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ESPN has announced that USC Coach Pete Carroll will join the network as an analyst for SportsCenter and College GameDay from January 6-7. This of course is possible because of USC's lackluster season (9-4, 5-4 PAC 10) which ended in their 24-13 win over Boston College (8-5, 5-3)  in the 2009 Emerald Bowl.

The best quote in the press release is from Pete Carroll, who says "I'm not only looking forward to seeing this great matchup between Alabama and Texas, but joining with the ESPN crew to offer my thoughts and perspectives after having played in the BCS Championship Game in the Rose Bowl."

Notice he does not say that he won the game, but that he "played" in the game.

No Coach, you did not "play", you coached the game and lost the thriller to Texas. And it was not really called the BCS Championship game until the next year. The real perspective you bring is having lost to Oregon on the road and barely beating Ohio State. Oh wait, that's the Rose Bowl game tomorrow.

So the question is, since Pete Caroll has never coached a USC game against Alabama, and lost to a very different Texas team in 2006, would not Florida coach-in-waiting Urban Meyer have been a better choice? Oh wait, he is on the DL.

Nonetheless, here is the press release from ESPN.

Pete Carroll Joins ESPN as Studio Analyst for BCS National Championship

USC head coach Pete Carroll, who led the Trojans to seven consecutive Pac-10 titles and two National Championships, will join ESPN to provide analysis about the Citi BCS National Championship on the network’s SportsCenter and College GameDay Built by The Home Depot Jan. 6-7.

Carroll will offer his insight on the pressure of playing in a National Championship Game and at the Rose Bowl, as well as coaching against Texas coach Mack Brown in the 2006 National Championship game. Carroll joined USC in 2001 and holds a 97-19 record (83.6%), second highest among active coaches with more than five years at the position.

Carroll will appear on the ESPN set at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on the evening editions of SportsCenter Wednesday, Jan. 6; a special one-hour College GameDay Thursday, Jan. 7 at 7 p.m.; National Championship pre-game and halftime shows on ABC beginning at 8 p.m.; and for ESPN’s SportsCenter post-game coverage following the game.

“Coach Carroll’s experience in games of this magnitude will provide fans with invaluable insight on the thoughts going through the mind of a coach and the preparation involved to be in a position to win, adding a new element in the analysis of the matchup,” said Norby Williamson, ESPN executive vice president, production.

Carroll added, "I'm not only looking forward to seeing this great matchup between Alabama and Texas, but joining with the ESPN crew to offer my thoughts and perspectives after having played in the BCS Championship Game in the Rose Bowl."

Carroll just completed his ninth year as the USC head coach with a 24-13 victory over Boston College in the Emerald Bowl. From 2002-08, Carroll led his teams to an unprecedented seven consecutive Pac-10 titles, appeared in a record seven straight BCS Bowls and recorded at least 11 victories in each of those seasons. He is 7-2 in bowl games, including 6-1 in BCS games, with the only loss coming to Texas in the 2006 National Championship game at the Rose Bowl. Under Carroll, USC was the Associated Press's No. 1 team for a national-record 33 straight polls (including two pre-season polls) and was ranked in the Associated Press Top 10 for a school-record 63 consecutive games. His teams were ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 for a school record 102 consecutive games. In addition, during Carroll’s tenure, USC became the first school to have three Heisman Trophy winners in a four-year span.

ESPN Regional Television has announced that they have acquired an ownership interest in the Texas Bowl starting in 2010. In addition, starting in 2010 the Bowl will match up a team from the Big 12 and the Big Ten, knocking out participants such as Navy, which is playing in this year's game (scheduled to kick off on ESPN in about 20 minutes).

Here is the press release issued yesterday by ESPN Regional Television.

ESPN Regional Television Partners with Texas Bowl

HOUSTON – ESPN Regional Television, Inc., a subsidiary of ESPN, have announced that ERT will partner with the Texas Bowl, effective at the conclusion of the 2009 Texas Bowl.

The Texas Bowl, which will continue to be played at Reliant Stadium, will feature a bowl-eligible team from the Big 12 Conference against one from the Big Ten Conference.

“We are excited to work with ESPN to take the Texas Bowl to an even higher level of performance for our community, our conference partners and the student athletes we serve,” said Heather Houston, Texas Bowl executive director. “ESPN brings a wealth of resources and experience that will help the Texas Bowl rapidly reach its full potential. We look forward to working with the professionals at ESPN on this exciting project and expanding our relationship with them in the years to come.”

The Texas Bowl was founded in 2006 and is Houston’s only collegiate bowl game. Through the past three years, the event has annually generated an average of $25 million in economic impact. The 2008 game featured Rice vs. Western Michigan and drew 58,880 fans, ranking it seventh among the most-attended non-BCS bowl games in the nation.

“The Big 12 is proud to partner with the Texas Bowl,” said Big 12 Conference Commissioner Dan Beebe. “The growth of and commitment to the Bowl by Lone Star Sports and Entertainment, ESPN and the Houston community has been phenomenal. The Conference and its member institutions appreciate the opportunity to have a postseason presence in Houston and look forward to building on the relationship with the Texas Bowl for years to come.”

“The Big Ten looks forward to facing the Big 12 in the Texas Bowl beginning in December 2010,” said Big Ten Conference Commissioner Jim Delany. “The Big Ten has played at least one postseason game in the state of Texas in every season since 1995, and we look forward to continuing that tradition in the city of Houston. With the number of Big Ten alumni in the state, playing a postseason game in Texas will provide another outstanding experience for our student-athletes, coaches and fans.”

“We are pleased to be working with LSSE on the Texas Bowl,” said Pete Derzis, senior vice president & general manager, ESPN Regional Television. “Our bowl tie-ins combined with being in one of America’s best stadiums provides us a terrific opportunity to continue to grow and establish this game as a premier bowl event.”

Widely recognized as a model startup, the Texas Bowl earned the American Marketing Association’s “Crystal Award” in 2009 for Houston’s best special event. The successful launch of the Texas Bowl has also helped the game’s charity partner, DePelchin Children’s Center, by generating millions of dollars in media value and more than $200,000 to support the center’s important work with youth and families in the Houston area.

As part of ESPN’s popular Capital One Bowl Week, which features 23 bowl games from Dec. 19 to Jan. 2, the 2009 Texas Bowl will feature Navy vs. Missouri and will be televised live on ESPN on Thursday, Dec. 31, at 3:30 p.m. ET / 2:30 p.m. CT from Reliant Stadium.

ESPN Regional Television/Event Ownership

The nation’s largest syndicator of collegiate sports programming, ESPN Regional Television (ERT) annually produces more than 1,000 telecasts of sporting events. Programming includes football, basketball, NCAA events, golf and NHRA events accounting for more than 2,200 live and/or original hours of programming. In addition to event ownership, ERT is the production headquarters for ESPNU, the 24-hour college sports network; syndication rights-holder and producer of national, regional and local shows for college conferences (e.g. – SEC, BIG EAST, Big 12, Mid-American, WAC).

ESPN Regional Television markets and/or owns several sporting events, including collegiate football events: the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg; Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl (Fort Worth, Texas); MAACO Bowl Las Vegas; New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque); Papajohns.com Bowl (Birmingham, Ala.); Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl (Honolulu); Texas Bowl (Houston); the MEAC/SWAC Challenge presented by Disney (Orlando, Fla.); and The Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards; collegiate basketball events: the 76 Classic (Anaheim, Calif.); Cancun Governor’s Cup; Charleston Classic (S.C.); DIRECTV SEC/BIG EAST Invitational; ESPNU Road to the Championship (Women; San Antonio); Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic (Honolulu); Old Spice Classic (Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla.); O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off (San Juan); SONIC All-College Basketball Classic (Oklahoma City) and BracketBusters; as well as the ESPN National Golf Challenge presented by Callaway. For more information, visit ESPNPlus.com.

Lone Star Sports & Entertainment

Lone Star Sports & Entertainment (LSSE) is a sports management agency in Houston. LSSE promotes sports and entertainment events at Reliant Stadium and other venues in Houston, and has been a catalyst for some of Houston’s most significant sporting events.  In 2006, LSSE led the successful launch of the Texas Bowl, now one of America’s leading collegiate bowl games.  LSSE has hosted five of the six largest soccer crowds in Texas history featuring some of the finest players, clubs and national teams in the world. Outside of sports, LSSE has hosted block-buster musical acts like Kenny Chesney, George Strait, Sugarland and Keith Urban, among others.

The BIG EAST Conference and ESPN Regional Television have finalized details of their 2010 Game of the Week package. In all, ESPN says the games will be aired in "nearly" 50 markets covering 24 states, including Los Angeles. But somehow the math does not add up.

ESPN has confirmed that Bob Davie will replace Craig James in the booth for the 2010 Alamo Bowl game between Texas Tech and Michigan State. Here is Davie's biography/profile as published by the ESPN Networks.

A spokesman for ESPN has confirmed that Bob Davie will be replacing Craig James on the broadcast of the 2010 Valero Alamo Bowl on ESPN.

ESPN's Joe Schad posted a link to this alleged video of Texas Tech's Adam James in the "electrical closet." Only 13 seconds long, it is not clear what to make of it, except for a couple of things (if the video is real). One is that many people may have taken the "closet" term literally, and the room was actually much bigger. Another thing is that is seems he was not alone in the room. Here is the video. What do you think?

By the time the first weekend of the new year is complete, viewers of NBC Sports may just start to suffer some ice fatigue. In addition to the Brian Boitano special Friday afternoon, NBC Sports will be airing the Smucker’s Stars on Ice 2010 Tour special, hosted by Olympic Gold Medalist Kristi Yamaguchi, on Sunday, January 3, 2010 at 4:00 PM ET.

NBC Sports will actually be televising something besides the 2010 NHL Winter Classic and figure skating this weekend. On Saturday, January 2, 2010, you can catch taped coverage of Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing at 2:30 PM ET. Are there any doubts they are just chomping at the bit for the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver to get underway?

ESPN will televise the third edition of their (i.e. they own the event) Under Armour All-America High School Football Game at 11:00 AM ET on Saturday, January 2, 2010. Why these games are necessary is still a question, but it is what it is for now.

If you have not yet seen the emotional ESPN story about twelve year old USC fan Jake Olson, go ahead and watch it, and then come back and read about how he will be the guest picker for the special edition of ESPN College GameDay from the Rose Bowl on Friday, January 1, 2010.

For most people, the thought of waking up on New Year's Day and then going out to do some strenuous exercise, or even moderate exercise. is mind-numbing. So forget about doing that. If you want to spend the day, or at least part of the day before and/or after the 2010 NHL Winter Classic, you can tune into Universal Sports (if you get it) to watch a day long marathon of the last nine years worth of Ironman Triathlons.

NBC Sunday Night Football has exercised their flex option to pick up the Cincinnati Bengals (10-5) - New York Jets (8-7) game on Sunday, January 3, 2010. Here is the pre-game notes and quotes release issued by NBC Sports earlier today.

This week starts FOX Sports last year carrying the BCS Bowl games, starting with the Sugar Bowl on January 1, 2010. Be sure to catch the Cotton Bowl at 2:00 PM ET on Saturday, January 2, 2010 to catch the great Pat Summerall calling the game. It is too bad they could not lure John Madden there to call the game with him.

Here is the NFL on FOX Notes, Quotes and Anecdotes release for week 17 of the 2009 NFL season as issued by FOX Sports.

It has been a while since we have published a biography/profile for on-air talent. Because people are searching for Craig James' biography on Google and being led to malicious web sites trying to infect their computers, we have decided to resume with his biography so a real source will show up somewhere on Google. The following is his biography/profile as published by the ESPN Networks.

With the population of lacrosse growing, the ESPN Networks will be increasing the number of regular season games aired by 40% (from 30 to 42), and will be televising 15 NCAA Tournament games. The best part of these broadcasts? No Big Ten, SEC, or PAC 10 trying to take the spotlight and the money.

TNT will be offering up a NBA doubleheader on New Year's Eve (also known as Old Year) this Thursday night. The will have the San Antonio Spurs hosting the Miami Heat at 7:00 PM. followed by Philadelphia 76ers visiting the Los Angeles Clippers at 9:30.

If you are not iced out enough after this Friday's NHL Winter Classic from Fenway Park in Boston, you can follow it up with “Brian Boitano Skating Spectacular” at 4:00 on NBC Sports.

Former ABC Sportscaster David Diles died in his home Saturday in Athens, Ohio. Here an abstract of the obituary posted on the WSAZ web site.

The 2010 NHL Winter Classic is coming this Friday on NBC Sports. The network issued a second press release for the event yesterday. Except for a couple of paragraphs, it is a direct rehash of the release they issued on December 16, 2009. Here is yesterday's release, and you can compare it with the one on issued on the 16th.

NBC Sports Sunday Night Football has won  the Sunday night ratings race for the 14th time in 15 weeks. As might be expected, the Dallas Metroplex led the metered markets with a 34.4/54, while the Washington, DC market lagged behind in 4th place with a 24.5/41.

Here is the release from NBC Sports.

“SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL” TOPS ALL SUNDAY NIGHT PROGRAMMING FOR 14th TIME IN 15 WEEKS

Cowboys Shutout of Redskins Is Top Rated Program on Sunday Night

NEW YORK - Dec. 28, 2009 - Last night’s “NBC Sunday Night Football” was the No. 1 broadcast on Sunday night for the 14th time in 15 weeks with the Dallas Cowboys 17-0 win over the Washington Redskins. With just one week remaining in the NFL season, “Sunday Night Football” has exceeded its total of Sunday night wins from 2008. Last season, SNF won 13 of 16 Sunday nights after winning 11 of 16 in 2007 and nine of 16 in 2006.

Last night’s game drew an overnight rating of an 11.6 and a 19 share, 10 percent lower than last year’s Panthers-Giants overtime game in Week 16, but up 17 percent from the Week 16 game in 2007 (Redskins-Vikings, 9.9/17).

The rating peaked from 9-9:30 ET at a 12.6/21.

TOP 10 METERED MARKETS FOR SNF WEEK 16:
1. Dallas, 34.4/54
2. Richmond, 24.7/39
3. San Antonio, 24.6/37
4. Washington, D.C., 24.5/41
5. Austin, 23.9/39
6. Norfolk, 20.8/31
7. Albuquerque, 18.4/29
8. Las Vegas, 16.1/26
9. Tulsa, 15.0/21
10. Oklahoma City, 14.9/22

**Viewership numbers will be available when national ratings are released**

ESPN Radio has announced a number of personnel moves, including bringing over Mike Connolly, former Senior Vice President of Sales at Citadel Broadcasting/Walt Disney Co. (which recently filed for bankruptcy) as Vice President, Audio Sales.

Here is the full press release from ESPN Radio

ESPN Radio Makes Personnel Announcements

ESPN Radio, to continue to create and distribute content and remain strong in the market place, has made a series of personnel announcements at the network and station levels.

The announcement impacts the country's largest sports radio network, and all related content created for digital platforms including live audio streaming on ESPNRadio.com, more than 100 original podcasts available on iTunes and the ESPN PodCenter and mobile access to live, crystal clear radio streams, fan favorite shows, podcasts and more through the ESPN Radio mobile app available on the Apple iTunes App Store. The ESPN Station Group consists of ESPN Radio’s

Mo Davenport assumes the roll of Sr. Vice President, ESPN Radio, responsible for the leadership, management and oversight of ESPN Audio, which includes ESPN Radio, and all related content created for digital platforms and ESPN Station Group. He will continue to report to Traug Keller, Senior Vice President, Production, Business Units.

Tim McCarthy assumes oversight of ESPN Radio’s owned and operated stations as Senior Vice President, ESPN Radio Group, which consists of owned and operated stations in New York (ESPN 1050), Los Angeles (ESPN Radio 710), Chicago (WMVP-AM/ESPN 1000), Dallas/Ft. Worth (KESN-FM/ESPN 103.3FM), and Pittsburgh (ESPN 1250). Previously, McCarthy oversaw the owned stations in New York (as GM, ESPN Radio, 1050), and Pittsburgh. He will report to Davenport.

Dave Roberts, formerly Sr. Coordinating Producer, Studio Production ESPNEWS, replaces McCarthy as Vice President, General Manager, ESPN 1050 Radio, New York. He reports to McCarthy.

Jim Pastor assumes the role of Sr. Vice President of the newly created department, ESPNLocal.com, following the recent launches of ESPNChicago.com, ESPNBoston.com, ESPNDallas.com and ESPNLosAngeles.com. Pastor is responsible for the strategy and development of ESPNLocal.com, coordinating the cross-departmental initiative designed to maximize the fan experience at the local level. He will report to Keller.

John Cravens, Director of Sales at ESPN 1000 (WMVP-AM) in Chicago since 2004, replaces Pastor, becoming that station’s Vice President and General Manager. Cravens, who has been in radio sales for more than 30 years, in a management role for nearly 20, has experience as a major market GM, including ABC Radio stations in Houston (KSRR-FM) and Detroit (KHYT-FM). He reports to McCarthy.

Mike Connolly, formerly with Citadel Broadcasting Corp./The Walt Disney Co., has joined ESPN Radio as Vice President, Audio Sales, based in ESPN’s New York offices. He oversees a team that creates and sells advertising and marketing partnership for all things ESPN Audio -- on-air, digital, mobile and on-site -- for both English language and Spanish language networks. He reports to Davenport.

ESPN College Football Analyst Craig James is the parent that got Mike Leach suspended at Texas Tech. ESPN Analyst Craig James is was scheduled to call the Alamo Bowl for the network.(ESPN has already pulled dim since the original post of these polls) Texas Tech is scheduled to play in the Alamo Bowl. So readers, you answer these questions. Did ESPN have a conflict of interest leaving Craig James assigned to call the game? Should they have replaced him on the coverage?

Here is the transcript of yesterday's Urban Meyer Sugar Bowl press conference as published by ASAP Sports. The press conference may be viewed on GatorVision.tv via the Florida Gators web site.

When ESPN announced that CFO Christine Driessen was interviewed by Pink Magazine about her career, they did not mention other things that were said in the article. Those would be a continuation of budget cuts, staff cuts, project cancellations, etc. But make no mistake about it, ESPN is a rare commodity in the Disney empire. It is profitable, and that only happens when leadership is strong and committed. Unfortunately, whenever cuts are made, the worker bees feel the brunt of the decisions, and this applies to any industry.

By beating the Indianapolis Colts (14-1) yesterday, the New York Jets (8-7) have flexed their muscles enough to earn a spot on Sunday Night Football next week. The scenario is simple. If the Jets beat the Cincinnati Bengals (10-5) they are in the playoffs. If they lose, they stay home.

Tony Dungy thinks the Colts did the right thing by pulling Manning in yesterday's loss to the Jets. Cris Collinsworth disagrees. But life does go on, so here are the Football Night in America Notes and Quotes from Week 16 of the 2009 NFL Season, as released by NBC Sports.

Here are the Fox NFL Sunday notes as issued by FOX Sports earlier today.

After all of the wait and expectation for the just concluded Urban Meyer press conference, was anything really answered? Or were the questions that were asked, but not answered, more telling? And if they were more telling, does the public have a right to know? Given that the University of Florida, a PUBLIC institution, is paying the coach $4 million a year, maybe people do have a right to know. Then again, if he his paid with private foundation funds, maybe they do not have the right. Either way, people will still want to know, and all this press conference has served to do is raise the ante on speculation.

One of the biggest criticisms of FOX Sports coverage of BCS Bowl games is the over the top number of crowd and band shots. The only scratch your head reason people could come up with was that no one could understand why it was happening, or is that FOX just did not know how to cover college football.

Well the latter may not be the pure reason, it looks like it factors into the reason more than we might think. In the end, it is all about the audio.

From reader Rick Martinez comes this video showcasing the CBS Sports integration with EA Sports NCAA Basketball 10. You get Bill Raftery, Gus Johnson, the theme music, and the graphics package. But sadly, not one "Onions" in the whole promo.

As we draw closer to Super Bowl XLIV in Miami , CBS Sports is turning on the PR machine with CNet (a CBS-owned company) offering up the first of a series of "behind the scenes" videos of the Lance Barrow led "A-Team", as the produce an NFL game.

Sportscasting lost one of the local greats today as former DC-area Sportscaster Georgie Michael lost his battle with cancer today at the age of 70. I used to stay up on Sunday nights to watch the "George Michael Sports Machine", as he would push the overly big button as he would say "Let's go to the videotape!". For rodeo fans, there was no bigger advocate than George Michael. Sadly, NBC forced budget cuts forced his great show off of the air some years ago.

Ken Fang of Fang's Bites has collated links to all of the columns written about Michael today, and they are well worth reading. Meanwhile, here is one of the clips Ken dug up.

Two weeks to go in the 2009 NFL regular season, and CBS Sports has their first full slate of eight games this season. They also have the doubleheader. 19 teams are still in contention for the playoffs. with 12 of those teams in the AFC.

Here is the NFL on FOX Notes, Quotes and Anecdotes release for week 16 of the 2009 NFL season as issued by FOX Sports.

NBC Sunday Night Football has the Dallas Cowboys visiting the Washington Redskins on Sunday, December 27, 2009. Here is the pre-game notes and quotes release issued by NBC Sports earlier today.

Olympian Michael Phelps will be back in the NBC Sports spotlight this Sunday, as the networks airs taped coverage of the 2009 "Duel in the Pool" from 2-4 PM ET. The event took place from December 18-19 in Manchester, England. The only weird thing about the NBC Sports press release is that they acknowledge up fron that the coverage is taped, yet the speak of the event in present and future tense.

Al Michaels younger brother David is at the helm as Executive Producer for Universal Sports' first original production entitled "Inside/Out with Summer Sanders", premiering Christmas night on Universal Sports. The show is designed to give viewers a look inside the lives of high-profile Olympic athletes. The first two shows will spotlight skier Lindsay Vohn and short track speed skater Apolo Anton Ono.

Here is the full release from Universal Sports.

Universal Sports’ Christmas Night Double Feature Includes Inside Out and 2009 Ironman World Championships

Inside Out with Summer Sanders, powered by Under Armour, is Universal Sports’ first original production

Los Angeles, December 23, 2009: Viewers tuning in to Universal Sports on Christmas Night at 8 p.m. ET will be treated to the premieres of Inside Out with Summer Sanders, powered by Under Armour, profiling Olympians Lindsay Vonn (8 p.m.) and Apolo Ohno (8:30 p.m.), followed by NBC Sports’ 2009 Ironman World Championships show (9 p.m.).

Inside Out, the first original series produced by Universal Sports, takes viewers inside the lives of high-profile Olympic athletes. Olympic Gold Medalist Summer Sanders hosts the show, and the executive producer of the series is David Michaels, a multiple Emmy Award-winner for documentaries and live programs as a Senior Producer for NBC Olympics.

"This show gives fans a true behind-the-scenes look at the everyday lives of some of the greatest Olympians of our time," said Sanders. "There is so much more to an athlete than just his or her sport and training. I try to showcase athletes in a different light that hopefully is both entertaining and engaging, truly letting fans get to know their favorite athletes on a more personal level."

“Summer wins over the athletes,” Michaels said. “As a gold medalist she can talk with them as an equal. It’s as if they are life-long friends. The results are honest conversations which are quite rare in this era of celebrity athletes.”

Inside Out takes an intimate, personal look inside the lives of Olympic athletes. In the first two programs, viewers learn that Vonn is a self-described klutz off the snow and that Ohno has a sleeping disorder that he fights daily. Vonn provides an inside look at the life of a married Olympic athlete who tries to manage a personal life while being the equivalent of a rock star on the European ski circuit. Ohno, a former contestant on “Dancing with the Stars” lets Sanders participate in his intense daily workout, which includes multiples hours of cycling, running and weightlifting.

Inside Out, powered by Under Armour, complements the diverse event programming on Universal Sports. Beginning in November, Universal Sports has aired hundreds of hours of Olympic sports content leading up to the Vancouver Games. Each week, Universal Sports will air the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup series as well as luge, skeleton, bobsled, speed skating, short track, cross country and freestyle skiing, and snowboarding world cup events. The network has aired the ISU Figure Skating Grand Prix series.

After the premiere of Inside Out, Universal Sports will re-air NBC Sports’ 90-minute highlights show of the 2009 Ford Ironman World Championships, one of the most challenging and grueling events the sports world has to offer, on December 25 at 9 p.m. ET. In addition, Universal Sports presents a television marathon, starting at 10 a.m. ET on January 1, 2010, of select Ironman World Championships from the past nine years, leading into a primetime re-air of the 2009 show at 9 p.m.

Here is Episode 2 of the "viral" video marketing campaign to generate enthusiasm and support for Amar'e Stoudemire in the 2010 NBA All-Star game voting process. David Spade is a little bit better in this one, entitled "Goggles," and the Lady GaGa reference is great.

A viral video is only really viral if it is something people latch on to and spread. When pushed by a marketing company, it is not. Then it becomes viral manipulation. This is what seems to be happening with a video campaign for NBA All-Star votes on behalf Amar'e Stoudemire. Lineage Interactive, which produced the videos, wrote us and asked us to share the video.

As listed in yesterday's post on the NBC Sports/Universal Sports broadcast schedule for this week, NBC will be airing taped coverage of the U.S. Olympic Freestyle/Nordic Combined Qualifying and U.S. Snowboard Cross World Cup (which took place from December 17-20) this weekend. Unlike last year's Visa Snowboard Cross World Cup televised by NBC, this is no indication in the NBC Press release of a title sponsor for this event. However, many websites do refer to the Visa sponsorship.

ESPN and ABC will be airing five NBA games on Christmas Day. They must know something others don't if they are going to saturate a holiday and holy day with so much commercialism. But then again, this is Christmas we are talking about, and ESPN is a commercial entity.

Perhaps the biggest women's college basketball game of the 2009-2010 season to date is tomorrow evening as top ranked Connecticut will host 2nd ranked Stanford. The game will air on ESPN2 at 5:30 PM ET. You can find more tv schedules for women's college basketball in our broadcast schedule database.

ESPN has announced a multiyear rights deal with Nimbus Sport International (NSI), a sports management company based in Singapore, to provide exclusive live coverage of all Bangladesh home International cricket matches on ESPN360.com. While most American sports fans my ask "why?" the answer is simple. Cricket has a huge worldwide following that ignites national passions and fan fervor. That means eyeballs and revenue for ESPN.

Congratulations to the University of Kentucky (12-0) on achieving their milestone 2,000th program victory tonight, winning 88-44 over Drexel (6-6). In their 107 season of playong college basketball, the school has an incredible 2,000-631-1 record (.760 winning percentage).

Chip Caray has not remained unemployed long. Fox Sports South/SportSouth has announced that he has joined their team as the Atlanta Braves play-by-play man. It will be interesting to see how this goes, and hopefully he can bounce back in the new position. He will have an uphill climb, as Braves fans are not reacting well on the network's Facebook page.

Here are the Football Night in America Notes and Quotes from Week 15 of the 2009 NFL Season, as released by NBC Sports.

Here are the sports offerings available from NBC Sports/Universal Sports for Christmas Week 2009 (December 21-27, 2009), as announced by the networks.

Ice skating on Christmas Day sounds very inviting on a cold Christmas day. You know, huddling around the TV, drinking hot chocolate, a roaring fire in the fireplace, chestnuts roasting, watching figure skating. OK, not in my house as the kids will have control of the remote as the parents prepare dinner. Plus it does not get that cold in the South.

But for those that do like this image, NBC Sports will be showcasing Sasha Cohen and Evan Lysacek at "Improv-Ice" at 3:00 PM ET. The event was taped on October 6, 2009 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA.

Despite the last minute juggling of games because of the winter storm that socked the Washington, DC - Philadelphia - New York corridor, or perhaps because of the changes, FOX Sports saw a 9% increase in its overnight ratings over the same week last year. I know that I tuned in to see some cold weather, perhaps snowy, play because that is real football. Perhaps other people felt the same, or it could be they were stuck inside and decided to watch football instead of shoveling snow.

The biggest number impact came from the San Francisco market, where the 49ers - Eagles game went head to head against the Raiders-Broncos on CBS Sports. This turned out to be no contest as Fox came close to tripling CBS on overnight audience numbers (13.9/38 to 4.7/13). So make the score on this one Kenny Albert 1, Gus Johnson 0.

Here is the press release from Fox.

NFL ON FOX DOUBLEHEADER POSTS 9% OVERNIGHT RATINGS INCREASE

East Coast Snowstorm Moves Two Games to Late Window Forcing Regionalization Changes

Severe weather on the east coast made for a chaotic NFL weekend, with the end result being solid ratings for the NFL on FOX's WEEK 15 DOUBLEHEADER.

A massive blizzard forced 1:00 PM games in Philadelphia (vs. SF) and Baltimore (vs. Chicago) to be rescheduled for 4:15, giving FOX two early games and four late games. The NFL on FOX REGIONAL GAME earned an 8.5/17 average household rating/share as the Atlanta-NY Jets game originally assigned to 24% of the U.S. was eventually delivered to 86%, while the Arizona-Detroit audience increased from 3% to 8%.

Later in the day the NFL on FOX NATIONAL GAME earned a 15.1/28. The Green Bay-Pittsburgh game was originally slated to be seen in 90% of the country, ended up in 42%, while Tampa Bay-Seattle switched from 7% to 6%. Scheduled to be seen by 51% of the country at 1:00 PM, the SF-Philadelphia went to 42% at 4:15, and Chicago-Baltimore, also moved from early to late, saw its audience decrease from 16% to 7%. Yesterday’s regional and national games combined to average an 11.8/23, a +9% gain over last year's 10.8/22 for singleheader coverage. Season-to-date FOX is now averaging a 12.7/25 in the metered overnight markets, up +5% over 2008's 12.1/24.

The rescheduling of the Niners-Eagles game made for a rare scenario in San Francisco, where 49ers and Raiders games went head-to-head, with 49ers posting a 13.9/38, nearly tripling the 4.7/13 rating for the Raiders-Broncos game on CBS. This is the third time this year where two local teams have played games head-to-head, the other two instances being Giants-Jets head-to-heads in Week 3 and Week 8.

FOX NFL SUNDAY delivered a 3.4/8 yesterday, a +3% bump over last season's 3.3/8, a solid number given that the re-jiggered schedule provided only two 1:00 PM games as a lead-out. Season-to-date FOX NFL SUNDAY is up +3% in the overnights (3.4/8 vs. 3.3/8).

Mark this one under awards you may never have heard of. NBC Sports has won three CINE Golden Eagle Awards for the Beijing Olympic Games Opening Ceremony, “50-1: The Story of Mine that Bird” and a NHL Winter Classic promo.

Here is the press release from NBC Sports, followed by information about the CINE Golden Eagle Award.

NBC Sports Sunday Night Football is still winning on Sunday nights, taking the ratings win for the 13th time in the last 14 weeks. In the overnight numbers, it trounced the Survivor Samoa finale on CBS by 69%.

Here is the release from NBC Sports.

There is something special about attending a college basketball game in Rupp Arena. It may be the fact that you are watching a Kentucky game in person, even if you are not a fan of the team. It may be the fact that you are in an arena that is packed with fans who love THEIR team. Either way, it would be special to be there tonight as the 11-0 Wildcats host the Drexel Dragons (6-5) at 7:00 PM ET on ESPNU. Why? Because Kentucky, with a victory, will be the first school ever to reach 2,000 program wins in their 107th season playing the sport..

TLC has been milking the Gosselin family for ratings for a while now, and upped the ante when their marriage hit the skids. Well that is old news that is not as hot as Tiger Woods, and TLC is not letting the opportunity pass them by. Here is the front page splash for their web site today, followed by a shot of a hypocritical question on the part of this Discovery Channel owned network.

Here are some notes updating the impact of the winter storm on tomorrow's games. Who knew there would be 25 million pounds of snow at FedEx field?

From NFL.com

Game time for 49ers-Eagles changed

Kickoff for Sunday's game between the 49ers and Eagles in Philadelphia has been moved to 4:15 p.m. ET from 1 p.m. ET.
The primary purpose of the change was to give city and stadium workers more time to prepare Lincoln Financial Stadium and the surrounding area for the game. Don Smolenski, the Eagles' senior vice president and chief financial officer, said more than 1,000 workers will work on preparing the facility for the game.

"We're going to do what we can to make it the best it can be," Smolenski told the team's official Web site. "Regardless of the expense, we're going to do whatever it takes to get the stadium and the field ready for the teams."

The 49ers beat the snowstorm by one day as they arrived in Philadelphia on Friday night. They held their Saturday walk-through at the Eagles' indoor practice bubble.

Bears having trouble making it to Baltimore

The Bears' flight from Chicago to Baltimore late Friday night was canceled, leaving the team waiting for an opportunity to take off.

The Bears are conducting normal walk-throughs and Saturday meetings at Halas Hall and intend to fly out some time after 8 p.m. CT, NFL Network's Jason La Canfora reports.

The NFL, at the request of Baltimore city officials, already announced Friday that the Bears-Ravens game would be pushed back to a 4:15 p.m. kickoff to allow more time for crews to prepare M&T Bank Stadium.

Falcons beat storm to New Jersey

The Atlanta Falcons originally were unsure if they would be able to leave Saturday for their road game against the New York Jets. It looks like they just made it to New Jersey, though.
Falcons director of new media Daniel Levak posted on his Twitter page: "On the ground in Newark. Pretty smooth landing. Visibility limited ... lots of blowing snow. About to get onto buses."

Crews work to prepare FedExField

The Redskins will bring in more than 1,200 workers over the weekend to clear an expected 25 miilion pounds of snow from the seating areas, ramps, sidewalks, and parking lots of FedExField. Hundreds of workers shoveled snow out of the stadium bowl starting Saturday morning.

The Redskins canceled their 11 a.m. practice Saturday because of the weather, although Monday night's home game against the Giants will be played, as scheduled.

A second game has fallen victim to the weather pummeling the northeast this weekend, and as a result, the Fox Sports doubleheader is in disarray. Following on the heels of the Chicago Bears - Baltimore Ravens matchup being pushed back to a 4:15 PM ET start at the request of Baltimore City officials, the San Francisco 49ers - Philadelphia Eagles kickoff has also been pushed back to 4:15 PM ET as well.

A consequence of the change is that Fox only has two games left in its 1:00 PM Window: The Atlanta Falcons visiting the New York Jets, and the Arizona Cardinals visiting the Detroit Lions. Maybe the NFL will let Fox push up the Green Bay Packers - Pittsburgh Steelers game to 1:00 PM to offset the impact?

Fox Sports has not yet issued a release with the revised regionalizations resulting from this latest change. We will try and post it as soon as it is available.

Texas (13-0, 8-0 Big 12) will be taking on Alabama (13-0, 8-0 SEC) in the 2010 Citi National Championship on Thursday, January 7, 2010. Eye on Sports Media is pleased to present you with the following information to help you find information about the game, social media links related to the game, and radio/television broadcast information.

Update January 9, 2010: You can find out information on watching an online replay of the game here.

Central Michigan (11-2, 8-0 Mid-American) will be taking on Troy (9-3, 8-0 Sun Belt) in the 2010 GMAC Bowl on Wednesday, January 6, 2010. Eye on Sports Media is pleased to present you with the following information to help you find information about the game, social media links related to the game, and radio/television broadcast information.

Georgia Tech (11-2, 7-1 ACC) will be taking on Iowa (10-2, 6-2 Big Ten) in the 2010 FedEx Orange Bowl on Tuesday, January 5, 2010. Eye on Sports Media is pleased to present you with the following information to help you find information about the game, social media links related to the game, and radio/television broadcast information.

TCU (12-0, 8-0 Mountain West) will be taking on Boise State (13-0, 8-0 WAC) in the 2010 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl on Monday, January 4, 2010. Eye on Sports Media is pleased to present you with the following information to help you find information about the game, social media links related to the game, and radio/television broadcast information.

Texas Tech (8-4, 5-3 Big 12) will be taking on Michigan State (6-6, 4-4 Big Ten) in the 2010 Valero Alamo Bowl on Saturday, January 2, 2010. Eye on Sports Media is pleased to present you with the following information to help you find information about the game, social media links related to the game, and radio/television broadcast information.

Update December 29, 2009: because of the Texas Tech controversy, Craig James has been removed from the broadcast. Once his replacement has been named, this page will be updated.

Update December 31, 2009: An ESPN spokesman has confirmed that Bob Davie will be replacing Craig James for this game.

Connecticut (7-5, 3-4 Big East) will be taking on South Carolina (7-5, 3-5 SEC) in the 2010 Papajohns.com Bowl on Saturday, January 2, 2010. Eye on Sports Media is pleased to present you with the following information to help you find information about the game, social media links related to the game, and radio/television broadcast information.

USF (7-5, 3-4 Big East) will be taking on Northern Illinois (7-5, 5-3 Mid-American) in the 2010 International Bowl on Saturday, January 2, 2010. Eye on Sports Media is pleased to present you with the following information to help you find information about the game, social media links related to the game, and radio/television broadcast information.

East Carolina (9-4, 7-1 Conference USA) will be taking on Arkansas (7-5, 3-5 SEC) in the 2010 AutoZone Liberty Bowl on Saturday, January 2, 2010. Eye on Sports Media is pleased to present you with the following information to help you find information about the game, social media links related to the game, and radio/television broadcast information.

Oklahoma State (9-3, 6-2 Big 12) will be taking on Ole Miss (8-4, 4-4 SEC) in the 2010 AT&T Cotton Bowl on Saturday, January 2, 2010. Eye on Sports Media is pleased to present you with the following information to help you find information about the game, social media links related to the game, and radio/television broadcast information.

Florida (12-1, 8-0 SEC) will be taking on Cincinnati (12-0, 7-0 Big East) in the 2010 Allstate Sugar Bowl on Friday, January 1, 2010. Eye on Sports Media is pleased to present you with the following information to help you find information about the game, social media links related to the game, and radio/television broadcast information.

Oregon (10-2, 8-1 PAC 10) will be taking on Ohio State (10-2, 7-1 Big Ten) in the 2010 Rose Bowl Game presented by Citi on Friday, January 1, 2010. Eye on Sports Media is pleased to present you with the following information to help you find information about the game, social media links related to the game, and radio/television broadcast information.

West Virginia (9-3, 5-2 Big East) will be taking on Florida State (6-6, 4-4 ACC) in the 2010 Konica Minolta Gator Bowl on Friday, January 1, 2010. Eye on Sports Media is pleased to present you with the following information to help you find information about the game, social media links related to the game, and radio/television broadcast information.

Penn State (10-2, 6-2 Big Ten) will be taking on LSU (9-3, 5-3 SEC) in the 2010 Capital One Bowl on Friday, January 1, 2010. Eye on Sports Media is pleased to present you with the following information to help you find information about the game, social media links related to the game, and radio/television broadcast information.

Northwestern (8-4, 5-3 Big Ten) will be taking on Auburn (7-5, 3-5 SEC) in the 2010 Outback Bowl on Friday, January 1, 2010. Eye on Sports Media is pleased to present you with the following information to help you find information about the game, social media links related to the game, and radio/television broadcast information.

Fox Sports has announced a change in this Sunday's NFL Schedule because of the bad weather bearing down on the Baltimore-Washington area. As a result, regionalizations of all games has changed.

Here is the press release from Fox Sports. You can view the new regionalizations on the Week 15 broadcast assignments page.

In anticipation of a major snow storm and as a public safety concern, the kickoff time for this Sunday’s Chicago Bears at Baltimore Ravens game at M&T Bank Stadium has been moved to 4:15 PM ET on FOX. The City of Baltimore urged the change to accommodate fans and allow more time for city and personnel to clear streets and walkways in and around the stadium.

Most stations that were originally scheduled to see the Chicago/Baltimore game early will get San Francisco/Philadelphia at 1:00 PM.

Virginia Tech (9-3, 6-2 ACC) will be taking on Tennessee (7-5, 4-4 SEC) in the 2009 Chick-fil-A Bowl on Thursday, December 31, 2009. Eye on Sports Media is pleased to present you with the following information to help you find information about the game, social media links related to the game, and radio/television broadcast information.

Minnesota (6-6, 3-5 Big Ten) will be taking on Iowa State (6-6, 3-5 Big 12) in the 2009 Insight Bowl on Thursday, December 31, 2009. Eye on Sports Media is pleased to present you with the following information to help you find information about the game, social media links related to the game, and radio/television broadcast information.

Stanford (8-4, 6-3 PAC 10) will be taking on Oklahoma (7-5, 5-3 Big 12) in the 2009 Brut Sun Bowl on Thursday, December 31, 2009. Eye on Sports Media is pleased to present you with the following information to help you find information about the game, social media links related to the game, and radio/television broadcast information.

Air Force (7-5, 5-3 Mountain West) will be taking on Houston (10-3, 6-2 Conference USA) in the 2009 Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl on Thursday, December 31, 2009. Eye on Sports Media is pleased to present you with the following information to help you find information about the game, social media links related to the game, and radio/television broadcast information.

Missouri (8-4, 4-4 Big 12) will be taking on Navy (8-4,  Independent) in the 2009 Texas Bowl on Thursday, December 31, 2009. Eye on Sports Media is pleased to present you with the following information to help you find information about the game, social media links related to the game, and radio/television broadcast information.

Nebraska (9-4, 6-2 Big 12) will be taking on Arizona (8-4, 6-3 PAC 10) in the 2009 Pacific Life Holiday Bowl on Wednesday, December 30, 2009. Eye on Sports Media is pleased to present you with the following information to help you find information about the game, social media links related to the game, and radio/television broadcast information.

Idaho (7-5, 4-4 WAC) will be taking on Bowling Green (7-5, 6-2 Mid-American) in the 2009 Roady's Humanitarian Bowl on Wednesday, December 30, 2009. Eye on Sports Media is pleased to present you with the following information to help you find information about the game, social media links related to the game, and radio/television broadcast information.

Miami (FL) (9-3, 5-3 ACC) will be taking on Wisconsin (9-3, 5-3 Big Ten) in the 2009 Champs Sports Bowl on Tuesday, December 29, 2009. Eye on Sports Media is pleased to present you with the following information to help you find information about the game, social media links related to the game, and radio/television broadcast information.

UCLA (6-6, 3-6 PAC 10) will be taking on Temple (9-3, 7-1 Mid-American) in the 2009 EagleBank Bowl on Tuesday, December 29, 2009. Eye on Sports Media is pleased to present you with the following information to help you find information about the game, social media links related to the game, and radio/television broadcast information.

Texas A&M (6-6, 3-5 Big 12) will be taking on Georgia (7-5, 4-4 SEC) in the 2009 Independence Bowl on Monday, December 28, 2009. Eye on Sports Media is pleased to present you with the following information to help you find information about the game, social media links related to the game, and radio/television broadcast information.

Kentucky (7-5, 3-5 SEC) will be taking on Clemson (8-5, 6-2 ACC) in the 2009 Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl on Sunday, December 27, 2009. Eye on Sports Media is pleased to present you with the following information to help you find information about the game, social media links related to the game, and radio/television broadcast information.

Ohio (9-4, 7-1 Mid-American) will be taking on Marshall (6-6, 4-4 Conference USA) in the 2009 Little Caesars Bowl on Saturday, December 26, 2009. Eye on Sports Media is pleased to present you with the following information to help you find information about the game, social media links related to the game, and radio/television broadcast information.

North Carolina (8-4, 4-4 ACC) will be taking on Pittsburgh (9-3, 5-2 Big East) in the 2009 Meineke Car Care Bowl on Saturday, December 26, 2009. Eye on Sports Media is pleased to present you with the following information to help you find information about the game, social media links related to the game, and radio/television broadcast information.

Boston College (8-4, 5-3 ACC) will be taking on USC (8-4, 5-4 PAC 10) in the 2009 Emerald Bowl on Saturday, December 26, 2009. Eye on Sports Media is pleased to present you with the following information to help you find information about the game, social media links related to the game, and radio/television broadcast information.

Nevada (8-4, 7-1 WAC) will be taking on SMU (7-5, 6-2 Conference USA) in the 2009 Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl on Thursday, December 24, 2009. Eye on Sports Media is pleased to present you with the following information to help you find information about the game, social media links related to the game, and radio/television broadcast information.

Utah (9-3, 6-2 Mountain West) will be taking on California (8-4, 5-4 PAC 10) in the 2009 Poinsettia Bowl on Wednesday, December 22, 2009. Eye on Sports Media is pleased to present you with the following information to help you find information about the game, social media links related to the game, and radio/television broadcast information.

Oregon State (8-4, 6-3 PAC 10) will be taking on BYU (9-3, 6-2 Mountain West) in the 2009 MAACO Las Vegas Bowl on Tuesday, December 22, 2009. Eye on Sports Media is pleased to present you with the following information to help you find information about the game, social media links related to the game, and radio/television broadcast information.

Middle Tennessee (9-3, 7-1 Sun Belt) will be taking on Southern Miss (7-5, 5-3 Conference USA) in the 2009 R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl on Sunday, December 20, 2009. Eye on Sports Media is pleased to present you with the following information to help you find information about the game, social media links related to the game, and radio/television broadcast information.

Rutgers (8-4, 3-4 Big East) will be taking on UCF (8-4, 6-2 Conference USA) in the 2009 St. Petersburg Bowl on Saturday, December 19, 2009. Eye on Sports Media is pleased to present you with the following information to help you find information about the game, social media links related to the game, and radio/television broadcast information.

Wyoming (6-6, 4-4 Mountain West) will be taking on Fresno State (8-4, 7-1 WAC) in the 2009 New Mexico Bowl on Saturday, December 19, 2009. Eye on Sports Media is pleased to present you with the following information to help you find information about the game, social media links related to the game, and radio/television broadcast information.

We have just finished up some data clean-up and are ready to start uploading the 2009-2010 College Football Bowl Game profiles. These profiles include social media links, school information, radio/television broadcast information, on-line streaming information, and replay information.

Have you ever tried to listen to a NFL game in Spanish? I have once or twice, but always have a hard time trying to keep up. Despite the best efforts of announcers like Álvaro Martín, Raúl Allegre, and Roberto Abramowitz, it is always an uphill battle, as learning foreign languages has always been a challenge for me. In high school I struggled with Latin and Spanish. When I worked for the the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), part of my work day was spent in an hour of French language instruction. The teacher, from Senegal, would roll her eye as we tried to grasp the nuances of the language.

After completing a CNBC interview with Darren Rovell this morning, PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem held a new conference. In the transcript that follows, he takes questions from the media. In reading his responses, it is not clear whether he is intentionally wearing blinders, is really that naive, or is just doing a masterful job of putting spin on a bad year for the economy and the coming fallout from Tiger Woods taking a leave of absence from the Tour.

Three weeks to go in the 2009 NFL regular season, and the NFL Network ramps up for two games this week. Meanwhile, the starting time for this Sunday's Fox Sports broadcast of the game between the Green Bay Packers (9-4) and the Pittsburgh Steelers (6-7) has been changed to 4:15 PM ET. The Steelers must win to keep their playoff hopes alive.

NBC Sports will be airing taped coverage of the 2009 Ironman Triathlon on Saturday, December 19, 2009 at 4:30 PM ET. Al Trautwig will provide the commentary, Here is the press release issued by NBC Sports earlier today.

Here is the Sunday Night Football Pre-Game Notes release for week 15 of the 2009 NFL season as issued by NBC Sports earlier today.

Here is the Fox Sports Advance Programing Schedule for December 16 - 27, 2009 as announced earlier today.

Week 15 of the 2009 NFL Season is fast approaching. Here is the weekly Notes, Quotes and Anecdotes release as put out by Fox Sports.

Bob Costas, according to a release from NBC Sports, is hyped for the 2010 NHL Winter Classic at Fenway Park. In fact, he says the buzz around the NHL is like nothing I've seen. That can either mean its really great, or just so-so, which some around the NHL might see as "great." No matter, the last two editions of this game have been a treat, so hopefully this year's edition will be as well.

This came in earlier from CNBC...

"PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem will give his first interview since recent developments in the life of Tiger Woods became national headlines. CNBC's Darren Rovell will speak with Finchem on Thursday, December 17th at 10:10AM ET on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street." Finchem will discuss his reaction to Woods' announcement that the world's top golfer would take of an "indefinite break" from the sport and its potential ramifications on the game's television ratings and future investment from corporate America."

When Darren Rovell left ESPN for CNBC back in 2006, the worldwide leader was left with a hole in their line-up. They did not have anyone who could cover sports business like Rovell. Not surprisingly, when Mike and Mike wanted to talk to someone about Accenture dumping Tiger Woods, it seems there was nobody in house that could really talk about it in much depth. So what did they do? They brought Rovell onto their show to talk about it.

Things will be quiet on this site today as I head off to the big city of Atlanta to resume some hands on training with the Chyron Duet. The Duet is one of the more "popular" character generators used for remote sports productions, although the Viz is making big gains, especially at ESPN. As I work with the Lyric software system that is used to build the graphics, I see some things which are neat and interesting, and other things that are pure head scratchers.

Give the state of our economy, many of us are wondering what is next as we try to measure our skillsets against the realities of the job market. Some years ago, Neil Olshey was able to offset losing a lead role in General Hospital with a turn towards basketball. That turn led him to his current position as Assistant General Manager of the Los Angeles Clippers.

It is that time of the year. No, not Christmas or Hanukkah or Kwanzaa. It is time to start putting together the nominees and winners for the 2009 Bloodshot Eyeball Awards. We did not know this would happen when the idea came to mind last year, but the 2008 recipients were very flattered to be recognized. One winner ran a story about it on their web site, and one runner-up said the fact that he was the runner up was part of his nomination package that led to his being named one of the "Forty Under 40" success stories in his city!

Last year awards were given out to West Point for the Best College SID Blog, Fang's Bites for the Best Sports Media News Recap Blog, and Neil Best for the Best Mainstream Media Blog. We wanted to give out more, but ran out of time because of work conflicts.

The Cayuga Group, LLC, the publisher of Eye on Sports Media and The Business Controls Caddy is pleased to announce the availability of our first Sports Media Best Practices Whitepaper. Here is summary information on the document, followed by a link where you can request a free copy.

Addressing Web Site Design Issues Related to Hardware Technology Changes and Advanced Web Development Implementations

Length: 8 pages
Document Number: TCG-WPEOSM-1209001
Document Summary

Advanced web design techniques that utilize JavaScript and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) enable data providers to develop innovative data presentation options.

However, with CRT monitors being replaced by newer technologies, as well as a shift in display formatting to match high-definition television display ratios, web sites designed and optimized for older display ratios may not function as intended.

This White Paper will look at a specific example of how the navigation design of a specific web site does not function very well using cascading style sheets, making the site difficult for end users to navigate. We will then discuss two alternatives to the data presentation technique that will satisfy all visitors to the web site.

For the purposes of this discussion, the name of the company facing this real world scenario is being changed to “ACME Sports Information Company” (ACME).

Price: Free

Trailing Navy 17-3 with 8:20 left in the fourth quarter yesterday, Army gets the ball back after holding Navy to a three and out. Given the lack of offense generated by the Black Knights, this was probably their last chance to try and get their first touchdown against Navy since 2006 to tie the game. What happened next is probably the best reason for a network to NOT have sideline reporters, or to at least avoid meaningless throws down to them at a critical juncture of a game.

As I am sure many people now have heard, Mark Ingram has become the first Alabama player in history to win the Heisman Award. Ingram is the 3rd consecutive sophomore to win it, and it was the closest vote ever. Here is his acceptance speech as shown on ESPN, followed by the 2009 vote tally.

Week 14 of the 2009 NFL season is here, and it is getting to be crunch time. CBS Sports has the doubleheader. The Jim Nantz led A-Team is assigned to the San Diego Chargers (9-3) - Dallas Cowboys (8-4) game, while Dick Enberg and Dan Fouts get the Denver Broncos (8-4), looking to hold onto their wildcard position and possibly get into a tie for first place in the AFC West if the Chargers falter, taking on the Indianapolis Colts (12-0).