Fang's Bites

Late Monday Afternoon Links

This week is going to be busy for me. I was cleaning out an office for most of the day and it looks like that will be on the agenda for the rest of the month. I’ll do my best to post what I can here. But just know that I may be scarce. I’ll do what I can to post breaking news when I can.

Let’s do some linkage.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today says the NBA on ESPN/ABC crew did not go overboard in covering Sunday’s Dallas-New York Knicks game.

Irving DeJohn and Helen Kennedy of the New York Daily News speak with the ESPN editor who lost his job over the Jeremy Lin headline slur that was seen on the network’s mobile site.

Ole Skaar and Helen Kennedy of the Daily News have Jeremy Lin forgiving and forgetting about the ESPN.com headline.

Ty Duffy from The Big Lead feels ESPNews anchor Max Bretos who was suspended for a month by the Alleged Worldwide Leader in reference to Jeremy Lin, got too harsh a punishment.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times also writes about ESPN’s actions in the wake of the Jeremy Lin headline.

Adrian Wojnarowski at Yahoo has Lin appealing to the Taiwanese media to leave his relatives alone.

Patrick Burns at Deadspin has ESPN SportsCenter going way overboard in Jeremy Lin mentions last week. That’s not good at all.

Paul Bond of the Hollywood Reporter has Glen Beck going after ESPN and ABC for the Max Bretos suspension.

Mike Silva at Sports Media Watchdog feels ESPN overreacted.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch interviews Yahoo’s Dan Wetzel and ESPN’s Michelle Beadle in the latest edition of his podcast.

Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand has the full joint statement from MSG Network and Time Warner Cable in regards to their agreement.

In this week’s SBJ issue, John writes that NBC Sports Network’s ratings are off to a slow start.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News says MSG Network will take viewers inside the World’s Most Famous Arena’s Phase I renovation.

Tim Nudd of Adweek writes that M&M’s won the YouTube 2012  Super Bowl Ad Blitz.

Rich Thomaselli of Advertising Age writes that sponsors are knocking on Jeremy Lin’s door, hoping he will endorse their products.

Ryan Berenz from Channel Guide magazine talks with CBS/Golf Channel’s David Feherty.

It’s no secret that the New York Post’s Phil Mushnick hates the WWE.

The New York Daily News’ Bob Raissman speculates that ESPN jettisoned Ron Jaworski from Monday Night Football in case Peyton Manning becomes available.

Jaworski speaks with Philadelphia sports radio host Mike Missanelli about being taken off Monday Night Football.

Thanks to Sports Radio Interviews for the link.

The Washington Examiner’s Jim Williams talks with TNT’s Shaquille O’Neal and ESPN’s Jon Barry about the Wizards.

Tom Jones of the Tampa Bay Times reviews the weekend in sports television.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel speaks with Frank Deford about his new memoir.

Dusty Saunders of the Denver Post notes the rise of Linsanity.

Tom Hoffarth at the Los Angeles Daily News has the sports schedule for this week.

Bruce Dowbiggin at the Toronto Globe and Mail explores the policy of NHL teams that allow reporters to fly on their private planes with the players.

Raju Mudhar of the Toronto Star looks at the ugly side of Linsanity.

Sports Media Watch notes the overnight ratings for the NASCAR Budweiser Shooting on Fox were up from last year.

SMW says the first half of NBC’s Hockey Day in America did well.

And that will do it.

Saturday Linkage

The last thing I wanted to wake up to this morning was reaction to racist headlines regarding Jeremy Lin, but that’s what we have on this Saturday. I’ve already written a post about it and I’ve given my opinion about the incident already. I’ll give ESPN the benefit of the doubt feeling the headline was unintentional, but let this be a lesson to other news organizations who are trying to be cute with puns or creative.

Mike McCarthy says ESPN has apologized for the headline.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch reacts to ESPN’s actions following the posting of the headline.

Ben Koo at Awful Announcing says even if the incident was unintentional, it was still inexcusable to allow the headline to get through.

Media Rantz says this is not the first time that an ESPN platform has used “chink in the armor” in a Jeremy Lin story.

Patty Hsieh at Aery’s Sports’ The Pigskin March site sums up the feeling of what many Asians like myself are thinking today.

Sports Media Watch has some context to the ESPN.com Jeremy Lin headline.

The Angry Asian Man blog has its reaction.

Now to other stories.

Tragic story. The son of Fox Sports’ Chris Myers was killed this week in a car accident and it will keep Myers from his NASCAR duties.

Sports Illustrated’s Stewart Mandel says the Pac-12 Conference is hoping its in-house network will break TV barriers.

Todd Cunningham of The Wrap notes that the NBA’s TV partners can’t go crazy and add New York Knicks games this season.

Awful Announcing’s Matt Yoder looks at yesterday’s Twitter feud between CNBC’s Darren Rovell and the New York Times’ Richard Sandomir.

Speaking of Richard, he and Howard Beck team up for a story in the Times about the resolution of the dispute between MSG Network and Time Warner Cable.

Nina Mandell of the New York Daily News says there was intervention among state and NBA officials to end the MSG/Time Warner Cable dispute.

The New York Post’s Claire Atkinson and Andy Soltis write about what brought MSG and Time Warner Cable back to the table.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union has MSG’s official statement on the resolution.

Pete has Time Warner’s statement as well.

Tim Tucker of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes that ESPN’s ratings for college basketball are up.

Mark Snyder of the Detroit Free Press chronicles College GameDay’s visit to the Michigan campus.

John Daly of the Daly Planet has a recap of some NASCAR media issues going into its first real weekend of the season.

John Singler of the Motor Racing Network talks about the first online streaming of NASCAR this season.

That’s going to be it for today.

Wringing Out Some Friday Megalinks

Let’s do your media megalinks since last week you did not get any.

Hard to believe that college baseball, college lacrosse and NASCAR seasons are starting up, but they are and they’re included in the Weekend Viewing Picks along with the regular Golf, NBA, NHL, Skiing, Soccer, Tennis and Entertainment recommendations.

To your links now.

National

Michael Hiestand of USA Today says Jeremy Lin will make his nationwide broadcast network debut this weekend.

Tim Baysinger from Broadcasting & Cable notes that Floyd Mayweather’s next pay per view fight has been set by HBO for the spring.

Mike Reynolds at Multichannel News writes that Jeremy Lin continues to drive the MSG Network ratings engine.

Mike Shields of Adweek looks at CBS/Turner Sports’ plans to charge to view the NCAA Tournament online.

Ted Johnson of Variety talks with Ken Solomon of Tennis Channel on his ongoing battle to get a better footing with Comcast.

Michael Bradley at the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center says the Jeremy Lin media coverage is over the top.

Sports Media Watch notes the increased viewership for the NHL on NBC Sports Network.

SMW says Pardon the Interruption’s Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon have lent their voices to a Disney XD cartoon series.

Andy Hall at ESPN Front Row PR blog celebrates the 5th anniversary of NASCAR’s return to the network.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell speaks with Jeremy Lin’s agent.

Andrew Bucholtz writing his first article for Awful Announcing looks at the reaction to Jeremy Lin in Canada.

Mat Yoder at AA says the ratings for last weekend’s Pebble Beach National Pro-Am show fans are still interested in Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.

Joe Favorito explores the steady growth of college lacrosse.

Mark J. Miller of Brandchannel says NASCAR fans don’t like it when drivers juggle sponsor logos throughout the Sprint Cup season.

The Big Lead has ESPN’s Erin Andrews out and about during New York’s Fashion Week.

Chris Chase at Yahoo’s Shutdown Corner notes that ESPN has been coaching Jon Gruden to use his words judiciously.

Harrison Mooney of Yahoo’s Puck Daddy says Jeremy Lin’s drawing power might indirectly benefit the New York Rangers, Islanders, Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils which have been missing from Time Warner Cable systems in addition to the Knicks.

David B. Wilkerson at MarketWatch wonders if the MSG/Time Warner Cable feud will eventually push sports into a premium tier.

East and Mid-Atlantic

The Boston Globe’s Chad Finn gets some advice for new NESN Red Sox field reporter Jenny Dell from MSG’s Tina Cervasio.

At SB Nation Boston, Bruce Allen of Boston Sports Media Watch pays tribute to Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan who announced he’s retiring after the London Olympics.

Surviving Grady has a podcast with Jen Royle.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times looks at the new charge for viewing the NCAA Tournament online.

Richard writes about the increased ratings for Knicks games since Jeremy Lin arrived on the scene.

Phil Mushnick at the New York Post is in rare form today even for him.

Brett Cyrgalis of the Post has five questions for CBS college basketball analyst Bill Raftery.

The Post’s David Seifman reports that the New York City Council is pressuring MSG Network and Time Warner Cable to work out a deal.

Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News writes that ESPN bumped tonight’s Hornets-Knicks game not realizing it would be another opportunity to showcase Jeremy Lin.

Jerry Barmash from Fishbowl NY has reaction from various NYC sports anchors to the death of former Mets catcher Gary Carter.

Mike Silva at the Sports Media Watchdog feels hockey coverage in New York is woefully inadequate.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union writes that a local sports TV reporter received a New York Emmy nomination.

Pete lists his top studio analysts.

DCRTV’s Dave Hughes has the latest in Baltimore-Washington DC sports media news in Press Box.

Dan Steinberg at the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog has a clip of Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon as cartoon characters.

Jim Williams at the Washington Examiner says talks with sports business writer Evan Weiner about the NFL’s antiquated blackout rules.

South

Barry Jackson at the Miami Herald has some thoughts on Shaquille O’Neal’s rookie season at TNT and ESPN’s decision to remove Ron Jaworski from Monday Night Football.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle says the Astros plan to bring in former players to their radio booth to celebrate the team’s 50th season.

Mel Bracht at the Daily Oklahoman notes the first network appearance of Jeremy Lin is this Sunday.

Midwest

The Detroit Free Press notes that all of the Tigers games will be on TV this season.

Bob Wolfey of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says Dick Enberg told a captive audience at Marquette University about the art of the pause and when to use it in broadcasting.

Ed Sherman at Crain’s Chicago Business has his weekly winners and losers in sports business and media.

To the Rochester (MN) Post-Bulletin where Paul Christian writes that Fox Sports North will be all over the Minnesota Twins this season.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says the Cardinals have mostly put the kybosh on late afternoon games at Busch Stadium this season.

Dan says a local sports radio host is recovering after undergoing heart bypass surgery.

West

Jay Posner at the San Diego Union-Tribune writes that the new Fox Sports San Diego is set to launch next month.

Jay writes the San Diego Padres stand to double their rights fees from Fox as compared to Cox a year ago.

John Maffei at the North County Times says the official announcement between Fox Sports San Diego carrying the Padres is due any time now.

At the Ventura County Star, Jim Carlisle says NBC and the NHL have become very good partners.

Jim feels ESPN should not have jettisoned Ron Jaworski from Monday Night Football.

Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times notes that ESPN college football analyst Ed Cunningham is up for a Best Documentary Oscar.

Bill Shakin of the Times says Frank McCourt’s legal problems are holding up Fox’s announcement with the Padres.

Tom Hoffarth from the Los Angeles Daily News recaps a lecture from three noted network broadcasters discussing TV coverage of the Olympics.

And that’s going to conclude the megalinks for today.

NASCAR on Fox Takes The Green Flag For Its 12th Season

Fox is in the pits and ready to start its engine for its 12th season of NASCAR. It all begins on Saturday with the Budweiser Shootout, part of the Daytona Speedweeks, leading up to next Sunday’s Daytona 500. The Budweiser Shootout will feature last Sprint Cup season’s top 25 racers including champion Tony Stewart.

Then on Sunday, Fox will carry the qualifying for next Sunday’s Daytona 500 pole position.

The regular NASCAR on Fox crew of Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds will be in the broadcast booth to call the race. Chris Myers and Darrell will be in a refurbished Hollywood Hotel on the track’s infield and the regular Fox crew will have both the Budweiser Shootout and Daytona 500 Qualifying covered in the pits.

Here’s the Fox Sports press release.

FOX SPORTS NOTES, QUOTES & ANECDOTES

Green Flag Drops for NASCAR on FOX’s 12th Season
Primetime Coverage of the Budweiser Shootout Saturday & Daytona 500 Qualifying Sunday
McReynolds: “Bud Shootout Sets Tone For Great Season”

NASCAR ON FOX BEGINS 12^TH SEASON SATURDAY WITH 34^TH ANNUAL BUDWEISER SHOOTOUT IN PRIMETIME – A deep and talented field hits the Daytona International Speedway as Tony Stewart’s quest for back-to-back championships gets underway Saturday, Feb. 18 (8:00 PM ET) at the Budweiser Shootout.  The network airs Daytona 500 Qualifying Sunday, Feb. 19 (1:00 PM ET).

NASCAR on FOX host Chris Myers and analyst Darrell Waltrip provide Bud Shootout prerace coverage with up-to-the-second reports and live interviews with drivers, crews and officials shaping the night’s action. FOX Sports’ Jeff Hammond serves as the network’s roving analyst taking fans from the garages to pit road and everywhere in between.  Once the green flag drops, race announcer Mike Joy is alongside analysts Waltrip and Larry McReynolds to call all the twists and turns on the track while Dick Berggren, Steve Byrnes, Krista Voda and Matt Yocum patrol the pits for reports on teams and pit stops.

MCREYNOLDS: ANTICIPATION BUILDING FOR BUDWEISER SHOOTOUT – “It’s going to be one of the largest fields we’ve ever had.  It’s almost like an All-Star race at Daytona because it’s the top 25 drivers from last year and any other driver who has ever won a points event at Daytona or a Budweiser Shootout, which would include Trevor Bayne and Jamie McMurray,” said McReynolds.  We’re going to see speeds well over 200 MPH and the drivers are going to be in big packs of racing 3- and 4-wide.  Even though it’s a 75 lap race, we probably won’t have a clue who is going to win until they come off the last corner of the last lap and get close to that checkered flag.”   

Saturday, Feb. 18, 2012

Budweiser Shootout (Daytona International Speedway), 8:00 PM ET
Prerace Host Chris Myers/Prerace Analyst Darrell Waltrip
Announcer Mike Joy/Analyst Darrell Waltrip/Analyst Larry McReynolds/Roving Analyst Jeff Hammond
Pits Steve Byrnes, Matt Yocum, Krista Voda, Dick Berggren

Sunday, Feb. 19, 2012

Daytona 500 Qualifying (Daytona International Speedway), 1:00 PM ET
Announcer Mike Joy/Analyst Darrell Waltrip/Analyst Larry McReynolds
Pits Jeff Hammond, Steve Byrnes, Matt Yocum, Krista Voda, Dick Berggren

Below are drivers scheduled to compete in Saturday’s Budweiser Shootout:

Jamie McMurray (No. 1 – Earnhardt Ganassi Racing – Chevrolet)
Brad Keselowski (No. 2 – Penske Racing – Dodge)
Kasey Kahne (No. 5 – Hendrick Motorsports – Chevrolet)
Marcos Ambrose (No. 9 – Richard Petty Motorsports – Ford)
Denny Hamlin (No. 11 – Joe Gibbs Racing – Toyota)
Tony Stewart (No. 14 – Stewart-Haas Racing – Chevrolet)
Clint Bowyer (No. 15 – Michael Waltrip Racing – Toyota)
Greg Biffle (No. 16 – Roush Fenway Racing – Ford)
Matt Kenseth (No. 17 – Roush Fenway Racing – Ford)
Kyle Busch (No. 18 – Joe Gibbs Racing – Toyota)
Joey Logano (No. 20 – Joe Gibbs Racing – Toyota)
AJ Allmendinger (No. 22 – Penske Racing – Dodge)
Jeff Gordon (No. 24 – Hendrick Motorsports – Chevrolet)
Paul Menard (No. 27 – Richard Childress Racing – Chevrolet)
Kevin Harvick (No. 29 – Richard Childress Racing – Chevrolet)
Jeff Burton (No. 31 – Richard Childress Racing – Chevrolet)
David Ragan (No. 34 – Front Row Motorsports – Ford)
Ryan Newman (No. 39 – Stewart-Haas Racing – Chevrolet)
Juan Pablo Montoya (No. 42 – Earnhardt Ganassi Racing – Chevrolet)
Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 – Hendrick Motorsports – Chevrolet)
Kurt Busch (No. 51 – Phoenix Racing – Chevrolet)
Michael Waltrip (No. 55 – Michael Waltrip Racing – Toyota)
Martin Truex Jr. (No. 56 – Michael Waltrip Racing – Toyota)
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 – Hendrick Motorsports – Chevrolet)
Carl Edwards (No. 99 – Roush Fenway Racing – Ford)

100 HOURS OF SPEEDWEEKS ON SPEED™ NASCAR Sprint Cup Series cars take to the track Friday for the first Budweiser Shootout practice session and SPEED brings viewers the Budweiser Shootout Selection Show on Friday, Feb. 17 (8:30 PM ET).

See Full Daytona Speedweeks on SPEED Schedule Here: http://bit.ly/wiRjwf

That’s it.

Some Quick Thursday Links

Ok, going to attempt some linkage here. Quite busy, but I’ll try to sneak some stuff for you.

Eric Fisher of Sports Business Daily looks at the new $3.99 charge for the new March Madness Live app for the NCAA Tournament.

R. Thomas Umstead of Multichannel News/Broadcasting & Cable also writes about the new March Madness Live app.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch talks with ESPN’s Ron Jaworski about being removed from the Monday Night Football booth.

Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio has the impression that ESPN’s Jon Gruden didn’t agree with the decision to take Jaws out of the MNF booth.

Former New York Times columnist George Vecsey is now on Twitter and he’s a bit apprehensive about it.

Glenn Davis at SportsGrid is confused about yesterday’s Colin Cowherd interview with Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit cover girl Kate Upton.

Timothy Burke at Deadspin has audio of CNBC’s Darren Rovell explaining his Valentine Day’s proposal to Kate Upton.

Maury Brown at the Biz of Baseball says not every local MLB deal is equal and fair.

Anthony Crupi from Adweek notes that CBS El Capo di Tutti Capi Les Moonves predicts record ad rates for Super Bowl XLVII which will be aired on the Tiffany Network next year.

Adweek has a video with NASCAR CEO Brian France on the upcoming Sprint Cup season.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life Magazine says thanks to the Super Bowl, NBC leads the February sweeps by a 2-1 margin over CBS.

Sam Eifling of The Big Lead talks with a Memphis sports radio host who kept grinding and has been rewarded with national recognition.

At the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Ronnie Ramos talks about how to maximize your Facebook and Twitter strategies.

Also at the National Sports Journalism Center, Eric Deggans of the Tampa Bay Times cautions traditional media about falling into prejudicial traps when writing about Jeremy Lin.

Karen Hogan of Sports Video Group explains the logistics for CBC’s Hockey Day in Canada.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says one sporting goods chain is going all in for Jeremy Lin.

Kevin Lincoln at the Business Insider’s Sports Page notes that Time Warner Cable is sending out small refund checks for those missing MSG Network.

WEEI’s Kirk Minihane lists the best and worst Boston TV announcers.

The Boston Herald’s Inside Track found Red Sox first baseman Adrian Gonzalez going through the ESPN “Car Wash” yesterday.

To the Worcester Telegram & Gazette where Bill Doyle gets Comcast SportsNet Celtics sideline reporter Greg Dickerson to talk about epilepsy and Tourette syndrome which have plagued him.

Over to the New York Times’ Richard Sandomir who looks into ESPN’s Monday Night Football personnel move.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union has the New York Mets Spring Training TV schedule.

Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record posts the Yankees Spring Training TV and Radio schedules.

Ed Barkowitz at the Philadelphia Daily News says Jaws being taken off Monday Night Football doesn’t mean the end for him at ESPN.

From the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog, Dan Steinberg says DirecTV has added Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic’s overflow channel in HD, finally.

Jim Williams at the Washington Examiner says a two man booth will benefit Monday Night Football.

Tom Jones of the Tampa Bay Times writes that local sports radio talk show host is out of a job today.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle says Astros voice Milo Hamilton may be retiring after this season, but the team won’t be losing him altogether.

The Houston Astros website has an entire section devoted to Hamilton’s career including some of his most famous radio calls.

Bob Wolfley at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says the Brewers will be featured at least six times on Fox’s Saturday baseball package.

Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times says the NHL finally has a TV partner which is fully promoting the league.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has reaction to Bob Ryan’s announced retirement from the Boston Globe.

Barry Wilner at the San Jose Mercury News gets some details of the new Pac-12 Network from league commissioner Larry Scott.

Blogs and reporters are constantly receiving public relations pitches. Here’s one regarding Jeremy Lin and it’s a bit over the top.

Sports Media Watch notes that the 2012 MLB on Fox schedule is reduced from last year due to the 2012 Olympics.

SMW says Golf Channel set a ratings record last Sunday.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog has the sports TV viewership numbers for last week.

Mike Silva of the Sports Media Watchdog has a review of the new CBS Radio Mike Francesa Show app.

Joe Favorito says the Phoenix Suns are using the Samsung Galaxy tablet on the sidelines.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media has the numbers for the NHL on NBC Sports Network from early this week.

Ben Koo at Awful Announcing notes that ESPN is not tiring of the Jeremy Lin overkill.

Lou Clinton at 38 Cliches is rooting for former Red Sox announcer Jerry Trupiano.

And that’s where we’ll end it. Enjoy your Thursday.

2012 MLB on Fox Schedule Includes 8 Consecutive Weeks in Primetime

Building on a trend from the previous two seasons, Fox Sports will increase the amount of MLB games from three to eight in 2012. This season, the primetime stretch begins on May 19 and will continue through July 7. According to Fox, all teams excluding Toronto will be featured during that 8 week stretch at least twice. Fox will choose from as many as six games to air. The least amount of games to be featured during that primetime stretch will be three on July 7.

This year, Fox will have the All-Star Game, being played in Kansas City, the National League Championship Series and the World Series.

In addition to eight primetime weeks, there will be three instances where games will start at 1 p.m. ET so as not to run into NASCAR primetime races and those dates are April 14, April 28 and May 12. The UEFA Champions League Final is on May 19 and that is MLB on Fox’s first primetime week of the season.

We have the Fox press release and the 2012 MLB on Fox schedule below.

MLB ON FOX LIGHTS THE NIGHT IN 2012

17^th Season Highlighted by Eight Consecutive Saturday Primetime Dates Featuring All US Teams At Least Twice

New York & Los Angeles – MLB on FOX, the sport’s highest-rated and most-watched television package, today unveils its 17th FOX SATURDAY BASEBALL GAME OF THE WEEK schedule highlighted by eight consecutive primetime dates, the most ever scheduled during the regular-season. During the stretch, all US-based teams appear at least twice beginning in May and continuing until the All-Star break.

Primetime coverage begins at 7:00 PM ET on those select nights and kicks off on Saturday, May 19 with five Interleague matchups including the Boston Red Sox taking on the Philadelphia Phillies and the Chicago White Sox facing their crosstown rival Chicago Cubs. The Phillies are back on Saturday, May 26 when they travel to St. Louis to take on the reigning World Champion Cardinals. The primetime schedule, which includes four Interleague dates, continues into June and culminates on Saturday, July 7 with a classic New York Yankees – Red Sox matchup in Fenway, while the Atlanta Braves play the Phillies and the Minnesota Twins take on the American League Champion Texas Rangers.

“We’re pleased that we were able work with our partners at Major League Baseball to develop our most extensive primetime schedule yet,” said FOX Sports Co-President and COO Eric Shanks. “Our hope is to increase viewership and by featuring so many teams, create additional exposure for the game’s many stars so they become more familiar to a broader fan base.”

MLB on FOX’s Opening Day schedule begins at 3:30 PM ET on Saturday, April 7 with a home run lineup featuring the last two World Series Champions. The Cardinals head to Milwaukee to face the Brewers in an NLCS rematch, while the San Francisco Giants go on the road against the NL West Champion Arizona Diamondbacks. Fans can also catch Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder and Bobby Valentine in their new uniforms as the Anaheim Angels host the Kansas City Royals and the Red Sox take on the Detroit Tigers.

In addition to 24 weeks of regular season coverage, FOX Sports airs the 83rd MLB All-Star Game from Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, MO, the National League Championship Series and the 108th World Series. During the first 16 years the FOX has been the primary broadcast network home of MLB, FOX Sports has aired 14 World Series, 22 League Championship Series and 13 All-Star Games.

Over the first 24 weeks of the MLB season, the Red Sox, Cubs, Yankees and Giants are each scheduled to make a maximum nine appearances on FOX in 2012. The Rangers along with the Angels, Braves, Mets and are scheduled to appear eight times. The World Champion Cardinals appear seven times as are the Phillies.

The final two Saturdays of the regular season are designated as “wild card” dates, allowing FOX Sports and MLB to choose games of postseason significance each Saturday.

David Hill and Eric Shanks are the Executive Producers of FOX Sports. Don Bui serves as pregame producer. Pete Macheska is coordinating producer of FOX Sports’ Major League Baseball coverage. Bill Webb is lead director.

About FOX Sports
FOX Sports is the flagship network of the FOX Sports Media Group. As America’s top-rated network for sports for 15 straight years (1997-2011), FOX Sports boasts rights agreements with each of the nation’s highest-rated sports. FOX Sports is the exclusive national over-the-air television rights holder for Major League Baseball, including the All-Star Game, alternating League Championship Series and World Series (2007-2013); the National Football League’s NFC package, including the NFC Championship Game and Super Bowls XLVIII, LI, LIV, LVII (through 2022 season); NASCAR Sprint Cup racing from February through May, including the Daytona 500 (2007-2014); Ultimate Fighting Championship (through 2018); the Big Ten Football Championship Games (2011-16); a minimum of eight regular- season Pac-12 football games (2012-22);  the Pac-12 Football Championship Game (even years from 2012-22); the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic and the UEFA Champions League Final. Since its inception in 1994, FOX Sports has earned 85 Emmy Awards for production excellence. David Hill and Eric Shanks are the Executive Producers of FOX Sports.  For the latest sports news, opinion and video, log on to www.FOXSports.com.

 2012 MLB on FOX REGULAR SEASON BROADCAST SCHEDULE
(Note: Schedule Subject to Change)

April 7, 2012 (3:30 PM ET)
Boston Red Sox at Detroit Tigers
St. Louis Cardinals at Milwaukee Brewers
San Francisco Giants at Arizona Diamondbacks
Kansas City Royals at Anaheim Angels

April 14, 2012 (12:30 PM ET)
Chicago Cubs at St. Louis Cardinals
Anaheim Angels at New York Yankees
Texas Rangers at Minnesota Twins

April 21, 2012 (3:30 PM ET)
New York Yankees at Boston Red Sox
Chicago White Sox at Seattle Mariners

April 28, 2012 (12:30 PM ET)
Milwaukee Brewers at St. Louis Cardinals
Anaheim Angels at Cleveland Indians
Kansas City Royals at Minnesota Twins

May 5, 2012 (3:30 PM ET)
Chicago White Sox at Detroit Tigers
Arizona Diamondbacks at New York Mets
Milwaukee Brewers at San Francisco Giants

May 12, 2012 (12:30 PM ET)
Chicago Cubs at Milwaukee Brewers
Anaheim Angels at Texas Rangers
New York Mets at Miami Marlins

May 19, 2012 (7:00 PM ET)
Boston Red Sox at Philadelphia Phillies
Chicago White Sox at Chicago Cubs
Texas Rangers at Houston Astros
Baltimore Orioles at Washington Nationals
Arizona Diamondbacks at Kansas City Royals

May 26, 2012 (7:00 PM ET)
Philadelphia Phillies at St. Louis Cardinals
Tampa Bay Rays at Boston Red Sox
Chicago Cubs at Pittsburgh Pirates
Colorado Rockies at Cincinnati Reds
Anaheim Angels at Seattle Mariners

June 2, 2012 (7:00 PM ET)
New York Yankees at Detroit Tigers
Chicago Cubs at San Francisco Giants
Minnesota Twins at Cleveland Indians
Arizona Diamondbacks at San Diego Padres
Cincinnati Reds at Houston Astros

June 9, 2012 (7:00 PM ET)
New York Mets at New York Yankees
Cleveland Indians at St. Louis Cardinals
Los Angeles Dodgers at Seattle Mariners
Tampa Bay Rays at Miami Marlins
Kansas City Royals at Pittsburgh Pirates

June 16, 2012 (7:00 PM ET)
Boston Red Sox at Chicago Cubs
Cincinnati Reds at New York Mets
Miami Marlins at Tampa Bay Rays
Baltimore Orioles at Atlanta Braves
Houston Astros at Texas Rangers

June 23, 2012 (7:00 PM ET)
New York Yankees at New York Mets
Atlanta Braves at Boston Red Sox
Washington Nationals at Baltimore Orioles
Los Angeles Dodgers at Anaheim Angels
San Francisco Giants at Oakland Athletics
Milwaukee Brewers at Chicago White Sox

June 30, 2012 (7:00 PM ET)
New York Mets at Los Angeles Dodgers
Arizona Diamondbacks at Milwaukee Brewers
Detroit Tigers at Tampa Bay Rays
Oakland Athletics at Texas Rangers
San Diego Padres at Colorado Rockies
Kansas City Royals at Minnesota Twins

July 7, 2012 (7:00 PM ET)
New York Yankees at Boston Red Sox
Atlanta Braves at Philadelphia Phillies
Minnesota Twins at Texas Rangers

July 10, 2012 (8:00 PM ET)
2012 MLB All-Star Game from Kansas City

July 14, 2012 (3:30 PM ET)
New York Mets at Atlanta Braves
Arizona Diamondbacks at Chicago Cubs
Philadelphia Phillies at Colorado Rockies

July 21, 2012 (3:30 PM ET)
San Francisco Giants at Philadelphia Phillies
Chicago Cubs at St. Louis Cardinals
Texas Rangers at Anaheim Angels

July 28, 2012 (3:30 PM ET)
Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees
Philadelphia Phillies at Atlanta Braves

August 18, 2012 (3:30 PM ET)
Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees
San Francisco Giants at San Diego Padres

August 25, 2012 (3:30 PM ET)
St. Louis Cardinals at Cincinnati Reds
Atlanta Braves at San Francisco Giants
Minnesota Twins at Texas Rangers

September 1, 2012 (3:30 PM ET)
Philadelphia Phillies at Atlanta Braves
San Francisco Giants at Chicago Cubs
Anaheim Angels at Seattle Mariners

September 8, 2012 (3:30 PM ET)
Atlanta Braves at New York Mets
Los Angeles Dodgers at San Francisco Giants
Kansas City Royals at Chicago White Sox

September 15, 2012 (3:30 PM ET)
Tampa Bay Rays at New York Yankees
Detroit Tigers at Cleveland Indians
Colorado Rockies at San Diego Padres

September 22, 2012 (3:30 PM ET)
Wild Card

September 29, 2012 (3:30 PM ET)
Wild Card

There you have it.

Tuesday Night Linkage

I owe you linkage. I’m in a bad stretch so linkage is scarce. I try to give you breaking news when I can.

Let’s start with Michael Hiestand of USA Today who reports that MLB on Fox will go eight straight weeks in primetime during the upcoming 2012 season.

Sports Illustrated’s Peter King says it’s time for him to step down as a voter for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Matt Pepin of Boston.com announces that legendary writer Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe plans to retire after the London Summer Olympics. Ryan will be missed, but I have a feeling we’ll still be seeing him around.

At Sports Business Journal, John Ourand looks at how sports talk radio is thriving while other formats  in the medium are failing.

John talks with a DC-based sports radio show on how it focuses on doing its program the old fashioned way.

SBJ lists some of the markets where sports radio wars are hot and heavy.

And SBJ has a look at sports talk radio by the numbers.

Dave Kindred at the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center has hope for the future of sports journalism.

Joe Lucia of Awful Announcing has the MSG Network and TSN calls of the Jeremy Lin three pointer to beat Toronto to guide the New York Knicks to their 6th straight win.

Kelly Dwyer at Yahoo’s Ball Don’t Lie blog says Jason Whitlock is backtracking after his racist Jeremy Lin tweet from last Friday.

Edmund Lee of Capital New York goes inside the “hard-working” descriptions for Jeremy Lin.

Advertising Age notes that NBC is utilizing Google and ComScore to measure how people watch this year’s London Olympics.

Todd Spangler of Multichannel News looks at a new internet streaming TV service that will challenge copyright laws, but has the support of rich investors and one particular media mogul.

Tim Nudd of Adweek talks about Ford creating a fake Sports Illustrated swimsuit model for an ad in this year’s issue.

Tim looks at Samsung’s Super Bowl ad which poked fun Apple groupies.

Timothy Burke at Deadspin has the awkward video of CNBC’s Darren Rovell asking SI Swimsuit Issue Cover Girl Kate Upton to be his Valentine.

Darren says SI had to put Kate Upton on the cover or suffer the consequences.

Jason Brough at Pro Hockey Talk has New York Rangers fans angry over the MSG/Time Warner Cable dispute.

Tom Lorenzo at SportsGrid says Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton will grant his first post-relapse interview to … Glenn Beck TV?

Larry Mahoney of the Bangor (ME) Daily News says Maine native Ricky Craven will be a NASCAR analyst for ESPN this season.

NESN has a behind-the-scenes video with its Boston Bruins rinkside reporter Naoko Funayama on her gameday preparation.

NESN also has Friends of Fang’s Bites Jen Royle and ABC6′s Courtney Fallon talking about their dream dates as they attended a charity event in Boston last weekend. Former NESN Red Sox reporter Heidi Watney was also there.

Over to Richard Sandomir of the New York Times who says NBC is hoping the London Olympics will outpace the ad sales for the Vancouver Winter Games which ended up at a loss for the network.

Jerry Barmash at Fishbowl NY says WFAN has made it official that Josh Lewin replaces Wayne Hagin on Mets broadcasts this year.

Bob’s Blitz looks at the overhyped CBS Radio mobile app for WFAN’s Mike Francesa who once proclaimed it to be a “Twitta Killa.”

Pete Dougherty from the Albany Times Union writes that despite not having Time Warner Cable subscribers watching, MSG Network’s ratings for Knicks games featuring Jeremy Lin are red hot.

Ken McMillan at the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record states that MSG will simulcast Knicks games in Spanish.

Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer says the Phillies are hoping to cash in when their TV rights go up for bid after this season.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog has samples of Washington Wizards and Capitals owner Ted Leonsis’ takes on the print media.

Jose Lambiet of the Miami Herald notes that local sports radio talk host Sid Rosenberg owes a lot of money to an illegal offshore gambling site.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle says Hall of Fame Astros announcer Milo Hamilton is expected to announce his retirement on Wednesday.

David speculates on who could replace Hamilton in 2013.

Steve Campbell of the Chronicle writes that Hamilton’s retirement is just one of the many changes expected for the ‘Stros.

Mel Bracht at the Daily Oklahoman looks at the local ratings.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says local viewers watched golf over the weekend.

Tom Hoffarth at the Los Angeles Daily News notes one of the finalists for this year’s MLB Fan Cave inhabitants.

John Daly at The Daly Planet feels NBC SportsTalk should bring NASCAR into the mix.

John also looks at ESPN’s NASCAR announcing lineup.

Sports Media Watch gives us last week’s sports television ratings.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media says the NHL on NBC Sports Network drew decently last Sunday.

Steve looks inside the numbers of Sunday’s NHL on NBC Sports Network game.

Dave Kohl of the Broadcast Booth looks at Sid Rosenberg’s alleged gambling debts.

And we’ll end it there for now.

Bringing Out Some Saturday Links

Been battling the stomach flu over the last 24 hours which is why you haven’t seen new posts since the Weekend Viewing Picks. My apologies for that. Still feeling a bit blue over the flu and running to the bathroom every 15 minutes, but I’m getting better now. Been a tough winter for me getting sick, but hopefully, the spring will bring better health.

Let’s bring you some overdue linkage.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today says lucrative TV deals have emboldened the Anaheim Angels and Texas Rangers in the free agent market.

Brian Lowry at FoxSports.com rates the Super Bowl ads.

The Nielsen Wire blog says one particular Doritos Super Bowl ad is the Most-Liked.

Fred Frommer of the Associated Press has a feature story on how President Richard Nixon offered to keep the old NFL blackout rule in place if it lifted the local blackout on a home DC NFL team.

Alec Banks of Complex has the “20 Hottest Women in the History of ESPN” and I totally disagree with the list. If you’re going history, no Karie Ross? No Melissa Stark? This list is faulty.

The new radio voice of the Pawtucket Red Sox, Aaron Goldsmith goes behind-the-scenes of taping a new radio spot.

Multichannel News says NBC Sports Network has hired an ESPN executive to head up its original programming department.

At the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Michael Bradley feels the media coverage of Gisele Bündchen’s comments after the Super Bowl were much ado about nothing, but he feels it could be the future of sports media.

Dan Fogarty of SportsGrid has video of Jeremy Lin’s insane spin move on Derek Fisher during last night’s Lakers-Knicks game.

Dan notes that Fox Sports Jason Whitlock made a racist penis joke about Jeremy Lin and Twitter responded.

Boston Sports Media Watch’s Bruce Allen writes in SB Nation Boston that sports can be fun, except with the Boston Sports Media.

The Connecticut Post reports that YES Network Nets and Yankees studio host Bob Lorenz was arrested this week on DUI charges.

The New York Times’ Melissa Hoppert spends 30 seconds with NHL Network host Kathryn Tappen.

Richard Sandomir of the Times says not even Linsanity can get the Knicks back on Time Warner Cable.

Richard says the Mets have hired a replacement for radio announcer Wayne Hagin.

Pete Dougherty from the Albany Times Union talks with CBS college basketball analyst Clark Kellogg.

Tom Jones of the Tampa Bay Times writes that Nanci Donnellan, a.k.a. The Fabulous Sports Babe, is in very bad health.

Brent Schrotenboer of the San Diego Union-Tribune talks with a former local sports talk show host who was fired from his job for making several derogatory remarks about a women’s college basketball analyst.

NBC San Diego also has an interview with the host who originally did not apologize for his remarks.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News laments the shrinking number of sports media reporters in Southern California.

Tom has a couple of notes that didn’t make his column.

Ben Koo at Awful Announcing is fascinated by ESPN’s extensive film library.

Sports Media Watch says the audience for Fox’s second live English Premier League broadcast grew slightly, but had the same rating.

SMW says this week’s Duke-North Carolina game had higher ratings from last year.

Lorenzo Arguello has video of ESPN’s Erin Andrews getting chatty with Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover model Brooklyn Decker at last week’s GQ Super Bowl party.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media says NBCSports.com will stream all of the out-of-market early games from next weekend’s Hockey Day in America.

Dave Kohl of The Broadcast Booth says sports radio hosts getting personal is when they cross over the line.

We’ll end the linkage there.

Fox Announces 2012 NASCAR Schedule

Fox is back with 13 Sprint Cup races including the Daytona 500 and 15 NASCAR events in all. They’ll begin on Saturday, February 18 with the Budweiser Shootout live in primetime. Then the Daytona 500 takes place the following weekend on Sunday, February 26.

The network’s races include stops in Las Vegas,NV; Bristol, TN; Richmond, VA; Talladega, AL; Charlotte, NC; and its schedule ends in Dover, DE on June 3. In addition to the Budweiser Shootout, races in Fort Worth, Richmond and Darlingto will be in primetime and run on Saturdays. The rest of Fox’s schedule will be run on Sundays.

Michael Waltrip joins the Fox team to be an analyst in the “Hollywood Hotel” and he’ll be teamed with his brother Darrell and his other brother Daryl (Newhart reference) and host Chris Myers. The fan favorite announcing team of Mike Joy, Darrel Waltrip and Larry McReynolds return for their 12th season together.

Here’s the Fox schedule.

FOX SPORTS ANNOUNCES 2012 NASCAR ON FOX BROADCAST SCHEDULE

54^th Daytona 500 on Sun. Feb 26 Highlights 12^th Season
Coverage Begins with Budweiser Shootout on Feb. 18

New York & Los Angeles – FOX Sports gears up for its 12th season of NASCAR coverage by unveiling the 2012 NASCAR on FOX broadcast schedule featuring 13 NASCAR Sprint Cup points races and 15 events total,  highlighted by the 54th running of the DAYTONA 500, live on Sunday, Feb. 26 (1:00-5:30 PM ET) from Daytona International Speedway.  Coverage of the “Great American Race” begins that day with a special one-hour pre-race program (12:00-1:00 PM ET) from the Daytona International Speedway infield and a completely remodeled Hollywood Hotel. The flag officially drops on FOX Sports’ 2012 Speedweeks coverage with the BUDWEISER SHOOTOUT, live on Saturday, Feb. 18 in prime time (8:00-10:00 PM ET), followed by live coverage of DAYTONA 500 QUALIFYING on Sunday, Feb. 19 (1:00-4:00 PM ET).

Michael Waltrip, driver, owner and pitch-man extraordinaire, joins the FOX NASCAR SUNDAY prerace team, taking a seat in the famed Hollywood Hotel alongside big brother Darrell Waltrip and host Chris Myers. Darrell and former champion crew chief Larry McReynolds return to provide race analysis for all NASCAR on FOX Sprint Cup events, and Mike Joy returns as race announcer. Veteran analyst Jeff Hammond takes his extensive experience as a former championship-winning crew chief to the action in the garages and on pit road. Dick Berggren, Steve Byrnes, Matt Yocum and Krista Voda also return to cover pit road. NASCAR on FOX “storm scout” and meteorologist Rick Dickert of FOX-owned KTTV in Los Angeles rejoins the crew to provide weather updates to viewers on the FOX NASCAR SUNDAY prerace show as well as during race coverage.

FOX’s 2012 NASCAR schedule is highlighted by races from Phoenix International Speedway on Sunday, March 4; Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, March 11; Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday, March 18; Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, April 14; Richmond International Raceway on Saturday, April 28; Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, May 6; and the NASCAR on FOX season finale from Dover, Delaware on Sunday, June 3.

The network’s presentation of the first 13 races of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup series hit a three-year high averaging 8.6 million viewers per race, up +9% over 2010 (7.9 million viewers). The 2011 Daytona 500 crowned the event’s youngest champion ever and delivered ratings and audience gains for FOX Sports. A total audience of just over 30 million Americans watched the race, making the 2011 Daytona 500 the most-watched NASCAR race since 2008. The 30.1 million total viewers, a measure of the audience that saw at least a portion of the race, is +1% higher than 2010’s total audience of 29.8 million and +15% better than 2009′s 26.2 million.

FOX Sports commands the well-earned distinction as television’s most innovative sports broadcaster.  Ranking high among the network’s achievements are honors for its NASCAR coverage. NASCAR on FOX has garnered 15 Emmy Awards for its coverage including three for Outstanding Sports Series (2001, 2005, 2007), five for Outstanding Live Event Audio Sound (2002, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010), one for Outstanding Graphic Design (2001), five for Outstanding Technical Team Remote (2001, 2003-05, 2007) and one for Promotional Announcement Episodic (2008).

NASCAR on FOX 2012 Schedule

Saturday February 18 — Daytona International Speedway, Budweiser Shootout, 8:00 PM
Sunday, February 19 — Daytona Internationall Speedway, Daytona 500 Qualifying, 1:00 PM
Sunday, February 26 — Daytona International Speedway, Daytona 500, 12:00 PM
Sunday, March 4 — Phoenix International Speedway, NASCAR Racing from Phoenix, 2:30 PM
Sunday, March 11 — Las Vegas Motor Speedway, NASCAR Racing from Las Vegas, 2:30 PM
Sunday, March 18 — Bristol Motor Speedway, NASCAR Racing from Bristol, 12:30 PM
Sunday, March 25 — Auto Club Speedway, NASCAR Racing from Fontana, 2:30 PM
Sunday, April 1 — Martinsville Speedway, NASCAR Racing from Martinsville, 12:30 PM
Saturday, April 14 — Texas Motor Speedway, NASCAR Racing from Fort Worth, 7:00 PM
Sunday, April 22 — Kansas Speedway, NASCAR Racing from Kansas City, 12:30 PM
Saturday, April 28 — Richmond Internationall Raceway, NASCAR Racing from Richmond, 7:00 PM
Sunday, May 6 — Talladega Superspeedway, NASCAR Racing from Talladega, 12:00 PM
Saturday, May 12 — Darlington Raceway, NASCAR Racing from Darlington, 6:30 PM
Sunday, May 27 — Charlotte Motor Speedway, NASCAR Racing from Charlotte, 5:30 PM
Sunday, June 3 — Dover International Speedway, NASCAR Racing from Dover, 12:30 PM

All times Eastern; Schedule subject to change

That will do it.

Tuesday Links with Some Overdue Monday Linkage

I was hoping to do links on Monday featuring reviews of the Super Bowl and the ads, but real life got in the way. Plus, a link from SI.com to my Biff Henderson post temporarily knocked my site down. Much appreciated to Jimmy Traina and Hot Clicks for the link.

The links begin with Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch who doles out his grades for the Super Bowl production.

Michael Hiestand from USA Today says Al Michaels was on top of his game on Sunday.

Bruce Horovitz of USA Today has the results of the paper’s Super Bowl Ad Meter. The results may or may not surprise you.

Anthony Crupi of Adweek notes that Super Bowl XLVI on NBC set a viewership record.

Tim Nudd of Adweek lists the five best Super Bowl commercials according to the publication.

Adweek’s David Griner has the five most debated Super Bowl adverts.

Todd Cunningham at The Wrap says NBC has apologized for the now-infamous middle finger from M.I.A. during the Madonna halftime performance.

Kristi Dosh at ESPN.com has some off-the-field winners for Super Bowl XLVI.

Sports Business Daily notes that dogs were a favorite of the Super Bowl ads.

SBD notes that NBC’s Super Bowl pregame show was mostly praised.

Michael Smith and John Ourand of Sports Business Journal say the ACC is looking for a big payday from ESPN with two new members entering the conference.

Eriq Gardner of the Hollywood Reporter says the FCC likely won’t fine NBC for M.I.A’s middle appendage.

The Hollywood Reporter says Super Bowl XLVI set a Twitter record.

George Winslow of Broadcasting & Cable says the Super Bowl was the biggest event ever on social media.

John Eggerton of B&C writes that the FCC has ruled a Chicago NBC affiliate was within its rights to reject an anti-abortion Super Bowl ad.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News writes about the ratings and viewership standards set by Super Bowl XLVI.

Mike writes that MSG Network will air the February 11 Buffalo Sabres-Tampa Bay Lightning game on NBC affiliates in Buffalo and Rochester as an end run around Time Warner Cable.

Simon Dumenco of Advertising Age has the 10 Super Bowl ads that set social media afire.

Ad Age’s Rich Thomaselli notes that Giants Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning is now expected to equal or surpass his brother Peyton as a commercial endorser.

Ad Age’s experts break down the Super Bowl ads.

Dan Fogarty of SportsGrid has video of ESPN’s Rick Reilly making a preposterous statement following Super Bowl XLVI.

Jason Dachman of Sports Video Group says Super Bowl XLVI lived up to the ratings hype.

SVG notes that Super Bowl XLVI garnered its highest audience ever in Canada even beating the CFL Grey Cup.

The With Leather blog has some pictures from the infamous Playboy Super Bowl party where CNBC’s Darren Rovell got into trouble with women.

Stephen Douglas at The Big Lead notes that Extra host and Massachusetts Maria Menounos native paid up on a Super Bowl bet and hosted yesterday’s show in a Giants bikini in the middle of Times Square.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times says NBC’s Cris Collinsworth stepped up in the biggest moment of the Super Bowl.

The Times’ Brian Stelter has NBC calling its online stream of Super Bowl XLVI a success.

Stuart Elliot of the Times says the Super Bowl ads were meh.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post feels NBC covered up Rob Gronkowski’s ankle injury when the game began. You’re reaching, Phil.

Jerry Barmash of Fishbowl NY says WCBS-TV scored impressive numbers for its post-Super Bowl coverage.

Howard Megdal of the Journal News’ LoHud Mets Blog says the team, invoking memories of the Soviet Union, has revoked his media credential for the 2012 season.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union feels Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth weren’t up to par on Sunday.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call notes that the Philadelphia Phillies will be heard on the FM dial starting this season.

Laura Nachman has her Super Bowl XLVI highlights.

David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun says NBC’s Super Bowl telecast rose above the ads and the halftime show.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog says a local sports radio producer is getting out of the business to become a restauranteur.

Barry Jackson from the Miami Herald praises NBC for its coverage of the Big Game.

Tom Jones of the Tampa Bay Times feels NBC got the job done on Super Bowl Sunday.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle says the Super Bowl got another huge rating.

David provides his thoughts on the NBC Super Bowl production.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer lists his best and worst Super Bowl ads.

Robert King of the Indianapolis Star has the national media heaping praise on the city for hosting the Super Bowl.

King writes that the earliest Indy could host the Super Bowl again would be in 2017.

Lou Harry and Anthony Schoette of the Indianapolis Business Journal review Madonna’s Super Bowl halftime performance.

Anthony and Cory Schouten say Lucas Oil Stadium passed the test of holding its first Super Bowl.

Bob Wolfley in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel feels Aaron Rodgers did well in his guest stint on NBC.

Ed Sherman in Crain’s Chicago Business has his wrap of the Super Bowl.

Dan Caesar from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says the Gateway City lagged behind the national average ratings for the Super Bowl.

Dusty Saunders at the Denver Post writes NBC did yeoman’s work and then some on Super Bowl Sunday.

Scott D. Pierce of the Salt Lake Tribune lists his favorite Super Bowls XLVI ads.

Jay Posner in the San Diego Union-Tribune feels NBC was good, but not Super on Sunday.

John Maffei of the North County Times for the most part enjoyed NBC’s Super Bowl coverage.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News also liked NBC’s broadcast.

Tom has a longer review on his blog.

Bruce Dowbiggin in the Toronto Globe and Mail wonders why the Super Bowl has so many prop bets.

Slate’s Matthew Black was stuck watching the lackluster Canadian Super Bowl ads.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog notes the Super Bowl did really well in Canada.

Leah Goldman at the Business Insider Sports Page keeps an eye out for ESPN’s Erin Andrews and Fox’s Troy Aikman as a potential sports media power couple.

Sports Media Watch has some other Super Bowl ratings news.

Mike Silva of the Sports Media Watchdog has suggestions on how to handle fan taunts unlike Gisele Bündchen.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media notes that NBC Sports Network will have a hockey doubleheader on Wednesday.

Matt Yoder at Awful Announcing gives his bests and worsts of Super Bowl XLVI.

Matt also looks at the running feud between ESPN Radio’s Ryen Russillo and WEEI’s John Dennis.

Surviving Grady speaks with Friend of Fang’s Bites Jen Royle.

And those are your links. Got them done before noon. I’m happy.

Chelsea-Manchester United Live on Super Bowl Sunday on Fox

On Super Bowl Sunday, the biggest rivalry in the English Premier League takes place. Chelsea hosts Manchester United at Stamford Bridge. This marks the second live English Premier League game on Fox in three weeks. Two weeks ago on the day of the NFC Championship, Fox aired Manchester United-Arsenal attracting 1.3 million viewers.

Rob Stone will host the game from the Fox Sports studios in Los Angeles. He’ll be joined by analyst Eric Wynalda and alleged phone hacker Piers Morgan.

We have more from our friends at Fox Sports.

FOX SPORTS NOTES, QUOTES & ANECDOTES

Chelsea and Manchester United Face-Off in Heated Clash of Storied Clubs in “Game Before The Game” Sunday at 10:30 AM ET

CHELSEA HOSTS MAN U LIVE ON FOX – Super Bowl Sunday kicks off on FOX with live English Premier League coverage of Chelsea hosting Manchester United at Stamford Bridge Sunday, Feb. 5 at 10:30 AM ET on FOX. The match marks the second live English Premier League game in two weeks on U.S. broadcast television. On Jan. 22, FOX drew 1.3 million viewers nationwide when Manchester United defeated Arsenal 2-1; the most-watched live EPL match on broadcast or cable television.

Coverage on FOX begins from Studio A in Los Angeles with Rob Stone alongside FOX Soccer analyst and former U.S. Men’s National Team forward Eric Wynalda and CNN talk show host and soccer enthusiast Piers Morgan.

This matchup features the two clubs that have dominated the Premier League in the 21^st Century. Stars Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba of Chelsea and Ryan Giggs and the expected return of Wayne Rooney highlight a United side that are tied with local rivals Manchester City, atop the Premier League Standings.

The day begins on FOX Soccer, America’s premier soccer destination, with coverage of Newcastle v Aston Villa at 8:25 AM ET. Goals On Sunday at 1:00 PM ET features highlights from both matches.

Viewers can join the social conversation on Twitter surrounding the matches by using #GameB4Game, and by visiting https://twitter.com/foxsoccer, www.facebook.com/foxsoccer, and www.facebook.com/foxsports

*All times Eastern

That’s it.

Your February 1st Links

It seems like last week we rang in the New Year. Now, we’re one month into 2012. Didn’t take long.

Let’s do some linkage.

Starting with Michael Hiestand of USA Today, we learn that NBC has quite a bit in store for its six hour Super Bowl pregame show.

Also in USA Today, Michael Coppinger finds that new HBO Sports President Ken Hershman plans on cleaning up the network’s shaky boxing reputation.

And Reid Cherner at USA Today has a preview of the upcoming season of “Eastbound & Down” featuring Kenny Powers. I’ll admit, I don’t get the chi of “Eastbound & Down” and find it unwatchable, but the show has its fans.

John Ourand at Sports Business Daily says the NFL is issuing a tablet-only commemorative Super Bowl appl

At Bleacher Report, Dan Levy tells us that NFL Network’s Deion Sanders came out the winner at yesterday’s Super Bowl Media Day.

At Deadspin, Barry Petchesky has video of reporters leering at Televisa Deportes reporter Marisol Gonzalez during Media Day.

Barry also has a series of photos taken by perverts reporters as original Mexican bombshell Inês Sainz was traversing her way through Media Day.

The Olympic newsletter Around the Rings notes that the International Olympic Committee is in no hurry to negotiate a Canadian TV rights deal after the lone bid failed to come up to its standards.

Around the Rings also notes that broadcasters for the 2014 Winter Games including NBC are gathering in Sochi to discuss plans for that Olympiad.

To All Things D where Liz Gannes has new ESPN President John Skipper saying he wants people to see his content, just not for free.

And All Things D has the video highlights of Skipper’s comments.

Lisa Richwine of Reuters notes that Skipper is bullish on ESPN 3D. Oh great.

Lucas Shaw at The Wrap says John Skipper and ESPN are in love with Silicon Valley.

David Griner of Adweek has the Volkwagen Super Bowl ad that has been hyped for a couple of weeks. I like the teaser with the dogs barking better.

Katy Bachman at Adweek says the FCC is seeking public comment on the NFL’s antiquated TV blackout rules.

Best Buy won’t be using rock stars, but tech stars in its Super Bowl ad. Last year, Best Buy used Ozzy Osbourne and Justin Bieber in a very lame ad.

Natalie Zmuda of Advertising Age says Pepsi will emphasize music in its Super Bowl ads.

Louisa Ada Seltzer of Media Life Magazine previews tonight’s “Super Bowl’s Greatest Commercials” special on CBS.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell wishes advertisers wouldn’t release their Super Bowl spots before they air in the Big Game.

Kristi Dosh of ESPN.com says Super Bowl advertising has gone beyond just buying time during the game.

Alex Sherman and Andy Fixmer of Bloomberg Businessweek write that NBC is using the Super Bowl to heavily promote “Smash” in what it hopes will save its primetime lineup.

The NBC’s Sunday Night Football Facebook page has a gallery of photos from yesterday’s media event in Indianapolis.

The Nielsen Wire blog looks at whether the New England Patriots or the New York Giants do better than the other in social media.

To SportsGrid and Tom Lorenzo who has video of TSN’s Ray Ferraro throwing out an “F” bomb not once, but twice during a broadcast last night.

Jason Dachman of Sports Video Group writes that ESPN was technically prepared to air the Australian Open epic men’s final.

James Careless of TV Technology looks at NBC’s online streaming of the Super Bowl.

Steve Donohue of Fierce Cable says Time Warner Cable seems to be doing just fine without MSG Network.

Lou Modestino of the Quincy (MA) Patriot-Ledger says Fox Sports was mostly responsible for moving the Daytona 500 forward one week.

Bill Pennington in the New York Times looks at fans getting to attend Super Bowl Media Day for the first time.

Richard Sandomir of the Times says a new media company wants to become the ESPN for kids. Already, the NFL, several sports stars and NBC Sports Network have signed up to partner with the company.

Good story by Jim Yardley of the Times Magazine exploring how some American NBA players are faring in Communist China and how the NBA made a huge miscalculation in trying to launch a league there.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union writes that Time Warner Cable will extend its free Sports Pass option to residential customers affected by the company’s dispute with MSG Network.

Pete says NFL Network will air the Pro Football Hall of Fame announcement for the Class of 2012 on Saturday.

Dan Gross of the Philadelphia Daily News writes that a local TV reporter is back at work after being on suspension for prematurely tweeting that Joe Paterno had died.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner speaks with CBS Sports Network’s Tom Lemming about National Signing Day.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman notes a ratings record for the Oklahoma City Thunder on Fox Sports Oklahoma.

Matthew Tully of the Indianapolis Star says foreign journalists covering the Super Bowl are enjoying Indy as the host city.

The Star has a roundup of what journos are saying about Indianapolis.

Bob Kravitz of the Star filed a diary with his observations of Super Bowl Media Day.

Anthony Schoette of the Indianapolis Business Journal writes that the Super Bowl has helped to focus a spotlight on IndyCar and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway which has been hosting  media events this week.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers will be a guest analyst on NBC’s Super Bowl XLVI pregame.

Ed Sherman at Crain’s Chicago Business looks at Super Bowl Week in Indianapolis and wonders “what if” had the Bears built a domed facility.

Steve Eighinger of the Quincy (IL) Herald Whig is thankful for ESPN as it helped him to endure the Great Midwest Blizzard of 2011.

Roman Augustoviz of the Minneapolis Star Tribune notes that CBS Sports Network has signed a TV deal with the new National Collegiate Hockey Conference known in local circles as “The National.”

Eli Segall of the San Jose Business Journal says the Sharks are scoring big for Comcast SportsNet California.

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail says the man who broke the Sidney Crosby neck injury story stands by his scoop.

Sports Media Watch says the NFL Pro Bowl’s ratings were down from last year, but still outpace the other All-Star games.

SMW has some various ratings news and notes.

Dave Kohl at the Broadcast Booth says last week was pretty slow for any kind of sports news.

Joe Lucia of Awful Announcing notes that Harrisburg (PA) Patriot-News crime writer Sarah Ganim has been given much deserved Pulitzer Prize consideration for her reporting on the Penn State story.

Barry Janoff at The Big Lead writes that Mean Joe Greene is redoing his iconic Coke Super Bowl ad from the 1970′s for Proctor & Gamble.

And we have more links that I ever thought I would find today. That’s good for you.

UFC Scores in Younger Male Demographics For Fox

UFC on Fox’s official debut last Saturday scored lower than its November special premiere, but when you look inside the numbers, Fox is happy with the ratings in the 18-34 and 18-49 categories. For advertisers, that’s what they want to hear.

The final rating for the mixed martial arts tripleheader was a 2.6 with a 5 share. The broadcast garnered 4.7 million viewers for the night.

In addition, Fox beat the other broadcast networks in the 18-34 and 18-49 demographics. Fox stresses that the audience grew with each passing fight which again is encouraging for the network.

Let’s take a look at the Fox press release and the numbers for the entire card.

UFC ON FOX DOMINATES PRIMETIME IN KEY DEMOS

Saturday night’s UFC on FOX event from the United Center in Chicago posted a 2.6/5 national rating/share, according to figures released by Nielsen Media Research today. As expected, FOX dominated the night on the important younger demographics. FOX’s 2.4 among Adults 18-49 nearly beat the combined ratings of ABC, CBS, and NBC (2.5 combined) and FOX’s 2.5 among Adults 18-34 easily beat those three network competitors combined (1.4). The three-bout broadcast on FOX averaged 4.7 million viewers from 8:00 PM – 10:19 PM ET.

The two-hour event, the first official network broadcast of FOX’s partnership with UFC, is off slightly (-16%) from the UFC on FOX premiere in November (3.1/5), which was only one hour and featured a highly-anticipated heavyweight championship fight. When comparing similar time periods for the two events, FOX posted a 3.0/5 from 9:00 – 10:15 PM ET, off only a tenth from the November UFC fight.

In several meaningful demographics, the last hour of Saturday’s broadcast rated higher than November’s UFC premiere on FOX with Men 25-49 up +3%, Men 25-54 up +3%, Men 35-54 up +4%.

As anticipation to the night’s main event grew so did the ratings and viewership. The night’s first match between Demian Maia and Chris Weidman scored a 2.2/4 rating/share. The next fight between Chael Sonnen and Michael Bisping grew to a 2.7/5. Fans tuned in to see former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans take on undefeated former national champion wrestler Phil Davis with that bout posting a 3.4/6. More than 6 million viewers watched the five-round bout where Evans defeated Davis by unanimous decision.

The top five metered markets for Saturday’s UFC on FOX event are: Las Vegas – 4.1/8; Louisville – 4.1/7; Indianapolis – 3.9/7; Greenville – 3.9/6; Tulsa – 3.9/6; and Knoxville – 3.9/6.

And there will be another press release coming up.

Cranking Out Your Tuesday Links

Since late last night, I’ve been culling linkage for today. Let’s get to them.

Terry Lefton and Daniel Kaplan at Sports Business Journal discuss how Indianapolis hotels are gouging customers for Super Bowl Week.

Anick Jesdanun of the Associated Press reviews NBC’s online presentation of the Super Bowl for this Sunday.

Sergio Non of USA Today looks at the UFC on Fox rating from Saturday.

Michael Learmonth of Advertising Age says USA Today’s Super Bowl Ad Meter wrecked Super Bowl ads for good.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch provides his thoughts on The Big Lead’s profile of ESPN Radio hack Colin Cowherd.

Tim Goodman of the Hollywood Reporter has an appreciation for The Beautiful Game.

Tim Nudd of Adweek looks at the highly successful “This is SportsCenter” ad campaign.

Wayne Friedman of MediaPost says NBC is copping $4 million per Super Bowl ad.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life Magazine writes that a survey shows that a majority of readers feel Super Bowl XLVI will set a viewership record.

Toni gives us a media buyer’s primer on the Super Bowl.

Diego Vasquez of Media Life says advertisers want to get buzz about Super Bowl commercials weeks before the Big Game.

The Daily says it appears Madonna’s set list for the Super Bowl halftime show has been leaked.

Peter Schrager of Esquire lists 10 current NFL players who could make a second career on TV.

Glenn Davis of SportsGrid notes that Jerry Seinfeld and the Soup Nazi will appear in a Super Bowl ad.

Frances Martel of Mediaite reviews the ESPN2 show, “Dan Le Batard is Extremely Crazy Highly Questionable.”

Robert Littal of Black Sports Online has details of the Mexican TV reporter who made an impression during Super Bowl Media Day.

Ken Kerschbaumer of Sports Video Group looks at ESPN taking over Pan Am Plaza in downtown Indianapolis for the Super Bowl.

Karen Hogan of SVG writes that sports has entered into reality TV in a big way.

Summer Harlow of the University of Texas Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas writes about CBSSports.com’s firing of Adam Jacobi over his premature report on Joe Paterno’s death.

Karen Rosen of TV Guide talks with ESPN’s Hannah Storm about her NFL special tonight.

All Access says a new ESPN Deportes Radio affiliate will launch tomorrow in Chicago.

Mark Miller of Examiner.com says Gary Thorne makes his Pro Bowling announcing debut this Sunday on ESPN.

Larry Mahoney of the Bangor (ME) Daily News speaks with former MLB’er Matt Stairs who joins NESN as a studio analyst for the 2012 season.

Michael Hayes of the Clinton (CT) Patch says ESPN will report from the geological center in between Gillette and Met Life Stadiums on Sunday.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times has an interesting story on a small Connecticut NPR station which has a sports talk show that is not your typical run-of-the-mill program.

Judy Battista of the Times notes that the NFL will address head safety in one its in-house ads during the Super Bowl.

David Hinckley of the New York Daily News says rivals WFAN and ESPN Radio New York are squaring off in their Giants Super Bowl coverage.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union notes the release of ESPN’s Bracketbusters schedule.

Stacy Jones of the Newark (NJ) Star-Ledger says Super Bowl advertisers are hoping to hook viewers from their computers and mobile devices as well as through their TV’s.

Neal Zoren of the Delaware County Daily Times notes Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia’s countdown of the worst sports villains of all-time.

Long-time New Orleans sports anchor Jim Henderson is retiring from WWL-TV, however, he’ll remain as Voice of the Saints.

Dave Walker of the New Orleans Times-Picayune gets reaction Henderson on his retirement.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle discusses the busy Super Bowl week and the ads.

Dennis Manoloff of the Cleveland Plain Dealer speaks with ESPN’s Erin Andrews about sports, life and her hosting the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission Annual Awards Banquet this week.

Tim Evans of the Indianapolis Star says Radio Row at the Super Bowl is the perfect place for star gazing this week.

Emily Hatton of the Indy Star gives us an inside look at ESPN’s Pan Am Plaza set.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has NBC’s Bob Costas calling for a revote if National League MVP Ryan Braun of the Brewers loses his appeal for testing positive for steroids last year.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch says ESPN College GameDay visits the Missouri campus this weekend.

Brian Gomez of the Colorado Springs Gazette says ESPN may pull the Winter X Games out of Aspen after an 11 year relationship.

Jason Blevins of the Denver Post writes that ESPN has been airing this year’s Winter X in 3-D.

Jill Painter of the Los Angeles Daily News says longtime UCLA voice Chris Roberts was honored by his peers as was Daily News sports media writer Tom Hoffarth.

And Tom writes an appreciation for being honored last night.

Matt Yoder of Awful Announcing has videos of the Big Ten Network going behind the scenes with Gus Johnson.

Josh Tinley of Midwest Sports Fans explains how the Super Bowl got its name and why every game has Roman numerals.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog notes the NHL All-Star Game did really well for CBC.

And that will do it for now.

The Mighty Monday Links

I don’t know why they’re mighty, but they’re here. Let’s get to them.

USA Today’s Mike McCarthy looks at Super Bowl Media Day which will be covered from all angles on both ESPN and NFL Network.

Preston Bounds from Sports Business Daily lists the top 11 most marketable NFL players. Your humble blogger is quoted in the story.

At the Poynter Institute, Kelly McBride takes both the New York Times and Yale Daily News to task for their handling of the Patrick Witt alleged sexual assault story.

Michael O’Connell of the Hollywood Reporter writes that the NFL Pro Bowl gave NBC a Sunday primetime win over weak competition.

Anthony Crupi of Adweek notes that marketers and star players are for the most part, a winning combination.

Tim Nudd from Adweek looks at the advertiser rundown for Sunday’s Super Bowl on NBC.

Tim loves the extended Honda Ferris Bueller-themed Super Bowl ad.

Back to Crupi who delves into the April launch of Univision Deportes.

Adweek talks with Jim Rome about his move from ESPN to CBS.

At the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Eric Deggans of the Tampa Bay Times says social media campaigns can enhance and also detract from the Super Bowl viewing experience.

The Nielsen Wire blog looks at the spending trends for Super Bowl ads over the last five years.

Ken Kerschbaumer of Sports Video Group notes that NFL Network is gearing up for a very busy Super Bowl Week.

Patrick Burns of Deadspin breaks down ESPN SportsCenter’s coverage from last week.

At All Things Digital, Peter Kafka says it’s ESPN that’s weighing down your cable bill.

Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe writes that NESN has made additions to its Red Sox broadcast team.

Here’s a rarity, Phil Mushnick of the New York Post giving praise and today he’s dishing it out to Knicks radio voice Spero Dedes.

Bob’s Blitz has caught WFAN’s Mike Francesa in a lie regarding his Super Bowl XLVII prediction.

From the Albany Times Union, Pete Dougherty notes that former Indianapolis Colts GM Bill Polian has signed with SiriusXM to co-host some radio shows.

Tom Jones at the Tampa Bay Times looks back at the weekend in sports television.

Cleveland Plain-Dealer ombudsman Ted Diadun discusses the reassignment of Browns beat writer Tony Grossi after a private tweet about Browns owner Randy Lerner went public.

The Waiting for Next Year blog looks at the Plain-Dealer decision.

Also from the Plain-Dealer, Bill Lubinger writes about how local TV rights money is playing a huge role in baseball free agency signings.

Dusty Saunders from the Denver Post notes that MLB Network has plucked Root Sports’ Alana Rizzo for a national gig.

Tom Hoffarth at the Los Angeles Daily News has the sports calendar for this week.

Friend of Fang’s Bites Jackie Pepper is heading to the Super Bowl.

John Daly of the Daly Planet looks at NASCAR taking over operation of its website from Turner Sports.

John also looks at the future of NASCAR’s Nationwide Series on ESPN.

Sports Media Watch has the overnight ratings of the NHL All-Star Game and Australian Open finals.

Joe Lucia at Awful Announcing says UFC on Fox’s ratings may have gone down from its November debut, but they’re still good in the desired demographic.

That will do it.

UFC on Fox Officially Begins on Saturday

Fox had a brief one fight UFC premiere in November, but on Saturday, the partnership between the two parties begins. Three fights will be seen on Fox starting at 9 p.m. ET with the prelims on Fuel at 5. Chicago’s United Center will be the venue.

Curt Menefee will be the host. Randy Couture and current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones will join Curt.

As usual, the extremely talkative Mike Goldberg and conspiracy theorist Joe Rogan will be ringside to call the action.

Jay Glazer will be the host for the UFC shows on Fuel.

Light heavyweights Rashad Evans and Phil Davis will be the main event for the night. We have the Fox Sports press release for you.

FOX SPORTS NOTES, QUOTES & ANECDOTES

UFC on FOX Officially Begins Partnership with Tripleheader from Chicago Saturday Night

UFC ON FOX TRIPLEHEADER LIVE FROM CHICAGO SATURDAY NIGHT – UFC on FOX officially kicks off  its partnership with a two-hour tripleheader broadcast on Saturday, Jan. 28 (8:00-10:00 PM ET), live from the United Center in Chicago.  In the night’s main event, former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans (21-1-1) takes on undefeated former national champion wrestler Phil Davis (9-0-0) to determine the next challenger to the 205-pound title currently held by Jon Jones. The co-main event features middleweight contender Chael Sonnen (27-11-1) battling British star Michael Bisping (23-3-0) for the right to fight champion Anderson Silva.  The action begins with dangerous Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu master Demian Maia (15-3-0) taking on unbeaten Chris Weidman (7-0-0).  Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan call all the action inside the Octagon and versatile broadcaster Curt Menefee hosts pre- and postfight coverage with UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture and the aforementioned Jon Jones offering their insights on the action.  During prefight coverage, fans get a special behind-the-scenes look at preparation for their big night in Chicago, including a feature on Rashad Evans as he and his family balance the excitement of being part of the main event in Chicago with the stress and tension of his brother’s impending deployment.

“This is the show that officially starts our deal with FOX and we’re bringing what the fans want – a night packed with great fights,” UFC President Dana White said. “We’re kicking this thing off with an incredible tripleheader. Rashad Evans looked fantastic in his last fight against Tito Ortiz and he wants to get the belt back. But Phil Davis is no joke. He’s undefeated at 9-0 and has stormed through guys like Brian Stann, Alexander Gustafsson and Rogerio Nogueira. He wants the title shot just as bad as Rashad.”

The weekend’s action kicks off Friday, Jan. 27 (5:00 PM ET) with the live “UFC on FUEL TV: Weigh-in.” Jay Glazer hosts the show while UFC veteran and FUEL TV’s “UFC Tonight” host Kenny Florian steps in as the analyst, commenting on all the activities from Chicago. Two-time MMA Journalist of the Year Ariel Helwani interviews fighters backstage. FUEL TV coverage continues Saturday, Jan. 28 (5:00 PM ET) with three hours of live preliminary bouts. Glazer is joined by Florian to introduce the fight, while Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan call the action live inside the Octagon. Helwani will interview fighters live backstage. Following these preliminary matchups on FUEL TV and three main events on FOX Sports, coverage returns to FUEL TV for the post-fight wrap-up show (10:00 PM ET).

History was made in November when the UFC made its broadcast television debut on FOX and a record audience tuned in as challenger Junior dos Santos defeated defending champion Cain Velasquez in a first round knockout to claim the coveted heavyweight crown. More than 5.7 million viewers tuned in to make it the most-watched UFC event ever and the most-watched professional fight of any kind on any network since 2003.

FLORIAN:  IT’S TOO EARLY FOR DAVIS TO FIGHT EVANS – FUEL TV’s UFC analyst Kenny Florian doesn’t believe Phil Davis is ready to fight Rashad Evans in the UFC on FOX main event Saturday, Jan. 28 (8:00 PM ET) from the United Center in Chicago. “It’s one or two fights too early for Phil Davis to fight Rashad Evans,” said Florian. “Evans’ experience and his ability to put it all together will be the difference. He’s going to win and face [current Light Heavyweight Champ] Jon Jones later this year.” Florian also picks Chael Sonnen over Michael Bisping and Chris Weidman over Demian Maia in the other main card match-ups.

Follow the talent on Twitter at: @jayglazer; @kennyflorian; @arielhelwani

DATE	TIME	EVENT	NET
Friday, Jan. 27	5:00 PM	UFC ON FUEL: WEIGH-IN LIVE	FUEL TV
Saturday, Jan. 28	5:00 PM	UFC ON FUEL: PRELIMINARY MATCHES: Dunham vs. Lentz/Russow vs. Einemo Swanson vs. Roop/Oliveira  vs. Wisely Johnson vs. Roller/Beltran vs. Johnson	FUEL TV FOX Deportes
Saturday, Jan. 28	8:00 PM	UFC ON FOX: Maia vs. Weidman Sonnen vs. Bisping Evans vs. Davis	FOX Sports FOX Deportes
Saturday, Jan. 28	10:00 PM	UFC ON FUEL: POST-FIGHT SHOW	FUEL TV

*All times Eastern

That will do it.

The Mid-Week Linkage

I haven’t provided links on schedule so let me try to do it now.

We begin with Michael Hiestand of USA Today who talks about NBCUniversal’s big plans to blanket Super Bowl XLVI next week.

Wow. The secret organization Anonymous plans to attack ESPN.com over its support of SOPA and PIPA. In case anyone from Anonymous is reading, Fang’s Bites is an ardent critic of both bills.

Adrian Melville of Forbes says Fox is hoping to retain the US rights to the English Premier League.

Jeff Roberts at paidContent looks at USA Today Media Group’s purchase of Big Lead Sports.

Funny post. It’s a long one, but stay with it. Complex provides the 100 Worst Sports Tweets in history.

The Nielsen Wire blog reviews the year in sports advertising for 2011.

Rarely do we link to Self Magazine, but it has a story on ESPN SportsCenter anchor Sage Steele training for the upcoming Disney Princess Half Marathon.

Last week, ESPN’s Front Row PR blog posted part one of its behind the scenes look at Sunday NFL Countdown. Today, it provides part two of that look.

Lacey Rose at the Hollywood Reporter writes that current NFL Network analyst Kurt Warner will host a USA Network reality show that will premiere later this year.

James Hibberd at Entertainment Weekly looks at NBC’s plans for the Super Bowl.

John Eggerton from Broadcasting & Cable says Massachusetts US Senator John Kerry wants DirecTV and Sunbeam to pledge that Super Bowl XLVI won’t be blacked out in Boston. Sunbeam’s WHDH-TV is off DirecTV right now over a carriage dispute and it’s the NBC affiliate.

Tim Nudd of Adweek says clothing retailer H&M is trying to put out a social media firestorm in advance of its first-ever Super Bowl ad.

Ken Wheaton at Advertising Age says CareerBuilder is keeping its lovable chimps for this year’s Super Bowl commercial.

Ad Age’s Michael Learmonth has the best Super Bowl ads ever.

Diego Vasquez from Media Life Magazine speaks with two people from a research firm to find out why some Super Bowl ads fail to connect with viewers.

Karlene Lukovitz from MediaPost’s Marketing Daily says Papa John’s is betting on the Super Bowl coin flip to help sell pizzas.

Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life notes that the NBA’s ratings despite the lockout are way up from last year’s record.

Dan Fogarty of SportsGrid catches ESPN2′s Patrick McEnroe firing off an “F” bomb during the Australian Open coverage last night.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell has some myths and facts about the Super Bowl ticket market.

Mary Alice Gill from the Nashua (NH) Telegraph writes about the DirecTV/Sunbeam dispute that could affect Boston’s watching of the Super Bowl.

Johnny Diaz of the Boston Globe says area bars with DirecTV are scrambling for other possible ways to show the Super Bowl.

At SB Nation Boston, Kat Hasenauer Cornetta looks at how small market New England sports radio stations try to serve the needs of their audience.

Stuart Elliot of the New York Times says the pregame show has begun for the Super Bowl ads.

To Newsday and Neil Best who writes that reporter Kim Jones is leaving the YES network.

Justin Terranova and Phil Mushnick of the New York Post report that Jones is talking with a national network.

Don McKee of the Philadelphia Inquirer has an obituary for the late Andy Musser.

Ray Didinger of Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia remembers Musser.

David Jones from Florida Today feels ESPN’s deal with the SEC is bad for the league.

Gregory A. Hall of the Louisville Courier-Journal notes that NBC has brought the Breeders’ Cup back under its fold.

The Houston Chronicle’s David Barron says a long-time local TV sports director is leaving after this year.

Mel Bracht from the Daily Oklahoman notes that the NFL Conference Championship Games drew big ratings locally.

Steve Nitz of the Morris (IL) Daily Herald is no longer a fan of ESPN.

NBC’s Michele Tafoya is ending her Minneapolis radio show.

Jon Bream at the Minneapolis Star Tribune says Tafoya has grown tired of a weekly 7 day grind between her show and Sunday Night Football.

David Brauer of MinnPost.com writes that Tafoya’s ratings weren’t great.

Bruce Pascoe of the Arizona Daily Star looks at ESPN’s College GameDay’s visit to the University of Arizona campus this weekend.

Anthony Gimino of the Tucson Citizen says CBS Sports Network will have inside access to Rich Rodriguez and the University of Arizona during National Signing Day.

Bruce Dowbiggin from the Toronto Globe and Mail wonders if TSN’s Dave Hodge was reaching when he tried to tweet a connection between Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas and the KKK after Thomas refused to go to the White House earlier this week.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog looks at CBC’s dropping of the Curling’s Grand Slams.

To the Big Lead and Jason McIntyre who has a profile of ESPN Radio Hack Colin Cowherd. Actually it’s a very good profile.

Ryan Yoder at Awful Announcing has the Top 10 Sports Media Busts.

Blythe Brumleve at AA looks at CBS’ client stroke for E-Trade during the NFL Today on Sunday.

Sports Media Watch notes that the NHL is getting increased ratings on both NBC and NBC Sports Network.

Steve Lepore of Puck The Media wants the in-game coach interviews during NHL games to end.

Steve tells us where the AHL All-Start Game can be seen in your market.

SportsRantz says NBC Sports Network is using the Super Bowl to get a ratings boost.

And Morgan Wick informs us what the Breeders’ Cup move back to NBC means.

And that is it.

Some Late Monday Night Linkage

I’ll do some links that I’ve gathered over the day. You deserve some.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today discusses the monster ratings for Championship Sunday in the NFL.

Michael says with NBC reacquiring the rights to the Breeders Cup, ESPN has gotten out of the horse racing business.

And Michael discusses Jim Rome’s CBS debut before the AFC Championship.

Stuart Miller of Multichannel News says league-owned networks are looking to fill time through imaginative programming.

John Ourand at Sports Business Journal notes that the dispute between MSG Network and Time Warner Cable could threaten the Buffalo Sabres’ number one spot in the local NHL ratings.

John says carriage talks for Time Warner’s new regional sports network featuring the Los Angeles Lakers and for the Pac-12 Network are about to begin in California.

Michael Smith of SBJ says Turner Sports will be running the Fan Fest and other events at the NCAA Final Four this year.

Some stories on how the media handled or did not handle the premature reports of Joe Paterno’s death.

Ronnie Ramos at the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center says there are lessons to be learned from the way the Paterno story was reported on Saturday.

Craig Silverman of the Poynter Institute tells us how the Associated Press did not fall into the trap of reporting Paterno’s death.

Davis Shaver on Onward State, the online publication that made the erroneous report, explains the events on Saturday.

Michael Malone of Broadcasting & Cable notes that local TV stations in the Penn State vicinity showed restraint on the Paterno story.

Brian Stelter of the New York Times looks into how the Paterno story burned online news sources.

Now to other links.

John Daly of the Daly Planet delves into how Danica Patrick will influence NASCAR this season.

Barry Janoff of The Big Lead writes about Danica’s GoDaddy.com Super Bowl ad.

Sam Laird of Mashable notes that Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis will be the first to have a social media command center.

Sam informs advertisers what the typical NFL fan looks like.

Now some remembrances of the late Andy Musser who along with the late Harry Kalas, the late Richie Ashburn and Chris Wheeler, formed one of the best local broadcast teams whey they called the Philadelphia Phillies from the 1970′s into the 1990′s. Musser died Sunday at the age of 74. Musser was a consummate professional who called the Phillies, the Eagles, the 76ers and Villanova basketball. He did all of them well. A man who was content to be the number two broadcaster on the Phillies behind Kalas, he would call games on both radio and TV for the team.

Todd Zolecki of MLB.com has an obituary of Musser.

The Philadelphia Inquirer says a memorial service will be held at the end of the month for Musser.

Tyler Kepner of the New York Times says Musser was a true gentleman.

And I hope to have more stories about Musser in Tuesday’s links.

Dan Fogarty of SportsGrid has video of a Baltimore news anchor trying to prop up a depressed Ravens fan base.

Dan has another video of a Ravens fan kicking out an entire viewing party after the failed field goal by Billy Cundiff on Sunday.

Glen Davis of SportsGrid has the clip of the Ravens’ Terrell Suggs giving Skip Bayless a verbal beatdown.

Bob’s Blitz notes that Boomer Esiason and Jillian Michaels will co-host this year’s “Super Bowl’s Greatest Commercials.”

Patrick Burns of Deadspin did some excellent work to break down SportsCenter’s coverage on ESPN over an 11 day span earlier this month.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times notes how Gary Carter’s daughter is chronicling her father’s struggles with a brain tumor.

Matt Flegenheimer of the Times writes about how New York Knicks fans are actually going to games in the wake of the Time Warner Cable-MSG Network dispute.

Back to Brian Stelter of the Times who profiles NFL Films.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post wonders why CBS won’t bring up Ray Lewis’ stabby past.

Ken Schott of the Schenectady Gazette notes the big ratings for NFL Conference Championship Sunday.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union has the ESPN Family of Networks college lacrosse schedule.

Ken says YES will air Jorge Posada’s retirement from the Yankees on Tuesday.

Ken McMillan at the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record says ESPN will air a half-dozen Spring Training MLB games in March.

At the Baltimore Sun, David Zurawik says CBS got the job done during the AFC Championship.

David says the local ratings for the AFC Championship may have set a record.

David writes that the AFC Championship definitely set a social media record.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner writes about Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic’s new show.

Tom Jones from the Tampa Bay Times looks back at a tumultuous weekend in sports television.

David Barron at the Houston Chronicle writes about the NFL Conference Championship Games’ ratings.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer has Thom Brennaman threatening promising to call Reds games on the radio with his dad, Marty.

Dusty Saunders from the Denver Post reviews the HBO Sports documentary on Joe Namath.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News discusses the Breeders Cup going primetime on NBC later this year.

Bill Shakin of the Los Angeles Times goes over the process of the Dodgers sale that began in earnest on Monday.

Sports Media Watch says the NBA’s move to becoming a mostly cable television league has paid off.

SMW has some various news and notes.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media says the Boston Bruins had a mixed bag over the weekend on NESN.

Dave Kohl at the Broadcast Booth says live sports continues to rack in the ratings.

Joe Favorito looks at the growth of squash, Twitter trouble and how to use the social media service properly.

Joe Lucia at Awful Announcing wonders how CBS’ Jim Nantz could confuse two Baltimore Ravens’ wide receivers.

And that will do it for your late night linkage.

NFC Championship Averages 57.6 Million Viewers

As mentioned in the previous post, the NFC Championship between the New York Giants and the San Francisco 49ers on Fox was the 3rd most watched Conference Championship of all-time.

Fox says an average of 57.6 million viewers watched part or all of the game.

The fast national rating for the game was a 30.6 with a 44 share, up from last year’s 28.1/50 for Green Bay-Chicago which was played on the 3 p.m. ET window. Last year’s AFC Championship between the New York Jets and Pittsburgh on CBS drew 28.3/43 in the late window.

Locally, San Francisco drew a stunning 47.4/77 pacing the nation. New York saw a 41.8/58 making it the highest NFL non-Super Bowl rating ever. Your press release from Fox Sports is below.

57.6 MILLION WATCH NFC CHAMPIONSHIP OVERTIME THRILLER ON FOX

Sunday’s Giants/49ers Battle Ties 2010’s Vikings/Saints As Highest-Rated Conference Title Game Since 1996
NFL on FOX Regular & Postseason Combine for Network’s Most-Watched Ever

New York – Yesterday’s epic 2012 NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME on FOX between the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers delivered an extraordinary 30.6/44 fast-national rating/share according to figures released by Nielsen Media Research. The overtime battle scored an average audience of 57.6 million viewers to rank as the third most-watched Conference Championship Game ever, after the 1982 Cowboys-49ers NFC Championship Game (68.7 million viewers on CBS) and 2010’s overtime Vikings-Saints NFC Championship (57.9 million viewers on FOX).

The rating for Sunday’s battle for the NFC crown ties with 2010’s game (Vikings/Saints – 30.6/45) as the highest-rated NFC Championship Game since 1996 (Packers/Cowboys – 33.3/58).

Last night’s fast-national rating of 30.6/44 is a +9% gain over last year’s 28.1/50 for Packers/Bears in the early window and +8% better than last year’s 28.3/43 for Jets/Steelers in the late window on CBS. Ratings climbed to extraordinary levels as the game progressed toward overtime, peaking at an astounding 36.9/52 rating and 69.0 million viewers from 10:00 – 10:30 PM ET.

The 2012 NFC Playoffs on FOX averaged a 23.9/43 (42.6 million viewers) making it the network’s most-watched NFL Playoffs ever. The average for FOX Sports’ coverage of the NFC’s Wild Card, Divisional and Conference Championship rounds is up +11% over last year’s 21.6/39 (38.7 million) and is FOX’s highest-rated NFL Playoffs since 1996’s 25.1/48 (37.2 million). The complete 2011-12 NFL season on FOX averaged over 23.2 million viewers for the regular season and playoffs combined, making it FOX’s most-watched NFL season ever, excluding Super Bowls.

San Francisco posted a 47.4/77, the second highest-rated NFL on FOX postseason game ever in the City by the Bay. New York notched a 41.8/58, FOX’s best NFL rating ever in the Big Apple for a non-Super Bowl game. After the Patriots punched their ticket to Super Bowl XLVI earlier in the evening, Boston tuned-in to find out who New England’s opponent would be, posting a 35.1/49, Boston’s highest-rating NFL on FOX non- Super Bowl playoff game. Other metered markets of note include Los Angeles (28.4/49) and Detroit (30.2/42).

And we’re done here.

NFL Conference Championship Games Draw Excellent Ratings

We’re beginning to get word on the overnight rating for the AFC and NFC Championship Games on CBS and Fox, respectively.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell tweets that the AFC Championship had its best viewership in almost two decades.

AFC Champ Game ratings down 7% vs. '11 (6:45 start), but still the highest rated AFC Championship afternoon game since '94.

January 23, 2012 9:27 am via Twitter for BlackBerry®ReplyRetweetFavorite

@darrenrovell

darren rovell

And Managing Editor of Sports Business Daily, Austin Karp says the NFC Championship drew a monster overnight rating for Fox.

Fox' Giants-49ers gets 33.4 ovrnght, up 11% from 30.0 for net's Pack-Bears in '11 (early slot) RT @darrenrovell Top NFL DivChamp since '95.

January 23, 2012 10:09 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@AustinKarp

Austin Karp

I expect to get press releases and full viewership numbers later today. I’ll post them when I get them.

UPDATE, 11:05 a.m.: This from John Ourand from Sports Business Journal on the AFC Championship overnight ratings.

Source: CBS AFC Champ Game (BAL-NE) pulled a 29.1 overnight, down from last year's Jets-Steelers overnight (31.4).

January 23, 2012 10:58 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@Ourand_SBJ

John Ourand

UPDATE, 12:00 p.m.: And from Fox Sports PR man Dan Bell, Fox is truly crowing about its NFC Championship overnight ratings.

NFC Championship Game earns tremendous 33.4/48 overnight rtg/share. Highest overnight for any conf champ game since 1995 (34.2/57 SF/Dal).

January 23, 2012 11:29 am via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@danpbell

Dan Bell

Ratings for last night's @NFLONFOX NFC Champ Game peaked during overtime from 10-10:30 PM ET at an incredible 39.3/55.

January 23, 2012 11:35 am via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@danpbell

Dan Bell

San Francisco averaged a 47.4/77, New York 41.8/58 and Boston a 35.1/49.

January 23, 2012 11:37 am via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@danpbell

Dan Bell

We’re still waiting on the Fox press release. It’ll be posted when it becomes available.

Some Early Monday Morning Sports Media Thoughts

Time for some sports media thoughts once again. I owe you some since I wasn’t able to do them after last Monday’s post. As always, they come in bullet form.

• Since I was out for most of the afternoon on Sunday, I missed the Pregame coverage and 3/4 of the AFC Championship Game, but I was able to see the entire 4th quarter and watched all of the NFC Championship. From what I saw of the AFC Championship Game, I thought CBS did a decent job, but there was a glaring omission in the last minute.

  First, by not having a rules analyst like Fox with Mike Pereira, CBS really didn’t delve into whether a ruled incompletion thrown by Joe Flacco to Lee Evans should have been reviewed or discussed whether it was an incompletion in the first place. As it was later explained later, it was ruled correctly, but not until after CBS went off the air.

  And CBS never tried to get an answer as to why Ravens place kicker Billy Cundiff ran onto the field late, influencing his missed game tying field goal attempt. Jim Nantz didn’t even mention Cundiff’s tardiness as it was happening. And the NFL Today postgame show didn’t discuss either issue.

  For the NFC Championship, Fox was on its game from the call of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, to key replays showing that 49ers punt returner Kyle Williams muffed fielding a kick when the ball glanced off his knee. Replays were very conclusive. I thought Fox had one of its best broadcasts of the season and it ended the 2011-12 NFL campaign by going out in top.

  CBS could have done a better job by servicing its viewers at the end of the game.

• Thanks to its third overtime in the last five NFC Championship Games, I expect Fox to get a huge viewership number, somewhere near 60 million viewers. I’m not kidding. If records were set for the NFL Wild Card and Divisional Playoffs, why not for Championship Sunday?

  And NBC has to love having the New England Patriots and the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI. With two teams with national followings, plus a rematch of Super Bowl XLII, I think another viewership record will be broken this year for the Big Game.

• Two changes on the national radio coverage of the NFL. First, Westwood One has been officially taken over by Dial Global. The two companies merged last year, but earlier this month, Westwood One was rebranded as Dial Global Sports.

  In addition, Dial Global’s broadcasts of the Conference Championship Games and the Super Bowl are no longer blacked out in the home markets. In Boston, Dial Global affiliate WEEI aired the AFC Championship opposite New England Patriots radio flagship WBZ-FM. And WEEI will air the Dial Global’s feed of the Super Bowl as well. So stations that carry Dial Global’s NFL schedule won’t have to stop with the Divisional Playoffs in case the team in their local market makes it to the Conference Championship and beyond.

• Being a tennis fan, I am loving the combined Tennis Channel/ESPN2 coverage of the Australian Open. I also love as a DirecTV subscriber having six channels to choose from, either the network coverage, or individual court channels showing commercial-free, uninterrupted action.

  A couple of complaints. ESPN2 could spend some more time showing live matches instead of constant talking from the set. I don’t mind postmatch interviews with players, but sometimes, ESPN2 falls into the trap of too much discussion while matches are underway.

  We are definitely missing Mary Carillo in Melbourne. For some reason, she chose to take this year’s Australian Open off and her presence has been missed. I do love having Tracy Austin on Tennis Channel this year and I hope she’ll be used during the French Open. And could John McEnroe be borrowed from Fox Sports Australia for ESPN2 or Tennis Channel? He’s been missed also.

That will do it. Enjoy your Monday.

Fox Sports Previews Its First-Ever Live English Premier League Broadcast

After airing several taped English Premier League games during NFL season, Fox goes one better and airs Sunday’s Arsenal-Manchester United game live at 10:30 a.m. ET. And in two weeks, Fox will air Chelsea-Manchester United live as well.

Rob Stone will make his Fox debut as the studio host. Eric Wynalda will be the main analyst. Joining them will be CNN talk show host and notorious alleged phone hacker Piers Morgan who claims he’s an unabashed Arsenal fan. What he’ll bring to the table is unknown, but I’d rather see someone else instead of the alleged phone hacker.

Anyway, we have the Fox press release which includes Wynalda discussing what it means to have this game on network television.

FOX SPORTS NOTES, QUOTES & ANECDOTES

Arsenal and Manchester United Kick-Off #EpicSunday with First-Ever LIVE English Premier League Match on U.S. Broadcast TV at 10:30 AM ET

ENGLISH RIVALS ARSENAL AND MAN U MEET LIVE ON FOX – FOX Sports leads off NFC Championship Sunday with its first-ever live English Premier League match on U.S. broadcast television featuring two of the world’s most storied clubs. Arsenal and Manchester United meet at Emirates Stadium, and coverage on FOX begins at 10:30 AM ET from Studio A in Los Angeles with Rob Stone in his first FOX Sports appearance accompanied by FOX Soccer analyst and former U.S. Men’s National Team legend Eric Wynalda, and CNN talk show host and Arsenal supporter, Piers Morgan.

A century-old rivalry, Arsenal and Manchester United look to leave their stamp on a crucial mid-season match. Hoping to avenge an 8-2 loss last August at Old Trafford, a re-energized Arsenal features the Premier League’s top-scorer Robin van Persie and the prolific Thierry Henry, while Manchester United looks to Wayne Rooney to propel them to the top of the standings.

FOX’s soccer coverage on Jan. 22 begins when FOX Soccer, America’s premier soccer destination, presents Manchester City vs. Tottenham at 8:25 AM ET in a matchup of championship contenders fighting for all available points, featuring superstar Mario Balotelli (Manchester City) and American goalkeeper Brad Friedel (Tottenham). Fans can catch highlights from both matches on Goals On Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

Viewers can join in on the social conversation on Twitter surrounding the matches and NFC Championship game, coverage of which begins at 6:00 PM ET by using #EpicSunday, and by visiting https://twitter.com/foxsoccer, www.facebook.com/foxsoccer, and www.facebook.com/foxsports

WYNALDA: ARSENAL IS VULNERABLE – FOX Soccer analyst and former U.S. Men’s National team legend Eric Wynalda believes Sunday’s match features a very wide open contest between two teams both in need of a win. “This game is going to be fantastic because both teams desperately need a win for different reasons,” said the U.S. Men’s all-time second leading goal scorer. “Manchester United has had a bit of a rough patch but they look pretty good right now and I expect them to throw everything at Arsenal. They’ll throw everything at them because Arsenal is vulnerable defensively. This is going to be a wide open very high pace game.”

ROB STONE AND ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE MAKE BROADCAST DEBUTS ON FOX SPORTS SUNDAY – Seasoned sportscaster Rob Stone makes his FOX Sports debut as the lead studio host this Sunday, Jan 22 with coverage of Arsenal vs. Manchester United match, Sunday, Jan. 22, the first-ever live English Premier League match on U.S. broadcast television. Stone talked about what he expects to see this when these legendary teams meet Sunday.

ON WHAT HE EXPECTS FROM SUNDAY’S MATCH – “Arsenal may not admit it, but revenge will be a huge factor after they were humiliated 8-2 in their last outing vs. the Red Devils. Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said that not only did he start to feel uncomfortable as that result was transpiring, but he also knew it would be used against his club in the return match. I bet Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has the lowlights of the match cut up already for pregame motivation.”

ON THE ICONIC HISTORY OF THESE TWO CLUBS – “Sir Alex Ferguson broke into smile when he reflected back on the glory days of this rivalry. In the heyday this was a brutally challenging encounter, both physically and mentally. Both clubs have high levels of respect and contempt for one another, which traditionally adds up to a classic cocktail of soccer entertainment.”

ON THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS BEING THE FIRST-EVER LIVE ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE MATCH ON U.S. BROADCAST TELEVISION – “This is just another example of the continued growth and mainstream acceptance of soccer in the United States. Every day more and more people are seeing the light, respecting the skills and athleticism, and embracing the game. That list will grow on Sunday.”

That will do it.

Fox Sports Previews The NFC Championship

On Sunday, Fox Sports airs the NFC Championship live from Candlestick Park in San Francisco. The New York Giants which have never lost an NFC Championship take on the San Francisco 49ers.

Coverage begins at 6 p.m. ET as the Fox NFL Sunday crew travel from their customary Los Angeles home to be live on-site in the Bay Area. Friend of Fang’s Bites Curt Menefee hosts and he’ll be joined by co-host Terry Bradshaw as well as analysts Howie Long, Michael Strahan and Jimmie Johnson. Insider Jay Glazer will also be on hand.

Calling the game will be Joe Buck and Troy Aikman. Pam Oliver and Chris Myers will roam the sidelines for Fox.

Here’s the Fox press release.

FOX SPORTS NOTES, QUOTES & ANECDOTES

Giants/49ers Battle in San Fran for the NFC Title Sunday on FOX
FOX NFL SUNDAY Pregame Live from Candlestick Park: Coverage at 6:00 PM ET

NFL ON FOX: NFC CHAMPIONSHIP – A trip to Super Bowl XLVI is on the line Sunday, Jan. 22 (6:00 PM ET) as Eli Manning, Hakeem Nicks, Victor Cruz and the Giants look to orchestrate another improbable run to the Super Bowl against Alex Smith, Frank Gore, Patrick Willis and the 49ers. Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Pam Oliver & Chris Myers call this matchup for the George Halas trophy and NFC title in the City by the Bay.

Coverage begins at 6:00 PM ET with America’s most-watched pregame show, FOX NFL SUNDAY. Terry Bradshaw and Curt Menefee co-host the Emmy Award-winning program and are joined by analysts Howie Long, Michael Strahan and Jimmy Johnson live from Candlestick Park. NFL Insider Jay Glazer presents the latest playoff news and scoops from the FOX NFL SUNDAY studio while comedic prognosticator Frank Caliendo contributes his weekly “Frank’s Picks” segment. FOX Sports rules analyst Mike Pereira is also on hand to go over any impactful officiating issues. In this week’s Championship edition, Bradshaw sits down with Alex Smith to discuss San Francisco’s game-winning drive last week against the Saints and how it feels to be one game away from the Super Bowl after many frustrating years in San Fran. Johnson breaks down New York’s impressive defensive turnaround.

For instant updates during the week and games from the entire NFL on FOX crew, follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/NFLONFOX. Follow the NFL on FOX on-air personalities @Jay_Glazer, @JimmyJohnson, @CurtMenefee, @MikePereira, @MichaelStrahan, @TroyAikman, @Buck, @KennyAlbert, @CoachBillick, @TimBrewster, @CFD22 (Charles Davis), @DarylJohnston, @The_ChrisMyers, @LauraOkmin, @ChadPennington, @TimRyan99 & @TonySiragusa on Twitter as they provide insight and analysis all weekend. Fans can gain more access to exclusive FOX Sports content by logging on to www.facebook.com/foxsports.

Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012

New York Giants at San Francisco 49ers, Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Pam Oliver & Chris Myers, 6:30PM
Candlestick Park – San Francisco, CA

AIKMAN: EXPECT TOUGH PHYSICAL GAME WHEN GIANTS & 49ERS CLASH IN SAN FRAN FOR NFC CROWN — NFL on FOX lead analyst Troy Aikman looks at the pressure on Eli Manning and Alex Smith this weekend and the keys to these two evenly matched teams representing the NFC in this year’s Super Bowl.

ON THE PRESURE ON A QB AND ULTIMATELY WHAT YOU ARE REMEMBERED FOR: “When you are the top draft pick at quarterback, you were brought in to win a championship. All that matters is winning. If Alex Smith or Eli Manning had the same years they had statistically but their teams were 5-11, no one would be talking about what a good year they had. As great a year as Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees each had, they’d give it all back to still be playing this weekend.”

ON THE KEYS TO THE 49ERS WINNING: “Of all the teams, I’ve seen this season, I’d say the 49ers are the most complete. They run the ball well, are excellent on defense and their special teams plays well. There aren’t many holes in San Francisco. They aren’t as explosive offensively as the Giants or Packers but they are a well-coached, tough team. The 49ers need to keep up the formula that’s worked; playing great defense, not giving up points, being physical.”

ON WHAT MAKES THE GIANTS SUCH A GOOD ROAD TEAM: “Emotions are really heightened on the road with the crowd reacting to incompletions, missed 3^rd downs conversations. A lot of teams can think the game is getting away from them when it’s really not. The Giants haven’t let things like that affect them and it’s a testament to Tom Coughlin and the job that he and his staff do in getting the Giants ready. The kicking game Sunday is going to be huge factor. Coughlin puts a lot of emphasis on special teams and kicking game. In the tough physical game that I expect, field position could be the deciding factor.”

And that will do it for our Conference Championship Sunday previews.

Bringing Out Friday Megalinks

The last few Fridays, I haven’t been able to provide you with the megalinks. I have to do some today otherwise you’ll stop visiting me.

We begin as always with the Weekend Viewing Picks and there are quite a few for this snowy weekend in Southern New England.

Now to your links.

National

Michael Hiestand of USA Today talks with Fox Sports’ Terry Bradshaw about Tim Tebow and the upcoming NFC Championship.

Jason Fry, part of the ESPN Poynter Review Project hears sideline reporter Holly Rowe’s side of the story regarding about her now-infamous incident where she shoved a Sugar Bowl staffer away to get an interview with Michigan coach Brady Hoke.

Marisa Guthrie of the Hollywood Reporter looks at HBO’s new unscripted series on boxing trainer Freddie Roach.

The Tampa Bay Times’ Eric Deggans has a review of the Freddie Roach series in the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center.

John Eggerton at Broadcasting & Cable says Massachusetts Senator John Kerry has written a letter to the FCC asking the agency to get involved in the Sunbeam-DirecTV dispute which could affect how viewers in Boston see the Super Bowl.

John says Comcast is seeking a reversal of a Federal decision that ruled in favor of Tennis Channel in their dispute.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News says DirecTV has signed a rights deal to distribute Big Sky football and basketball games.

Anthony Crupi of Adweek says History Channel has purchased a longer ad to promote its series, “Swamp People” during Super Bowl XLVI.

Brian Steinberg from Advertising Age tells us who’s buying what in Super Bowl XLVI.

AdAge looks at the 12 ads that changed Super Bowl marketing forever. Three guesses on number one and the first two don’t count.

Brian says marketers are going longer with their Super Bowl ads this year in an attempt to stand out.

Finally, Brian writes that even though we’re not thinking about next year’s Super Bowl XLVII, CBS already is and has been working on getting an early start on ad sales for that Big Game.

Inside Radio says all of Cumulus’ Bay Area radio stations will simulcast Sunday’s NFC Championship Game.

From across the pond, Amy Lawrence of The Guardian in the UK says Fox airing an English Premier League game live over the air is a big deal.

Kevin Iole of Yahoo looks into NBC Sports Network’s first foray into boxing.

Dan Levy at the Bleacher Report wonders which network can muster enough former NFL talent to drum up a flag football game.

Mac Nwulu of ESPN’s Front Row PR blog has an inside look at the preparation of Sunday NFL Countdown.

Matt Yoder at Awful Announcing chronicles this week’s Twitter feud between Sports Illusrated’s Richard Deitsch and CNBC’s Darren Rovell.

Speaking of feuds, The Big Lead looks at an internal ESPN squabble between college basketball analyst Jay Bilas and insider Andy Katz.

Sports Media Watch notes that ESPN is making a major scheduling change for the WNBA this year.

SMW has a look at some local NBA and NHL ratings.

Tennis Channel laments not being picked up by Cablevision.

Ken Kerschbaumer of Sports Video Group takes a look at CBS’ and Fox’s preparation for the NFL Conference Championship Games.

Sports TV Jobs has an interesting graphic of sample camera positions at various stadia and arenas.

East and Mid-Atlantic

Chad Finn from the Boston Globe talks with a former Baltimore Raven who now works in Boston as a weekend sports talk show host.

Bill Doyle at the Worcester Telegram & Gazette interviews legendary Patriots radio voice Gil Santos.

Newsday’s Neil Best says local TV is gearing up for the NFC Championship.

Neil talks with former New York Giants running back and NBC analyst Tiki Barber who makes his return to TV this weekend.

George Vescey at the New York Times looks forward to seeing Sunday’s English Premier League game live on Fox.

The New York Post’s Phil Mushnick is not a fan of the NFL replay review process.

Justin Terranova of the Post has five questions for CBS Sports’ and WFAN’s Boomer Esiason.

The Albany Times Union’s Pete Dougherty has some NFL TV analysts break down the four quarterbacks still playing for a shot in the Super Bowl.

Ken McMillan from the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record has Fox’s Troy Aikman talking about the NFC Championship.

Ken has more from Troy in his blog.

Dave Hughes from DCRTV.com notes in Press Box that last week’s Texans-Ravens game set a local ratings record.

David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun attempts to get answers from CBS on having Subway endorser Ndamukong Suh on last week’s NFL Today postgame show.

And David has former Ravens QB and current ESPN analyst Trent Dilfer opining on Ed Reed’s comments on current QB Joe Flacco.

Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post says the Nationals are hoping to get more money from MASN as the sides negotiate a new contract.

Jim Williams from the Washington Examiner talks with the radio voice of the Wizards about his busy schedule.

South

Keith Jarrett at the Asheville (NC) Citizen-Times says the Big South may have to move its Conference Championship Game venue which could effect ESPN’s scheduling.

Jon Solomon of the Birmingham (AL) News says SEC partners CBS and ESPN want better scheduling for next football season.

Jerry Tipton of the Lexington (KY) Herald-Leader writes that the SEC’s basketball coaches aren’t happy over the scheduling-for-TV moves this season.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle says the Texans’ flagship radio station hopes to build on the team’s momentum when their new contract kicks in next season.

David has some news and notes that didn’t make his column.

Nancy Sarnoff of the Chronicle says NBC Sports Group is looking for a new facility to house the Comcast SportsNet Houston regional sports network which launches later this year.

Mel Bracht from the Daily Oklahoman notes that the Texas Rangers will have multiple appearances on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball.

Midwest

Michael Zuidema of the Grand Rapids (MI) Press says HBO continues its string of acclaimed sports documentaries.

Bob Wolfley from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says don’t expect NFL Conference Championship Sunday to change its format for the foreseeable future.

Ed Sherman in Crain’s Chicago Business has his winners and losers in sports business and media.

Patrick Reusse of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune feels Fox Sports North just cheerleads for Minnesota teams and won’t criticize them.

Paul Christian from the Rochester (MN) Post-Bulletin looks at Fox Sports North’s Hockey Day in Minnesota schedule.

Dan Caesar at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has CBS Sports President Sean McManus wanting to keep the status quo for NFL Conference Championship Sunday.

West

John Maffei of the North County Times looks at MLB Network’s first-ever game show which premieres next week.

Jim Carlisle from the Ventura County Star says CBS was hoping to get Tim Tebow for its NFL Today pregame show on Sunday, but he declined.

At the Los Angeles Daily News, Tom Hoffarth profiles Fox Sports West host Patrick O’Neal and has his list of best and worst local sports anchors.

Tom has a bit more on O’Neal.

Canada

Bob Weeks in the Toronto Globe and Mail notes that CBC has gotten out of the curling business, a sport it has televised since 1962.

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Globe and Mail says the Raptors may be suffering on the court, but not on TV.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog looks at the International Olympic Committee throwing out CTV/CBC’s joint bid to air the 2014/2016 Games.

And that is it. Glad to be able to provide the Megalinkage for you.

NFL Viewing Picks For Conference Championship Sunday, 01/22/2012, All Times Eastern

NFL GameDay Morning — NFL Network, 9 a.m.
NFL Championship Chase — CBS, 1 p.m.
The NFL Today — CBS, 2 p.m.

3 p.m.
AFC Championship, Foxboro, MA
Baltimore Ravens at New England Patriots — CBS, Jim Nantz/Phil Simms/Steve Tasker; Dial Global Radio, Dave Sims/James Lofton/Tony Boselli

6 p.m.
Fox NFL Sunday — Fox, 6 p.m.
NFL GameDay Scoreboard — NFL Network, 6 p.m.

6:30 p.m.
NFC Championship, San Francisco, CA
New York Giants at San Francisco 49ers — Fox, Joe Buck/Troy Aikman/Pam Oliver/Chris Myers; Dial Global Radio, Kevin Harlan/Dan Fouts/Mark Malone

9:30 p.m.
Fox NFL Sunday Postgame — Fox

10:30 p.m.
NFL Primetime — ESPN
NFL GameDay Final — NFL Network

Sirius XM Radio Channel Assignments

Fox Sports To Air Live English Premier League Match Sunday Morning

Fox has been experimenting with airing various taped English Premier League matches on NFL Sundays where they have regional coverage. And the network has been getting decent ratings for each match. Now, Fox goes one step further this Sunday by bringing a live EPL match between Arsenal and Manchester United.

It will air Sunday at 10:30 a.m. ET. Rob Stone making his Fox Sports debut will host the studio portion from Los Angeles and he’ll be joined by analyst Eric Wynalda who slides over from the host chair. Inexplicably joining them will be alleged phone hacker and current CNN talk show host Piers Morgan.

It’s part of a true Football Sunday for Fox as later in the day, it will bring the NFC Championship to your television.

Here are the details from Fox Sports.

ARSENAL AND MANCHESTER UNITED’S LEGENDARY RIVALRY MARKS FIRST-EVER LIVE ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE MATCH ON US BROADCAST TV

Match Precedes NFL on FOX NFC Championship Game Coverage on Jan. 22, an Epic Sunday

Los Angeles (January 18, 2012) –  FOX Sports leads off NFC Championship Sunday with its first-ever live English Premier League match on U.S. broadcast television featuring two of the world’s most storied clubs. Arsenal and Manchester United meet at Emirates Stadium, and coverage on FOX begins at 10:30 AM ET from Studio A in Los Angeles with Rob Stone in his first FOX Sports appearance accompanied by FOX Soccer analyst and former U.S. Men’s National Team legend Eric Wynalda, and CNN talk show host and Arsenal supporter, Piers Morgan.

A century-old rivalry, Arsenal and Manchester United look to leave their stamp on a crucial mid-season match. Hoping to avenge an 8-2 loss last August at Old Trafford, a re-energized Arsenal features the Premier League’s top-scorer Robin van Persie and the prolific Thierry Henry, while Manchester United looks to Wayne Rooney to propel them to the top of the standings.

FOX’s soccer coverage on Jan. 22 begins when FOX Soccer, America’s premier soccer destination, presents Manchester City v. Tottenham at 8:25 AM ET in a matchup of championship contenders fighting for all available points, featuring superstar Mario Balotelli (Manchester City) and American goalkeeper Brad Friedel (Tottenham). Fans can catch highlights from both matches on Goals On Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

Viewers can join in on the social conversation on Twitter surrounding the matches and NFC Championship game, coverage of which begins at 6:00 PM ET by using #EpicSunday, and by visiting https://twitter.com/foxsoccer, www.facebook.com/foxsoccer, and www.facebook.com/foxsports

More coming up. Keep your feeds updated.

Some Tuesday Links

Don’t have time to provide a full set of links today so I’ll give you what I’ve culled thus far. Some good stuff here.

Some stories from this week’s Sports Business Journal.

First, John Ourand reports that ESPN and MLB could butt heads over TV Everywhere streaming rights. ESPN has its model. MLB has its silly subscription model. We’ll see where it ends.

SBJ’s Liz Mullen talks with Fox NFL Sunday’s Michael Strahan about the transition from his playing career to a broadcasting career and goes inside his day on the Fox set during NFL season.

Liz chronicles the NFL Broadcast Boot Camp held every year to give players a taste of being in front of the camera.

And SBJ lists some of the current players and coaches who could make a go at broadcasting when they decide to leave the field.

One story that bears watching. Last week, the FCC opened a review on the antiquated NFL blackout rules and Todd Shields of Bloomberg has a story on it.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times wrote about the FCC blackout review as well.

Gary Holmes at MediaPost looks at how the NFL continues to be a ratings draw over a 40 year span.

Tennis Channel announced on its Facebook page that it’s back on Verizon Fios systems.

Mike Reynolds at Multichannel News has a story on the new Tennis Channel/Verizon agreement.

John Eggerton of Multichannel says Tennis Channel wants the FCC to force Comcast to adhere to an Administrative Law Judge ruling stating the cable provider has to offer the network to its subscribers as an equal to its own Golf Channel and NBC Sports Network.

Broadcasting & Cable’s Ben Grossman talks with NASCAR head honcho Brian France about the future of the sport on TV and how ESPN needs to improve its presentation.

Eriq Gardner of the Hollywood Reporter says a throwaway line from the Baltimore Ravens’ Terrell Suggs on Sunday Night Football back in November is now the subject of a nasty trademark dispute.

Dan Fogarty of SportsGrid has details on the budding feud between UFC’s Dana White and ESPN over a report on Outside the Lines that looked at fighter pay.

Timothy Burke’s Mocksession site has a funny error from ESPN promoting tonight’s Big Ten basketball game.

Nate Smeltz at ESPN’s Front Row PR blog provides an inside look at how a game becomes SportsCenter highlight.

Shirley Brady at Brandchannel previews some of the Super Bowl ads that will air during the Big Game.

Sports TV Jobs looks at the Ten Worst Moments in Sports TV history.

At Boston Sports Media Watch, former Comcast SportsNet New England anchor/reporter Jackie Pepper chronicles her rise from covering sports in a very small market to Boston, the 7th largest in the country.

Newsday’s Neil Best tweeted that Josh Lewin of the Lisping Lewins is a candidate to join the New York Mets radio booth.

Neil says WFAN’s Mike Francesa has a new name for his show.

Neil says Giants-Packers topped the ratings on Sunday.

Back to Richard Sandomir of the New York Times who looks at Fox Sports’ NFL Rules analyst Mike Pereira making a rare disagreement over a call during Sunday’s Giants-Packers game.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union notes a local sports reporter has been suspended for making an obscene gesture on the air.

David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun says it appears the Ravens set a viewing record for Sunday’s game against the Texans.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog says former Maryland basketball coach Gary Williams joins a local radio station as an analyst.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle says the Texans-Baltimore game set a local ratings record.

David says a local TV station made a tasteless report on the Detroit Pistons’ emergency landing on Monday.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel looks at the ratings for the Giants-Packers playoff game.

Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times says new TNT analyst Shaquille O’Neal is enjoying his new role on TV.

Rick Westhead of the Toronto Star says the International Olympic Committee has thrown out the joint bid by Bell Media/CBC for the 2014/2016 Games.

Mike Silva in his Sports Media Watchdog introduces Mets fans to Josh Lewin.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media notes that NBC got a decent rating for the NHL last Saturday.

That’s going to do it.

Giants-Packers Becomes Most Watched NFL Divisional Playoff Game Evah!

Just received this from Fox Sports. Sunday’s New York Football Giants-Green Bay Packers game was the most watched NFL Divisional Playoff game in history. That’s right. In. History.

Overall, 45.1 million people watched the game. The rating was an amazing 25.3 fast national rating with a 42 share. It’s the highest rated game since the Dallas Cowboys-Carolina Panthers Divisional Playoff received a 27.6/49 in 1997 and that was also on Fox.

Locally, Milwaukee was the highest rated market receiving a 53.3/76. New York registered a 33.4/53, but was not second, Norfolk, VA had that honor followed by Minneapolis-St. Paul. Boston and Providence, AFC markets also finished high.

This was part of a great weekend for the NFL and I’ll have its official press release coming up.

Here’s what Fox has to say.

GIANTS/PACKERS ON FOX SCORES MOST-WATCHED DIVISIONAL GAME EVER

Sunday’s Quarterfinal Clash at Lambeau is Highest-Rated in 15 Years
NFL on FOX Postseason Ranks as Network’s Most-Watched Ever

New York, NY – Sunday’s highly-anticipated New York Giants and Green Bay Packers battle for a spot in the NFC Championship Game was one for the record-books, scoring FOX the most-watched Divisional Playoff Game ever on any network, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Over 45.1 million fans tuned in as Eli Manning led the Giants past the defending Super Bowl champion Packers, securing them a trip to San Francisco to face the 49ers for the NFC crown. In addition to being the most-watched Divisional Playoff Game ever, the 25.3/42 fast-national household rating/share makes it the highest-rated Divisional Playoff Game on any network since 1997′s Cowboys/Panthers game on FOX (27.6/49).

The rating for Sunday’s late-window playoff game is +32% better than last year’s 19.1/39 (32.5 million viewers) for Seahawks-Bears on FOX and +5% better than last year’s late-window 24.2/42 (43.5 million) for Jets-Patriots on CBS. It’s also the most-watched broadcast of any kind since Super Bowl XLV in February.

Sunday’s game opened with a 21.8/40 and 37.3 million viewers at the 4:39 PM ET kick-off and grew steadily throughout the broadcast peaking to a 27.5/44 rating/share and averaging 49.9 million viewers from 7:00 – 7:30 PM ET as the Giants took a commanding lead in the fourth quarter.

Through three telecasts, the 2012 NFC PLAYOFFS on FOX are averaging 21.2/39 (36.5 million viewers), +9% better than last year’s 19.4/35 (34.2 million viewers). This season’s NFL on FOX playoff coverage ranks as the network’s highest-rated since 1997 (21.5/44) and most-watched ever according to Nielsen Media Research.

Milwaukee led all markets with a 53.3/76. New York averaged a 33.4/53, the highest-rating ever in the Big Apple for an NFL Playoff Game on FOX (excluding the Super Bowl).

The top five non-home markets include Norfolk 35.6/50, Minneapolis 33.8/57, Providence 32.5/49, Chicago 31.4/51 and Las Vegas 31.0/53. The West Coast tuned in to see who the 49ers would face for the NFC crown with the San Francisco posting a 26.2/58 and Los Angeles a 22.3/44. Patriots’ country was also watching with Boston notching a 27.9/44 rating/share.

More coming up.

Churning Out Some MLK Day Linkage

Let’s do some linkage on this MLK Day, a holiday for some of you.

We’ll begin with a story from an unusual source, Newsweek/The Daily Beast. Nick Summers of Newsweek writes about how ESPN’s subscriber fees could force cable providers to place the network on pay tiers.

Michael Hiestand at USA Today reports that CBS wants Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow as a guest analyst for The NFL Today before Sunday’s AFC Championship Game.

Hiestand delves into the overnight ratings for NFL Divisional Playoffs Sunday.

Mike McCarthy at USA Today notes that several TV analysts and national radio hosts ripped the officiating in yesterday’s New York Giants-Green Bay Packers NFL Divisional Playoff Game.

Ben Grossman at Broadcasting & Cable says filmmaker Peter Berg who’s “On Freddie Roach” series premieres on HBO this week, wants to produce a similar series on Washington State head football coach Mike Leach.

Michael Malone from B&C tells us that Sunbeam-owned TV stations in Boston and Miami were pulled from DirecTV forcing viewers to scramble to find ways to watch yesterday’s NFL action and the Golden Globe Awards.

Alex Weprin at TVNewser says Current TV host Keith Olbermann went to visit MLB Network, which housed his former MSNBC offices and found some interesting mementos.

Dan Fogarty at SportsGrid has video of a Chicago Blackhawks fan professing his love for Comcast SportsNet reporter Sarah Kustok.

Brandon Costa from Sports Video Group looks at how the College of Charleston produces its own basketball telecasts for ESPN3 and local TV affiliates.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell doesn’t like how colleges and universities are restricting their student-athletes from using social media.

The Tennis Times has a video giving us an inside look at the Australian Open Media Day.

Dan Lamothe of the Springfield Republican’s Red Sox Monster blog notes that former NESN Red Sox reporter Heidi Watney returns to New England next month for a charity auction.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times looks at the Tim Tebow TV phenomenon.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post is not a fan of Daryl “Moose” Johnston.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union notes that the Dial Global/Westwood One broadcasts of the NFL Conference Games will be heard locally.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call says a local talk show host is heading to Motown.

David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun actually praises CBS’ production of the Houston-Baltimore game.

The Washington Post’s Sally Jenkins conducted the first interview with former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno since the Jerry Sandusky scandal broke.

Sally also answered readers questions on the interview and how she got Paterno to speak with her.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner talks with ESPN tennis analyst Darren Cahill about the Australian Open.

The Tampa Bay Times’ Tom Jones reviews the weekend in sports television.

Also from the Times, Eric Deggans wonders why news anchors were doing promos for a local Monster Truck event.

One more from the Times, Laura Keeley says Florida State fans lined up to be part of ESPN’s College GameDay’s appearance on campus on Saturday.

At the Houston Chronicle, David Barron isn’t a fan of the two minute commercial CBS gave to Subway during The NFL Today postgame show yesterday.

Mel Bracht of the Daily Oklahoman reports that ESPN has settled a wrongful termination lawsuit put forth by former play-by-play man Ron Franklin.

Bob Wolfley from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes that the NFL insiders were reporting on possible Packers coaching news yesterday.

In Crain’s Chicago Business, Ed Sherman looks at the 20th anniversary of sports talk radio in the Windy City with several local personalities.

To the Denver Post where Dusty Saunders talks with CBS’ Jim Nantz about the demise of the Broncos and Tim Tebow on Saturday.

Dawn C. Chmielewski of the Los Angeles Times looks at how ESPN is trying to push 3-D on the unwanting American people.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News talks with ESPN Radio LA host Marcellus Wiley about his acute memory loss and also has his 20th annual bests and worsts in SoCal sports talk radio.

Tom has more with Marcellus in his blog.

Tom also has his SoCal sports calendar for the week.

Bruce Dowbiggin at the Toronto Globe and Mail notes how slow motion has revolutionized sports television.

Matt Yoder of Awful Announcing is echoing what I’ve been saying the last couple of weeks, and that he’s becoming a fan of Joe Buck.

Sports Media Watch also looks at the ratings of the New York Football Giants and Green Bay Packers on Fox.

The Wiz of Odds looks into ESPN allegedly taking credit for a story originally reported by someone outside of the network. Thanks to The Big Lead for the link.

Joe Favorito wonders what’s next for Tim Tebow both as a player and as a marketer.

And that will conclude our linkage for today.

Giants-Packers Post Monster Overnight Rating on Fox

The overnights are coming in for the Sunday NFL Divisional Playoff games. Fox is crowing about the New York Giants-Green Bay Packers game which was played in the 4:30 p.m. window, normally the highest rated and most watched timeslot for the NFL. And this has been proven once again. A stunning 27.4 rating with a 45 share, the best Divisional Playoff overnight dating back 15 years.

Fox Sports PR man Lou D’Ermilio posts the good news for the Foxies.

#Giants - #Packers on @NFLONFOX posted 27.4/45 overnight, best mm rating for #NFL Divisional since '97. Milw - 53.3/76; NY - 33.4/53.

January 16, 2012 10:39 am via Twitter for iPadReplyRetweetFavorite

@FOXSportsLouD

Lou D'Ermilio

As you can see from the above tweet, Milwaukee had an amazing number and so did New York.

Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor of Sports Business Daily tells us that Packers-Giants is the highest rated NFL Divisional Game since 1997.

Fox earns 27.4 overnight for Giants win over Packers, marking best Divisional Game overnight on any net since '97 (Cowboys-Panthers, 28.6)

January 16, 2012 10:39 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@AustinKarp

Austin Karp

When I get a press release, I’ll be sure to post. it.