is not clear that these were assessed. Well, except for the Asset Value. It appears that it is all about the value of the packages that the SEC sold last year. The appearance is that the SEC is taking an approach of "damn the reality of the world, we are going to lock every down as tight as a ship, despite the collateral damage."

The key word is appearance, because none of us really know what is happening behind those closed doors. But we do know one thing: The SEC is taking a huge hit on "goodwill." For the non-Accountants out there, "goodwill" is an intangible asset, i.e. we know it adds a lot to an organizations value, we just cannot exactly quantify it. Goodwill arises from an organization's brand value and reputation.

Right now, the reputation of the SEC is being beat up pretty badly by both the media and their fan base, as well as reportedly by SEC member institution Sports Information Directors who are reportedly saying they were totally blindsided by the new policy and that they were not involved in its development.

So with all that said, here are the follow-up questions sent to the SEC via Charles Bloom. These questions deal with issues on how the policy was developed, and what the policy says vs. what the SEC thinks it says:

As it is being reported that school SIDs felt blindsided by this, what what internal and external stakeholders outside the immediate office of the Commissioner were involved in the development of the draft? Was a risk assessment conducted?

How much flexibility will local SID's having in interpreting/applying the definition locally?

The policy for ticketholders states "No bearer may produce or disseminate produce...any information about the event...including but mot limited to...picture, video,... (see page 4 of the draft policy). On its face, it bans the use of Cameras, even those contained in Cellphone, and effectively bans cell phone based postings to Facebook, Twitpic, Twitter, etc.. This is where I see the most incongruity in the policy. How could this section, on its face, be enforced without banning cellphones and cameras? And if it is not enforced, how could any other section of the policy be enforced?

We will post about our follow-up discussions with the SEC as they happen.

And thank you to Mr. Bloom for taking the time to discuss these issues, as they are very important in the Web 2.0/New Media World.

In the draft Southeastern Conference (SEC) media credential policy that was written about in the Tuscaloosa News last Friday, one of a few areas that touched some nerves was the following section:

Each Bearer must be and hereby represents that he or she is (i) acting on a specific assignment for an accredited media agency, and (ii) is the agency's full-time salaried employee (emphasis added) who has a legitimate working function in connection with the Event attended.

In an email to Eye on Sports Media, SEC Associate Commissioner for Media Relations Charles Bloom (pictured left) indicates that this is one area likely to be cut from the final policy:

"The section of the policy as it relates to full-time, salaried employees is one that will likely get cut. As you can imagine, we are also dealing with student media as well and that would not go over very well with journalism professors on our campuses."

There is more back and forth to go with Charles with follow up question before we publish a full article on this new draft policy, but it is important that this clarification get published so that is timely and useful for readers.