November 2007 Archives

College football should dominate your TV time this afternoon, meaning TiVo is the perfect device to capture, save and review later the specials that are coming up on Evel Knievel, thanks to ESPN Classic.

From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. today, ESPN Classic will rotate two shows in honor of the daredevil who died Friday at the age of 69.

"The Impossible Jump" (10 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.) is a half-hour show that focuses on Mike Metzger's attempt to jump the fountains at Caesar's Palace, which Knievel attempted in 1967 and ended in a spectacular rubbery crash. Included in this show is plenty of footage from Knievel's Caesar's Place jump and interviews with the daredevil.

"Touch of Evel" (10:30 a.m., noon and 1:30 p.m.) is another half-hour documentary on his life, where friends and family talk about him, and his jumps at Snake River Canyon and Wembley Stadium are replayed.

Seems you gotta go out to the video store if you want to find the George Hamilton 1971 movie, "Evel Knievel," which is how most of us Baby Boomers really got to know him and consider him the real X Games athlete.

After today's Daily News media column on the life and times of Stephen A. Smith, more to follow:

==On whether he'd rather be labeled more a journalist than an entertainer or commentator:

"I wouldn’t say more. What I would say is that, part of me comes with every part that I do. Even if I’m entertaining you, I’m entertaining you doing journalism because I’m researching my information, cultivating sources and resources, doin gall those things journalists do. I've always said my school of journalism was the Winston Salem Journal. These guys -- the entire white staff embraced me from day one and taught me the business and cared about me. They taught me the business from the ground up made sure I understood the rules and regulations and integrity that came with it. I wasn’t the greatest writer or reporter no matter what anyone wants to say, but they knew I tried and I was going to be pretty damn good and they believed in me before I believed in myself. Those are the people I love dearly and always remember."

== On what his goals might be for the next five years:

"As far fetched as that may be, I’ve always aspired to be a reporter for '60 Minutes.' I’ve always loved that stuff. Like 'Real Sports.' But now I have a taste of the hosting bug, if there's the right opportunity, right channel, right muscle behind it, right time slot, all that stuff, I'd definitely want to do it. The sky is the limit. I don’t limit myself anymore. I’m happy career wise. I’m as happy as I've been in quite a while. I feel I’m pacing myself more now and cognizant of spreading myself too thin. ESPN magazine and ESPN.com want me to write for them, and I may do that rather than five columns a week. I’m monitoring those things. USA Today could be in the future.

"It’s beautiful (that) I don’t know because the possibilities are endless. That’s what it’s all about. What’s what you dream about and that’s position I'm in right now.

"One of the biggest goals is to be the best radio host I could possibly be. I have a national platform right now. It's only an hour. I don’t think that’s enough. I think it needs to be more. I don't want four hours. I'm reluctant to do three hours. But I could do three hours and two of them could be national."

==On final thoughts about how people view him:

"I only know one way to be and that’s real. I don’t know how to get in front of the mike. If I’m doing a commercial with Carmello Anthony and everyone loves it, you’re trying to act. But in front of a mike, I don't flinch. I don't back up. That's who I am. That’s just not going to change about me.

"I’ll give you a perspective. That’s my job. If I’m a black man and I’m one of the few black men hosting his own show, why do you need me if I’m not giving you my perspective? It makes no sense. ... You listen to black folks call up (and say), 'He’s got a point.' Why? Because they know I’m telling the truth. I’m trying to bring some truth and realness to the airwaves. Not to say it was non existent, but it was one sided. What I try is in talking to Colin Cowherd, to Jim Rome, to Mike Tirico ... it's not about if you agree or disagree, let me give you this perspective. Listen to me. Hear me. You can have whatever opinion you want to have but hear it. That’s what it’s all about.

"Even if you jump to a conclusion, you believe what you believe, why does that stop you from listening? Who told you you can’t learn from someone else? Listen, as a 40 year old man, even though I pride myself on possession of some degree of intelligence, the fact of the matter is that white folks, just like black folks, educated me. Listen, I want to hear what you have to say and what your presepctive is and why you feel that way because -- guess what? -- that’s how you learn.

"I grew up in a neighbood where I still have friends who don’t like being around white people. That’s a damn shame. Makes no sense. ... I think we live in a socity that tries to compartmentalize, section off, segreate people. I think that’s a mistake. Let’s all get together. Let’s talk. Every day. About whatever it is on your mind. And even you have a viewpoint I totally disagree with, I want you to feel free to express yourself (but) I ain’t gonna listen to no stupidness. Not if it don’t make sense and it’s stupid. I got no patience for that. But if you make sense, even if I disagree, I’m able to say I can understand how you feel that way.

"One of my favorite calls is one that says, 'Steven A. I gotta call you to the carpet about something.' I love that. I’m like, 'Really? What? Clearly you are challenging what I’ve said.' See, I know what I’ve said. So my whole point is I’m usually ready for any kind of response you had in disagreement because I considered that before I said what I had to say. I’m ready. If you make a valid point, you got me. But guess what, I’m not resenting you, I’m grateful. Because that makes me smarter and I’ll come back more intelligent than I was the day before. And I learned that extensively on my show 'Quite Frankly' as much as anything else. Because I listen to people tell their stories.

"I do believe if you're not making yourself better, you're moving backward. There's nothing worse than stagnancy. If you’re moving backward, you know it. If you’re stagnant, you’re moving backward, but you don’t know it. It’s worse, see what I’m saying? At some point you’re moving backward and you’re going to stop yourself because you’re tired of falling."

== Links back to Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5 and Part 6.

==On reports that he used to write columns on his Blackberry for the Inquirer:

"No, that’s total fabrication. I wrote my column on a Blackberry one time, at the (2004) NBA draft, I was on vacation (from the newspaper). But while I was doing the draft for ESPN, Jameer Nelson from St. Joes, who at the latest was supposed to get drafted by Cleveland at No. 11, fell to No. 20 with Orlando. It’ s a big story in Philadelphia. I called my boss Jim Jenks and said, 'I only have my Blackberry but I can write a column because I can’t write on a big computer on the desk since I’m on national television and don’t know when cameras coming to me. This is the big story, do you need it?' It was only time every done that. But everywhere I look, everybody writes (I used to do colmns on my Blackberry).

"It’s funny until you realize that stuff behind what people say, what a disgrace it was writing on your Blackberry… woah, I was on vacation, I did it one time as a favor to my boss while I on the set. And (criticism) by the same people that write this stuff are the same people who see me in the press box and never once ask me what happened. Ever. They just assume (I wrote) columns on the Blackberry. Again, its depressing when people accuse so many of us without knowing the facts. What shocks me is they don’t ask. Come up to me and ask me and I’ll tell you.

"It’s an unwillingness to know because of personal agendas, someone has an axe to grind or they don’t like you or whatever, the opportunity to say what they want to say. But the one thing you learn and develop is thick skin. The thing that’s dangerous about me is I’ve always had thick skin. Now that I’m in this business, it’s even thicker. So it just doesn’t bother me. And not only that, but I could hurt these people anytime I want with retaliation, but I won't do it. It’s not my style. I don’t want to hurt anybody. I’m in a blessed position. I’m doing very well and why hurt someone else and their credibility. You’d just wish that someone would recognize: Listen, we’re all supposed to be family. I challenge anyone to come to talk to me about when I talk about my collegues in a negative fashion. Doesn’t happen. Just doesn’t happen."

==On other misconceptions people may have of him:

"The fact I’m always bombastic ... people who know me, know better. I pride myself on being cool and having a little style. .. I do get a little loud on the airwaves sometimes, there’s no question about that, and I do need to tone it down. Sometimes I don’t even know how loud I sound. That’s something I’m working on, literally. I don’t want to be straining my vocal chords.

"The perception is that I’m this TV guy … all that stuff. My foundations are rooted in newspapers. It doesn’t matter where I go from here, I know where I come from and there’s a level of respect I’m always going to have for my colelgues and the people of my profession and I’m not going to violate that.'

==On the story that he came out to the USC-UCLA game two years ago with bodyguards:

"Here’s what happened. Anytime you’re at a live event of that magnitude -- and we were out there tailgatging among thousands of people -- if you're ESPN talent, ESPN has security for you. (Up in the press box), the newspaper folks are up there. … I had to run to the bathroom, so I said 'I’m going up there.' (The security guys said), 'We have to come with you.' I was like, 'all right.' I understaood what people are saying. I didn’t know they were behind me up in the press box when I got out of the elevator.

"My problem wasn’t the story was wrong, but it was only half right. There’s another side to it. They never asked. I was in the press box for an hour, mingling, talking to guys I usually see (and) nobody asked. They just assumed and wrote it.

"It drives you nuts. It would drive me considerably less nuts if I was just a public figure. But more times than not, I’m sitting next to these people in the press box writing. My contemporaries. Why would they not ask me? You just realize when people talk jealousy and everything, what other excuse could you possibly have? Or it’s not, 'I won’t talk to you.' What do you want to know? It’s ridiculous. You just look at people and say, 'I guess you just really wanted to write this."

== Links back to Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5.

==On creating a dialogue on radio versus having to talk in sound bites on TV, where you can sound more like a character than a person and give off the wrong impression:

"That’s true, but my response is also, I’m not familiar with it because I never went on TV and acted. When you see me on 'NBA Shootaround,' you’re getting me. That’s how I feel. What I will say is, you're ampted up and fired up. The camera’s rolling and the red eye’s on and you know millions are looking at you and -- all right, I’ve got 45 seconds to make this point. It’s almost like that marathon runner. If you’re jogging or beathing heavy and trying to pace yourself, and all of the sudden you look at the finish line, there it is, whatever you got left in you, you do it. That’s television. In radio, you sit back and (are) cruising, you got all the time in the world, time to make a point. Television, they’re in my ear.

"When you’re bombastic, and I don’t do it on purpose -- I take that back, when I’m talking about Kwame Brown I might do that on purpose, when I’m talking about Slava Medvedenko, I might do it on purpose -– but outside of that, it’s really not on purpose. With television there’s an urgency of the moment. In radio, you feel like you've got time to explain. Let me have a converstion. Let me rap to y’all. But on television, no conversation. I make my point and make sure I deliver it in a fashion where it will resonate and stick to you like glue. And I have 30 seconds to do it.:

==On what happened with his long-form TV show, "Quite Frankly," which started in Aug, 2005 and ended in January 2007:

"It was a tremendous experience. But I’ll never do it again under the same conditions. The pros I learned (was how) to be a host. Everyone says I’m a pretty damn good interviewer, and I learned that I am. It was what people didn’t see. For a long time, I was the warmup act, talking to the audicne. You never saw the Q and A I did after the show once we went off the air, staying up to an hour every day taking questions from a live studio audience. They didn’t want to see my humor.

"I knew that I was pretty good because ... when people criticized my show, they said, 'I can’t stand him.' They never said anything about my show. You read up. That let me know that my content was what it was all about. I told ‘em from day 1, you can tell me right now you can get Jerry Springer’s ratings if I be Jerry Springer, and I’m going to pass it up. I knew from the forcity of African Americans in my position, that I had to quote-unquote represent. What I meant by that was make sure the content was something respectable and people in the profession – Black, White, Hispanic, Asian, it didn’t matter – they’d look at my show and say, 'That’s a decent show. That’s a good show. We can respect that.'

"(Former ESPN executive producer) Mark Shapiro is the one who gave me the opportunity and he paged me on my Blackberry when I was in Greece for the Olympics, he said 'It’s time for you to have your own show.' That’s how it all started. Never asked for it. Never pursued it. Been covering the NBA, was looking to venture out into the NFL and boxing and all that stuff, but never in my wildest dreams did I think I would host my own show. Mark Shapiro made it happen. He put big-time advertising and marketing behind it. I was promoted everywhere in a consistent time slot and I knew the show would be successful even though it was on ESPN2 instead of the main channel. I knew it had a legitamite shot at success.

"When (Shapiro) left I knew that task was going to be daunting. Anytime you have somebody that’s new, and wants their own vision ... John Skipper is a great man and incredibly generious to me. But the mistake I made it that he wanted to move it to late night and he asked me what I thought and I completely supported that, thinking I’d be on in prime time in the West, not realizing everyone has live events in that time. So I got pushed out. And people would say to me every single day: 'I love your show, I just can’t find it. … when are you coming back on?' I had people thinking I was only on once a week. It got to the point where I could only watch myself on Tivo, and even then it would cut it off. It was crazy.

"What I learned was I bit more off than I could chew because I was hosting my own radio show at the time, writing a column, and I did a discredit to myself by spreading myself so thin because it almost killed me physically."

== Links back to Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4.

== On the fact that the worst thing that anyone could ever write about him is that he got his facts wrong:

"Absolutely. They could say that all they want. People are going to attack. And again, this is one of those situations where color comes into effect. We all know the world that we live in and it’s extremely difficult for an African American to get a plethora of opportunities. You don’t see African American radio hosts all over the place. You certainly don’t see a bunch of African Americans in my position on television. There is no way on earth I’d be in this place if I didn’t have my facts straight. ...

"Have I made mistakes? Sure, but if I made mistakes it’s because a source told me the mistake. I’m on TV every day and the one thing I will say -- and I’ve said this on TV before but it hasn’t been printed -- is I don’t care what anybody says. Go back to my roots on television and my work in newspapers. Go back to my work on radio. And I assure you better than 95 percent of the time, my information is correct. Nobody can doubt it. It’s there. On tape or airwaves or written words in the archives. I stand by my work and my integrity and my name are first and foremost, which is one of the reasons why I’m fighting the Inquirer. My name, you put it out there and I dn’t deseve that and I will fight anyone who does that."

==On whether its disappointing that race ever gets into an argument about things he says or does, or things he chooses to talk about:

"It is disappointing at times. One of the things I love about radio -- I didn’t always like it, I happen to love it now -- is it exerts a level of energy and drainage from me that no other thing does. When you’re talking, you’re catching your breath and thinking, 'I gotta get into the gym and build up my wind.' But I would say that -- and my mother always said this about me -- I always viewed myself as a catalyst for change. I’m one of those people who, the way my mother and father raised me, I’ve never looked a white folks and said, “You’re white, you’re wrong, you’re white, you’re evil, you’re white, you’re … this (or that).” And I’ve never looked at black people and said, “You’re black, so you’re good and you’re honest and …”

"People are people. Content of character is judged on a case by case basis. I think the important thing to remember for me as a voice, what I always try to do is create the dialogue. That’s extremely important to me …

"I had a story of a guy who calls my radio show by the name of Howie who’s in his 70s, who took offense to a position I took in the Michael Vick situation. I said, 'You listen to my show not just for sports but because you want to hear me. That means you want to hear my thoughts, how I feel, how I come to my conclusions from the enviroment from which I come from. Right?' He said, 'Absolutely.' Well, then how can you tell me I’m wrong? That’s where I’m coming from. This is what I believe based on what I know. Now if you feel that I’m wrong, explain to me why. Don’t be offended. Because that’s like me being offended from where you’re from.

"I don’t think racism is a problem any more. Obviously, it’s still an issue. But it’s not nearly the problem that people make it out to be. I think the lack of dialogue is what the problem is. You have white folks that are scared to say stuff to black America because they’re petrified about how black America will act. You have black America that’s overly sensitive, but righteously so because of the level of deception sometimes that’s beamed in their direction. And the combination of the two are like oil and water. It doesn’t provoke any kind of communication. And it leaves us all stagnant and stuck in a rut and unwilling to venture out and go forward.

"What I like to do is I like to make sure no matter who you are or what you are, if you have something that makes sense, that’s intelligent to say, you can call my show and, even if I disagree with you, I’m going to say, 'I respect your opinion, I understand where you come from, here’s how I look at it.' Or 'Here is why you have people in a different society, a different culture and different backgrounds, here's why they feel differently.'

"Sports is basically an escape from the real world. And in some ways it’s a microsm of society that you can use to touch on a varity of different things. And if you don’t take advantage of that opportunity, you have no business being on radio. It’s a waste of time. Because it’s the one thing (where) you call up, they can’t see who you are, you’re not giving your last name, you have no fear, therefore you’re allowed to express yourself. And it’s important we take advantage of that opportunity. For me, that’s the best part of being on radio.

"You’ve got to be fearless. Somebody’s got to put themselves on Front Street. In order to create dialogue, someone has to be a catalyst. The callers might be able to hide but the catalyst can’t hide. He has to willing to be front and center and stand in the eye of the storm and say, I’m promoting this dialogue. I pride myself in that. I told my bosses once I’d go interview the KKK if they let me -- if they promosed not to do me harm. Tell me when to show up. I’ll show up. I’m not scared. It’s important to be able to talk about anything and be willing to understand other people. Even if you disagree, if you understand them, what that will likely eliminate is the volitile approach to that. All right, I disagree, but you can make the hatred (be) gone if you’re willing to listen and understand where they’re coming from."

== Links back to Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3

== Continued from Part 1 and Part 2:

==On his situation with the Philadelphia Inquirer:

"I am not working there. I can not talk extensively about that because that’s a legal matter. The position they’ve taken is entirely contradictory to what my position is and what I believe we agreed upon. I will say I’m happy to be working at ESPN. I’m proud of the years I had at the Inquirer and the leadership that helped elevate me with 8 different promotions over 13 ½ year period. I wouldn’t be here today if it were not for the opportunity they gave me. Other than that, I know of the agreement we had and I intend to make sure I fulfill it or for someone to give me an explanation as to why that was other than fabricating some bogus stuff about me.

==On if he considers going back to newspapers, or whether it's a dying industry:

"I don't believe that. All the newspaper industry has to do is connect itself better with the internet and guess what? People will read the newsaper on the internet, not rely so much on the paper copy and get with the internet age more so than it has. The foundation of the newspaper business... should never die. We shoud do all we can possible to make sure it lives in perpetuity because it’s extremely important with everything. It keeps radio and television on their ps and qs.

"And when you look at the internet business, what’s dangerous about it is that people who are clearly unqualified get to disseminate their piece to the masses. I respect the journalism industry, and the fact of the matter is ...someone with no training should not be allowed to have any kind of format whatsoever to disseminate to the masses to the level which they can. They are not trained. Not experts. More important are the level of ethics and integrity that comes along with the quote-unqoute profession hasn’t been firmly established and entrenched in the minds of those who’ve been given that license.

"Therefore, there’s a total disregard, a level of wrecklessness that ends up being a domino effect. And the people who suffer are the common viewers out there and, more importantly, those in the industry who haven’t been fortunate to get a radio or television deal and only rely on the written word. And now they’ve been sabotaged. Not because of me. Or like me. But because of the industry or the world has allowed the average joe to resemble a professional without any credentials whatsoever."

==Continued from Part 1:

==On how the media has portrayed him, pro and con:
"Sports Illustrated and the New York Times did pieces on me that were incredibly fair. I had no problems with it. I understand I’m a polarizing figure in that I know everyone’s not going to love you. I always aspired to be a general sprots columnist and knew what came with that terrotiry: Being front and center, in your face and come at you like a Mack truck. Because of that, everyone wasn’t going to be fond of that approach. My mentality has always been growing up and seeing people, seeing if they’re being reserved or holding back their thoughs or opinions or whatever. I always just wanted people to give it to me.

"That’s why when people compared me to Howard Cosell, it was an honor, but at the same time highly inappropriate. I wasn’t nearly as intelligent as him. My background wasn’t as extensive as his way, certainly couldn’t articulate as well as he could, and still can’t, but I had a level of admiration for him because everytime I looked at him, he had the believeability factor down pat. You knew when he spoke he meant exactly what he said. And that falls in line with my personality.

"I’m the guy who got in trouble in the fifth grade because I told my teacher the truth and went home and got my butt whipped and put in punishment because I refused to lie. I’ve always been that kind of person. When people consider me polarizing, and they come at me, that never bothers me. What bothers me is some of the little stigmas, like the ‘Screamin’ A.’ thing. I detest that.

"I deal with it. It’s not to say I don’t scream. But it’s not al lthe time. The people who labeled me that, let's look at their intent behind it. What were they trying to say. All right, well he’s bombastic, he’s demonstrative. How about the fact I’ve been a journalist for 14 years. How about as a beat writer covering the NBA, I broke one story after another and usually had my way with opposing beat writers. I was extrememly successful as a journalist -- which means you had to think, do your reporting, back up your facts … but that takes a back seat to my bombastic or occasional demonstrative ways. And what bothers me about it -- the people who labeled me that are the ones you see screaming on television. Now, if we’re all in it together, then I’m not offended. It’s like, 'OK, fine.'

"The Skip Baylesses of the world –- who I love, he’s a friend of mine, contrary to popular belief (and pictured above, right, with Smith on the left)–- these people scream. They go off. They’re in your face. But I’m 'Screamin’ A'? It makes me wonder why. And it makes me say, 'What’s the intent behind it?'

"So when I go on the air and bring up stuff like race or what have you, I know how I was raised – I’m the first person to call a black person out just like I’ll call anybody else out. It doesn’t matter. But what I do is point out the unfairness in how stuff is portrayed and deciminated to the masses.

"You call me Screamin’ A. What do you mean by that? It doesn’t offend me that it’s 'Screamin’ A' ... it rhymes. (But) I’ll never ask. This is journalism 101 – I’ve had people write about me, I’m in a press box, sitting right next to you. You say nothing to me. And I turn around the next day and something is written about me. Where I’m from as a journalist, if I’ve got something to say about you, and you are right there, I’m going to walk up to you and talk to you and tell you that I’m going to write about you. I’m not going hide and duck and weave. That happens constantly to me now. And I will openly acknowledge that’s the one and probably only thing about my success that has hurt.

"The radio (work) has been successful. Televison has obviously been successful. But my roots are grounded in newspapers. I didn’t cheat the industry. I busted my tail to get to where I was and then ventured out and capitalized off other opportunities. But I never forgot where I came from and what the newspaper industry means to all of us. Every day a radio host that says before he goes on the air that he doesn’t read the newspaper is a liar. We all do. You’d think that listening to some of these folks talk about me like I wasn’t part of the newspaper family, that hurts. It was like when I had my TV show, who did I bring on? Newspaper writers. I made sure to make sure the world recognizes talented reporting to our information culture. You would think people would appreciate it and remember it and unfortunately I don’t get that impression. I have my friends in the industry and never have to worry. With my mouth and my contacts I can respond in any way at any time. I choose not to. But I open acknowledge that it hurts."

Following up on today's Daily News column on Stephen A. Smith, we present a wide-range Q-and-A with the polarizing ESPN TV and radio personality with the first of seven blog entries:

==On what it's like getting work done in L.A. this week:

"I’m an East Coast guy. When you think about it, New York City is truely a city that never sleeps. One of my favorite routes to take in Manahattan coming from Queens or Harlem is driving into midtown and taking this turn and coming down 7th Avenue toward Times Square, the lights are everywhere. It’s a big city, keeps you awake. The only thing that can replace that is warm weather, sunshine and palm trees. See what I mean? When I think about L.A., coming here to cover the NBA for so many years, so many friends, some high school buddies out here that I hadn’t seen for 15 years who couldn’t believe they saw me on ESPN ... and the Lakers are the Lakers, growing up admiring Showtime with Magic Johnson. So L.A. is just a different feel and just as exciting. And I’m jealous of it. Everyone here is a little less stressed.

"I do think folks out West are a bit more laid back than the hustle and bustle of the East Coast. ... That’s just how it is. And I grew up in that kind of environment so I’m accustomed to it.

"I just turned 40 and now I look at things with a new perspective. I think about people less stressed, they seem more relaxed, and if you have a get-up and go about yourself, you can capitalize on that in this kind of environment. You’ll make it happen because it’s in your nature but you’re not going to forcefeed matters (like being) on the East Coast because things aren’t that pressurized. That adds to the level of enjoyment. Don’t care if it’s the women, or just individuals, people just feel less stressed."

==On whether less stressed people react better to consuming sports information rather than the harsh pace of East Coast sports fans:

"There’s a reason most people wouldn’t appreciate, but I do as a newspaper guy, that’s my foundation. We’re three hours ahead. We have to know things faster. We can’t sit back and take it in and then come out eloquting an opinion. When I go cover a game, I’m on deadline. It exists on the West Coast, but being three hours ahead, it’s our job to get the information out quicker. So it puts you in a luxurious position to be able to step back here and listen to a pouporie of thoughs and opinions beause you have more time. And that helps."

The transcript of a letter sent to those registered with the USC Alumni Association, on behalf of athletic director Mike Garrett, on the topic of the school's lease agreement with the Coliseum:

November 28, 2007

It gives me no pleasure to write a letter of this kind, but there are issues facing our university which you need to understand. The University of Southern California has been negotiating diligently for months, trying to renew USC's lease with the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, and trying to get guarantees that USC's football team and fans can enjoy home games in a completely renovated and improved stadium.

Unfortunately, talks are at an impasse, and right now we have no lease for the Coliseum next year. As a precaution, USC has negotiated a lease with the Rose Bowl to ensure that we have an acceptable stadium in which to play our home football games for the foreseeable future. But this arrangement is not what we want. We want our football program to remain at the Coliseum. And we want the Coliseum Commission-our "landlords" who manage the stadium-to begin the long overdue rehabilitation of the Coliseum.

You all know the many things which need attention:
Complete replacement of concession facilities to afford modern food and beverage services like those offered at all major stadiums.

Replacement of, and additions to, the currently inadequate restroom facilities.

All new, state-of-the-art video and score boards.

Replacement of the grossly inadequate sound system.

Improved access through renovated and replaced stairs, elevators and escalators.

Repair of crumbling concrete stairs, walkways and infrastructure.

Replacement of all seats.

Reconfiguration of entry gates in order to move fans in and out of the stadium safely and efficiently.
This is not just about people's comfort and enjoyment; it's about the long-term viability of the structure. It's old and worn out. And it is not being used to its fullest potential by the wider community.

USC has been waiting-I believe patiently-ten years for the Commission to do this, but they have not taken the necessary steps, and they will not promise to do so anytime soon. For a decade the nine-member Coliseum Commission has hoped to attract an NFL franchise to the stadium. Their plan has been that the NFL would pay for renovations. There was a clear message from the NFL last summer stating that "notwithstanding all of our best efforts to identify a mutually acceptable solution, we have determined that the Coliseum renovation project, as currently contemplated, would create significant economic risks for the NFL such that we are not prepared to move forward with the project at this time."

The Coliseum Commission asked USC to submit a proposal. So we did. We made to them what I think is an amazing offer. USC offered to spend $100 million to repair and improve the stadium on a ten-year plan, phasing in renovations each year. In return, we requested a master lease that would allow us to play football in the Coliseum for many years. We asked to participate in making decisions regarding the Coliseum and to be given opportunities that would allow us to offset our outlay of money by controlling more of the stadium's revenues. And we'd help make sure the Coliseum has a full life all year round, with entertainment and sporting events, both large and small, not just the six home games for the USC football team.

But the Coliseum Commission rejected our offer.

Our team deserves a great stadium. So do our fans. So do the people of Los Angeles.

The Coliseum Commission is made up of representatives from the city, the county, and the state. They need to know how you feel about this. I believe that our voices will be heard if we work through our elected officials. I urge you to e-mail, fax, or phone the appropriate official asking them to:

Let USC direct and fund the Coliseum's refurbishment in partnership with the city, the county, and the state.

Let USC, in collaboration with the Coliseum Commission, determine and perform vital repairs while ensuring steady income to offset expenses and upkeep.

Let USC be more than a tenant. (USC already brings in 60 percent of the Commission's revenue and that has been the only steady tenant for 80 years! ) We seek to be a key player in the preservation and enhancement of this great civic treasure and historic landmark. Remind them that for 80 years USC has stayed while other teams have gone, and that our home games spark spending in the neighborhood each fall to the tune of approximately $5 million. And that, in total, USC contributes $4 billion to the local economy each year.
If you'd like to join me in taking action, click here for the names of the people to contact.

Your support and commitment to the University of Southern California is invaluable. Together, let's continue to work hard to keep the USC football program in our beloved Coliseum.

Thank you for caring about this issue and for expressing your concerns.

Sincerely,

Michael L. Garrett '67
Director of Athletics
University of Southern California

Greed vs. Greed -- aka, the NFL Network vs. the Cable Operators -- has come down to more of a battle of Arrogance vs. Self Preservation as Thursday's live (and exclusive TV) coverage of 10-1 Green Bay and 10-1 Dallas clicks closer.

The NFL Network wasn't relevant until it decided last year to start showing live regular season games. It then tried to force cable companies to pay an extra 70 cents per month per subscriber to carry their channel. Cable companies, already under pressure from customers to keep rates down as they continue to print money, have stood firm against it, trying to wedge it onto a pay tier with other such channels that aren't in high demand but cost too much to just force onto unwilling participants.

Dallas Cowboys owner/visionary/hostage negotiator Jerry Jones was just installed by commissioner Roger Goodell as the chairman of the TV committee -- and Jones' strong-arm response to those who complain they can't see his team play Thursday: Switch from cable to satellite dish.

"Millions of people won't see this game unless they switch to satellite," Jones said. "Most of our fans have the opportunity to switch. Get off Time Warner and go see the ball game."

The 35 million homes (out of about 111 million) who do have access to the NFL Network are those mostly with either DirecTV or the Dish Network. He's right, but he may not understand the realistic downside to that with consumers who have little option but to pay for cable over a dish.

You're going to read and hear more about the pros and con-jobs each side is trying to spin as the season progresses down to the finale when the NFL Network has New England's final game -- and possible attempt to finish with an undefeated record. Some legislators think they can look good by trying to pass bills; others are trying to push the FCC into making a ruling. It's all nonsense.

Those without the NFL Network Thursday at least have some options here in L.A.

Meanwhile, here's some clips we've enjoyed of recent stories written about the situation this week to help you make a better judgement about who to be most upset with here:

== Hey NFL, Greed Isn't Good (by the New York Post's Phil Mushnick)
== Roughing the Viewer (by Arizona Republic columnist Bob McManaman)
== Sorry, NFL Network, but you're greedier (a blog entry by Kansas City Star's Aaron Barnhardt)
== Since When Does the NFL Care About the Fans (a blog entry by Deron Snyder of the Fort Myers News-Press)
== Hospital's patients, vistors able to watch big game (a story in the Wausau, Wisc., Daily Herald, about how Aspirus Wausau Hospital made a deal with the Dish Network to get the NFL Network at a special one-day rate of $80 so all 266 TVs at the hospital will carry the game.
== Jones Running Hard with NFL Network's Ball (from DallasCowboys.com columist Mickey Spagnola -- consider the source)

Those stressing out over missing Thursday's Packers-Cowboys matchup -- the first between two 10-1 NFL teams since 1990 -- have some alternatives to consider just becaue the NFL Network is holding it hostage on its inaccessable channel.

DirecTV Channel 212 or Dish Network Channel 154 seem to have no problem carrying it over your standard cable systems.

Dick Enberg and Dennis Green will be doing Thursday’s game for Westwood One radio, and can be heard in this market -- just figured out, by the way -- on KTLA-AM (1150), since the Kings have the night off. Lancaster's KAVL-AM (610) (or listen to the audio stream on its website link here) and San Diego-based XX Sports 1090-AM which doesn't seem to have audio streaming, will also have it.

And the NFL Network announced today that for the first time, the game Thursday will be "featured" on NFL.com Live, a live broadband version with originally produced video that's also available on NFL Mobile on Sprint to view from cellphones.

It's not really game coverage, per se, but "live look-ins" at 15 and 45 minues past each other as well as "select action in the red zone." Derrin Horton, Jamie Dukes and Rod Woodson host the show from the NFL Network studios in Culver City.

"Our coverage complements the complete game telecast on NFL Network and will showcase everything NFL Network has to offer,” said Brian Rolapp, the NFL Senior VP of digital media, in a press release.

Fans of the Packers and Cowboys in their home markets don't have to worry about finding the NFL Network for this one. The games goes out over WFRV-Channel 5, the CBS affiliate in Green Bay, as well as WISN-Channel 12, the ABC affiliate in Milwaukee. In Dallas, it'll be on over-the-air on KDFI-Channel 27.

Read on for more emotional outbursts in the Midwest about the lack of the NFL Network:

Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jeff Suppan, the former Crespi High standout and 2006 NLCS MVP when he was pitching for St. Louis, says his new eatery, Soup's Sports Grill, is in the process of a soft opening (it served its first meal on Nov. 17) but it plans a much bigger grand opening party sometime soon.
At the site of the former Wienery next to Paoli's (21028 Ventura Blvd., Woodland Hills), Jeff and wife Dana have set up a place with 11 high-def flat panel TV sets for sports viewing, and he's installed more than 20 music speakers arranged in six listening zones that offer "everything from crisp, clear play-by-play to old time baseball classics," he writes on the restaurant's website.
In talking about opening his restaurant, Suppan seemed most pumped up about the fact groups could come in and hold parties at his place, including a roof-top deck that has authentic seats from the old Busch Stadium installed.
And as a tribute to the former occupant of the location, the Soup's Grill menu includes The Wienery's Hot Dog, a Vienna grilled on a toasted bun.
Soup's Grill is open 11 a.m. to midnight every day. More info: 818.884.6005

The Watersmeet school in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, which takes care of educating the local youth from kindergarden through 12th grade, calls its sports teams the Nimrods.
A Nimrod, for those nimrods out there who don't know, is a Biblical reference to a hunter. Watersmeet is a small hamlet known for its outdoorsmen, hunters and fishermen who enjoy the local forests, rivers and lakes.
It's become, in fact, Nimrod Nation.
Brett Morgen, who produced and directed documentaries such as "On the Ropes" and "The Kid Stays in the Picture," also directed commercials featuring the Nimrod Nation for ESPN. It got him more in tune with what goes on in Watersmeet beyond its love for its local school's athletic programs.
The result is an eight-part series called "Nimrod Nation" that the Sundance Channel will begin airing tonight at 9 p.m. with Episode 1 and 9:30 p.m. with Episode 2. Two episodes air each Monday night through Dec. 17.
“Nimrod Nation” starts during the 2005-2006 season of Watersmeet’s high school basketball team. Watersmeet has its own issues to deal with. There's tension between the Anglo population and the Native Americans who live on the Potawatomi Iand Lac du Flambeau indian reservations near by. It has drug and alcohol abuse, and teenage pregancy problems.
“Though the main focus of ‘Nimrod Nation’ is on the high school basketball team, the series provides a riveting narrative that delves deeply into issues of identity and culture," said Laura Michalchyshyn, the executive VP and GM of programming for the Sundance Channel, “Watersmeet, like many towns, is anything but typical, and Brett has created an objective and compelling portrait.”
Here's a YouTube.com 1:30 clip introduction:

The annual sports media Dubious Dozen comes out Friday, but before that, we have some media minutia to get on the books before the cranberry sauce gets all over 'em:

The Dodgers, in their 50 years living in these parts, have never had a float in the Rose Parade.
They've decided that this Jan. 1, it's time to get their act together. The unveiled what the thing will look like today.
Here are the particulars for it (using our best Bob Eubanks voice):
==Aside from popcorn and peanuts, blue ribbon irises and scissored blue stattice will be the central color of the Dodger blue float, along with white mums and red carnations. Gold and yellow roses with accents of white dendrobium and lavender and white cattleya orchids will also be on the contraption floating down Colorado Blvd.
== That's a 35-foot tall Dodger player popping out of the top
== Organist Nancy Bea Hefley will be playing
== Tommy Lasorda, Vin Scully, Jamie Jarrin, Fernando Valenzuela, Steve Garvey, Carl Erskine, Don Newcombe, Wes Parker, Nomar Garciaparra and James Loney will be along for the ride.
== Roger Owens, the Peanut Guy, will be on the float as well (maybe tossing goobers to the spectators)?
== Special guests on the float include Billy DeLury (the former traveling secretary and current special assistant to the Dodger broadcasts, having been an employee for 58 years), Kathy Robinson Young (Jackie Robinson's niece and a Pasadena resident) and Ann Meyers Drysdale (Don's widow).

Fans interested in volunteering to decorate the Dodger float can get more information at www.fawwdecoration.com. Dodger fans can enter to win a seat on the float, purchase seats in the Dodger Grandstand on the Rose Parade route and purchase limited edition Rose Parade merchandise now at www.dodgers.com/anniversary.
One word of caution:
Festival Arts Floats, which is doing the float for the Dodgers, says that one of the materials used on this float will be peanuts, so those with peanut allergies should avoid volunteering here.

The column in today's Daily News that takes the original idea of putting together a roster of Southern California athletes and follows through on it:

By DON BABWIN
Associated Press Writer
CHICAGO -- Ralph DeSantis started taking a baseball signed by Barry Bonds to memorabilia shows a while back, hoping someone would meet his $150 asking price.
Two years later, no sale. DeSantis doesn’t figure he’ll do much better this weekend, either, now that baseball’s home run champion has been indicted.
“I’m probably overstocked with one baseball,” he said.
Bonds’ legal trouble isn’t likely to help the market for items with his autograph or picture, predicted dealers gathered in suburban Chicago for a big show.
“I think it will destroy it worse than it already (is),” DeSantis said.
Wes George, another dealer, is in the same situation. Only worse. It seems he bought a dozen Bonds autographed bats and two dozen autographed balls about four years ago. He still has 10 of the balls and seven of the bats.
Bonds merchandise, he said, “is a very slow sell.”
George said the problem with Bonds merchandise is clear. “He’s the poster child, as it were, for the steroids era,” George said.
Added DeSantis: “People around the country just don’t like him.”
Just how much they don’t like him now is as obvious as the price tag on Barry Bonds 1986 Topps rookie cards. Last November, such a card sold for $2,625, according to Elon Werner of Beckett Media, a sports collectible authority. At this weekend’s show, dealers say they’re hoping they can get a little
over $100 for the same cards.
The other problem, George said, is that that Bonds mostly sells his merchandise only through his own company. And that company has always insisted on higher prices, he said.
Brian Marren works for an auction house that expects to get as much as $20,000 for a Bonds game uniform. He doesn’t think the indictment has driven down prices. Yet.
“It’s going to go down if he’s convicted in a court of law because it’s no longer a perceptual issue. It’s a legal issue,” he said.
Dealers do say, though, that the market for Bonds memorabilia will never completely dry up — even if the slugger is convicted.
That’s because if collectors want to have memorabilia from everyone, say, who has hit 500 home runs, they are going to have to buy something of Bonds.
“They’re always going to need them for their collection whether they like him or not,” George said.

Following up on today's Daily News media column about the upcoming changes at KSPN-AM (710), and a sidebar on coverage of the Kings-Stars game from Saturday, continue grazing below:

Thanks to the generosity of former Dodgers play-by-play man Ross Porter -- who was spotted through most of the afternoon wearing a red Angels cap -- I scored an invite to the second Stillpoint Family Resources charity golf tournament week. As a celebrity.
That poor foursome who thought they were getting someone like ... anyone else in the photo above.
For the record, the celebs in this group shot taken last Monday at Calabasas Country Club are:
Former star MLB pitchers Mark Gubicza and Bret Saberhagen, me, helicopter traffic reporter extraordinare Jorge Jarrin, former Dodgers GM Dan Evans, former UCLA and Lakers star Keith Erickson, Ross Porter, Basketball Hall of Famer Ann Meyers Drysdale, Baseball Hall of Famer Sparky Anderson, former MLB shortstop (and Angel) Billy Consolo, Milwaukee Brewers pitcher (and former Crespi High star) Jeff Suppan, former Dodgers catcher Rick Dempsey and former Dodgers first baseman Eric Karros. And missing from this photo are Rafer Johnson, Todd Zeile and Sweet Lou Johnson.
Ross Porter Jr. and his wife, Jennifer, spearhead this amazing organization at Stillpoint, which has an office in Woodland Hills and clinics at two hospitals to help more than 600 at-risk families afford psychological services due to special needs children and other sociality issues.
They raised more than $70,000 at this event. Hope you can put in on your calendar to consider playing in next year, or making a donation directly to the organization at their website here.

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From last Sunday's game at Staples Center, a contest between the third and fourth quarter to see if a fan could hit a half-court shot. But first, a Clipper dancer tries it, backward over her head:

Who was the lucky girl? The team hasn't done anything to make her name public. Take a guess from this link.

If HBO ever gets around to doing a piece on the USC-UCLA football rivalry, it can use its newest documentary, “Michigan Vs. Ohio State: The Rivalry,” which debuts tonight (10:30 p.m.) as a nice template.
The hour-long documentary is the first on college football from the network that seems to have this genre down best, and gives rich context to the history between these two schools (which started in 1897) before they meet again on the field in the Big Ten regular-season finale on Saturday (Channel 7, 9 a.m.) in Ann Arbor, Mich.
The most interesting element to this may be that it includes the last extended interview that former Michigan coach Bo Schembechler did before his death just prior to the 2006 meeting of the two schools. The day after he did the interview, he collapsed and died of heart failure.
Earle Bruce, Cris Carter, Dan Dierdorf, Randy Gradishar, Desmond Howard and Archie Griffin are former players interviewed, while Jack Nicklaus (OSU, Class of ‘61) and CBS’ Mike Wallace (Michigan, Class of ‘39) are also included for context.
I gave a preview DVD to a friend of mine who lived for years in the Detroit area, and he was so pumped about the rivalry after seeing it, he was thinking of getting on a plane and going to the game Saturday. It has that kind of affect on those who really have a connection to the rivalry.

There's also been talk that the Kings' 6-5 overtime win over Dallas on Saturday, where they scored five goals in a team record 5:07 to go ahead at the end of regulation after trailing 4-0 with seven minutes to play, then won in overtime, will be replayed on FSN West on Wednesday night at 8 p.m.

The new lineup for all-sports KSPN-AM (710) that will start the week after Thanksgiving (Nov. 26) is close, but not exactly, as we'd heard from second-hand information and speculation in a blog posting last week.
Both John Ireland and Kevin Kiley have unfortunately left the building. Both were (and would have been) Top 10 Best Of in our annual rankings.
Station GM Bob Koontz just announced this new lineup:
6-10am :The Herd with Colin Cowherd (from ESPN Radio)
10am-noon: The Mike Tirico Show (from ESPN Radio)
Noon-1 p.m.: The Stephen A. Smith Show (from ESPN Radio)
1-4 p.m.: The Steve Mason Show (not with Kiley, but including contributors such as ESPN.com’s J. A. Adande; ESPN The Magazine’s Brian & Andy Kamenetzky; ESPN Fantasy’s Matthew Berry; ESPN Monday Night Football’s Michele Tafoya: San Diego Chargers’ LaDainian Tomlinson; Mike Ditka and E! Channel’s Ben Lyons)
4-7 p.m.: The Dave Dameshek Show (with contributors such as ESPN.com’s Bill Simmons and ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel, with an in-studio, one-man house band from Rich Banks).
7-10 p.m.: The Brian Long Show (another local show, from the guy who's been filling in the afternoon spots with Kiley out)
10-11 p.m.: 710 ESPN SportsCenter Presents (a nightly recap show using Dave Denholm, Beto Duran, Dave Joseph, Steve Bisheff, Mike Morales and Mark Thomason)
11 p.m.-3 a.m.: The Jason Smith Show (ESPN Radio, originating live from L.A.)
3-6 a.m.: Mike & Mike in the Morning (ESPN Radio)

By STEPHANIE REITZ
Associated Press Writer
SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. -- Jack Johnson, addicted to attention and craving a colorful legacy, loved to chronicle his rise from a restless Texas teen to the world’s first black heavyweight boxing champion.
Now, nearly a century after his most famous bout — the 1910 defeat of “Great White Hope” Jim Jeffries — and decades after his death, Johnson has more tales to tell.
His largely unknown 1911 musings to a French sports magazine, including candid observations on racism likely never intended for American readers, have been translated to English in their entirety for the first time. The result, “My Life & Battles,” is 127-page book by and about the man considered by many to be one of history’s most important athletes.
“To get new material and new stories from Jack Johnson is significant not just in sports, but sociologically as a look into that whole era,” said Bert Sugar, a boxing historian and author of dozens of books on the sport.
Johnson’s 1908 championship and his 1910 defeat of Jeffries touched off race riots among downtrodden black Americans who considered him a hero and white separatist Americans who deemed him a threat.
“He really was a figure of great hatred and paranoia among many white Americans, and when he won the 1910 fight, it was considered on all sides to be a really monumental event,” said Mount Holyoke College professor Christopher Rivers, who translated and published the 1911 memoirs.
Rivers, a boxing enthusiast who teaches French, first noted references to the French articles in Geoffrey Ward’s 2004 biography, “Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson.”
At Rivers’ request, Ward sent him copies of all the French-language magazine articles. Rivers translated them and blended them with excerpts already used in Johnson’s 1914 “Mes Combats” (“My Fights”), of which Harvard University’s Widener Library owns the only known complete copy.
The result: Rivers was able to translate and publish the memoirs in their entirety, a rare glimpse into the life of a legend whose extravagant stories are his only descendant's Johnson’s 1927 memoir, “Jack Johnson: In the Ring and Out,” touches lightly on racism, but only in brief and restrained language.
The 1911 magazine articles, however, assess what he called the “color line” with more frankness, likely because his audience was the more laissez-faire French public and not the tensely divided American populace.

KSPN-AM (710) station manager Bob Koontz made it sound as if there'd be no major housecleaning when he told us Thursday morning that changes in the station's direction would be announced at a staff meeting Monday.
Not true.
John Ireland confirmed that after Friday afternoon's show, he'd been told by Koontz that his contract wouldn't be renewed in March of next year and he's done working at the station.
According to several sources, Steve Mason, who has been Ireland's partner the last four years, will be moved to middays and team up with Kevin Kiley.
That is, if Kiley's still around. We'd been told he was all set to move back with his family in Virginia, but one option that would keep him around is if he could be paired with Mason. Kiley was originally brought in as D'Marco Farr's co-host until he left in September.
So, from what we're told now, the new afternoon drive show will be co-hosted by Dave Damashek , who until recently was Adam Carolla's sidekick on 97.1-FM until he was replaced by Danny Bonaduce, and Dicky Barnett, the former frontman of the Mighty Mighty BossTones and announcer on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" who had his own radio show on Indie 103.1-FM until he was let go in 2006.
Kinda sounds like 710 is trying to go the route of KLAC-570 with Petros Papadakis and Matt "Money" Smith in the drive-time, eh?
Koontz's plans are for some kind of big ol' 710 relaunch, where the station may even go to all ESPN Radio national shows until coming back with its new lineup.
Meanwhile, Ireland isn't disappearing, since he keeps his job as a reporter on KCAL Channel 9 and KCBS Channel 2 as well as doing sidelines on the Lakers' KCAL road game telecasts.

Vin Scully isn't pleased about an admitted unauthorized biography done on him, as we pointed out in today's Daily News media column.
UCLA basketball fans aren't happy about watching videostreaming on CSTV, as we also pointed out.
And Joe Theismann has no desire to watch Monday Night Football, according to this radio interview.
Well, it's all right now. We've learned our lessons well. You see you can't please everyone, so you've got to please yourself. Which we have on this blogspace.
So here goes:

By JIM SUHR
Associated Press Writer
ST. LOUIS -- An Illinois woman is suing the St. Louis Cardinals for allowing a text message that falsely suggested her daughter has a sexually transmitted disease to be posted on the ballpark’s message board during a game.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in St. Louis Circuit Court, claims the 17-year-old girl was so traumatized by the message last year during a class trip that she stayed out of school the rest of the semester and took her finals in a school office to avoid ridicule.
The lawsuit seeks at least $25,000 in damages from the Cardinals, alleging the ballclub negligently failed to properly screen the messages, which fans may submit for a small fee to display on Busch Stadium’s electronic message board.
The Cardinals “published the text consciously disregarding whether the text was true or not,” the lawsuit reads.
Messages left Thursday with the Cardinals and the family’s attorney, Bob Perica of Wood River, Ill., were not immediately returned.
The lawsuit, which identifies the mother only as “C.B.” and the daughter as “A.B.,” does not name a classmate who
allegedly posted the message.
According to the lawsuit, the teenager was with her classmates at Busch for a game against the Kansas City Royals on May 19, 2006, when a girl schoolmate called the ballpark’s message board and, using the daughter’s name, texted, “(A.B.) has an STD! Eww!”
Workers for or agents of the Cardinals “approved the message to go on the board,” and it was posted during the game that drew a turnout of more than 48,000, the lawsuit claims.
The teenager never has had a sexually transmitted disease, according to the suit.
The Cardinals “owed a duty of reasonable care to all fans in attendance,” including the teenager, and breached that
by posting the defamatory message “to anyone who could read,” the lawsuit alleges.

We don't pretend to know what exactly the restrictions are that affects how NBC's "flex schedule" of NFL games takes shape, only that they've already pulled the trigger on one game -- swapping Chicago-Seattle out on Nov. 18 for New England-Buffalo.
For those who've asked, we'll try to make some sense of it.
Here's what NBC's Sunday Night schedule looks like for the rest of the season:
Nov. 11 - Indianapolis at San Diego
Nov. 18 - New England at Buffalo
Nov. 25 - Philadelphia at New England
Dec. 2 - Cincinnati at Pittsburgh
Dec. 9 - Indianapolis at Baltimore
Dec. 16 - Washington at NY Giants
Dec. 23 - Tampa Bay at San Francisco
Dec. 30 - Kansas City at New York Jets
The network gives Chicago-Seattle back to the Fox's lot of games on Nov. 18, and New England-Buffalo comes out of CBS' choices that weekend.
"The Patriots quest for a perfect season is clearly the biggest story in the NFL," said Dick Ebersol, NBC's grand decision maker, trying to justify his network's decision. "It's also been 13 years since the NFL's premier primetime game visited Buffalo and it will be quite a scene there."
Perhaps Ebersol's cable went out earlier this year when Dallas played a game on Monday Night in Buffalo on ESPN and won on that dramatic last second field goal, keeping the Cowboys undefeated before their game against .... who was it? .... oh, right, New England.
Every game on NBC's schedule after Nov. 25 is open for change as well, and probably will, except for Philadelphia at New England on Nov. 25. But even when considering what NBC will try to do to get more Patroits' games on as the season winds down, this one against the Steelers could be tossed back and replaced with another one down the road.
There are guidelines by which NBC can or can't take a game from CBS and Fox, who've also paid billions of dollars for the rights to these contests and aren't that crazy about another network cherry picking.
The rules as we've been told are:
-- Only three teams can appear as many as six times in primetime -- either on NBC, ESPN or the NFL Network
-- No team can appear more than four times on NBC.
-- Fox and CBS can protect one game a week, but not during the final week of the season (and it can lose a game that week on just six-days notice)
The tricky part for NBC, which can take a game up to 12 days in advance, is lining up Patroits' games toward the end of its schedule -- but it will be unable to take the team's season-ender since that's already locked into -- surprise -- the NFL Network. And it ain't about to let that one slide. That's money in the bank when it comes to bargaining with cable operators who still refuse to carry the channel.
USA Today columnist Michael Hiestand spends his Wednesday column sorting out NBC's options for the rest of the season and frankly spends more time dicing and slicing that we're ready to even attempt.
Just get the best game on, and we're fine.

Those who supported Dennis Miller’s former live HBO show – and you know which one you are – probably found some comfort in that his new “Unfiltered Sports” hour-long debut on Versus (Tuesdays, 7 and 10 p.m., with repeats at 8 and 11 p.m. on Wednesday and 7 p.m. Thursday) will follow pretty close to that old format.
Not sure if that’s the good or the bad news, but that took a lot of the guesswork out of trying to confuse the audience even more than need be.
What it means is you’ve got the sports-related monologue, then the studio goes dark with the spotlight comes on to add dramatic effect as he gets serious on a sports-related rant, then to the desk to do some remotes where guests are waiting to converse on a giant screen, and then the climax with a sports-related photo montage that gives him the platform to laugh at his clever captioning before he says he’s “outta here.”
Highlights from the first “Unfiltered” (or “Unfettered” as one newspaper decided to call it) included Miller going off on a diatribe about loyalty in sports, noting that there was not one member of the Dodgers’ 2004 playoff team who remained on their ’06 playoff roster: “There is less turnover in the snuff film industry,” he quipped.
NBC’s Al Michaels, appearing via remote from his backyard wrapped in a heavy jacket with a plaid scarf around him, sporting sun glasses and a ballcap with the Google logo on it, caused Miller, his former ABC “Monday Night Football” broadcast partner, to ask:: “What’s up, Al, you look like FDR at Warm Springs.” Michaels, who did Sunday’s game in Philadelphia, admitted he had a cold and was suffering from pink eye.
During Miller’s opening monologue, he said Versus was “a good fit” for him, “not only because of my 6-2 record as an amateur cage fighter, or my passion for bow hunting, but also because it’s programming that comes from the heart, the essence of sports.”
Those willing to head over to Santa Barbara for the show’s taping each Tuesday at the Door 9 Studios (1 N. Calle Cesar Chavez, Suite 9) are encouraged to show up two to three hours before the 1 p.m. showtime and bring a Thesaurus. Or you can go to the Versus website and submit a question for him to mock you for on the air (http://www.versus.com/askdennis)

==An Associated Press interivew with Miller before his show's debut at this link
==Miller's official radio website

How’d you dig the turn-out-the-lights segment in NBC’s “Football Night in America” studios? It was lights-out as far as NBC's promo department was concerned.
Co-host Bob Costas seemed to be taking a mighty big leap when he asked, shortly after they hit the switch and the lights went out: “Aren’t there enough dim bulbs on this program already?”
After Costas explained the NBC Universal “campaign” to raise awareness of environment issues, it seemed a little self-serving for him to admit that by just turning off the lights in that studio, General Electric saved enough energy to power a typical American family for a month. So then why even put on a show when some poor family is struggling to pay its monthly electric bill? “We can hopefully raise awareness and start to activate some internal policies that will achieve tangable results,” Costas added, making sense to probably less than a third of the total viewing audience.
ESPN’s Mike Tirico may have gotten the last subtle jab on NBC’s attempt to close the hole in the ozone layer when, with two minutes left in the network’s “Monday Night Football” telecast, he was alerted during an overhead shot of the city of Pittsburgh that the lights at the Pirates’ PNC ballpark were turned on. “Are they playing tonight?” Tony Kornheiser asked? “It’s all lit up.”
Said Tirico: “I guess they didn’t get the ‘green’ memo. I do want to point out I’m going to take tonight’s game notes and will put them in the blue recycling bin. ‘Monday Night’ is also green and recycles.”
At least NBC's "Poker After Dark" series doesn't have to do much with its future lighting scheme.

More followup to today's media column on how ESPN360.com is leading the charge in televising ESPN's NBA games live starting this season:

In a release that the World Wide Leader sent out this AM, since ESPN360.com relaunched in September, the site saw more traffic (more than 150,000 viewing hours) and has plans to carry 267 live events this month, in addition to the NBA -- college football, college basketball, NASCAR, even stuff like the Pro Bowlers Association and FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.
The UEFA Champions League soccer, Venezuelan and Mexican baseball, URBA Rugby, Argentine Open Polo Championships and the Hurlingham Open Polo event are also scheduled to launch live.
Stuff you really don't care about, probably, so why not add Australian Rules Football and really make this thing look like the early days of ESPN's TV network?
From this end, the cool thing is being able to watch a few things live at one time on the screen. I'm watching the NBA game on Wednesday and happen to notice that Hideo Nomo is pitching in a Mexican League game on a screen below, so I threw that up there to watch live as well. And there was a Kentucky exhibition basketball game on another feed -- had to see if Ashley Judd was there...
Sensory overload? Not really. Sensory satisfaction.
Again, the service is available at no charge, but fans need a high-speed Internet connection that has worked a deal with ESPN. There are more than 25 of them out there, including Verizon and AT&T. Distribution has doubled since Aug. 2006 to where some 17 million homes can get the 360 experience.
In November, there are 12 NBA games available live on 360. The Lakers are on tonight at Phoenix and Nov. 16 home against Detroit, while the Clippers are on Nov. 30 at Denver. There are 37 more college football games live (bringing the total to 150), including USC at Arizona State on Thanksgiving (Nov. 22), so if you're stuck at grandma's house with only the dog show to watch, find a wifi area and flip open the laptop.

Yup, we got stuff in today's Daily News about the NBA's new digital-age, ahead-of-the-curve contracts kicking in with ESPN and TNT, what smokes and chokes, and another thing on CBS' coverage of New England-Indianapolis this weekend. But you know there's more to walk through whether you're wearing your good rubber boots or not.
Continue, please:

If only it was the old ABC spy series from the '60s with Diana Rigg (aka, Emma Peel).
The new Arena Football League season doesn't fire up until the end of February, but we got the inside track on how the TV schedule will fall into place this season on ESPN2.
For real.
Your Avengers, who open the season on that freaky Feb. 29 date, will make three appearances nationally on Monday nights: March 10 at Arizona (8 p.m.), May 19 at Chicago (5 p.m.) and June 9 at Utah (7 p.m.).
None of 'em at Staples Center? Your loss, not ours.
ESPN2 goes with Dallas at Georgia to open the season on Saturday, March 1 on ABC. The 18 game regular-season TV schedule leads into 11 playoff games, capped by the ArenaBowl XXII on July 27 on ABC. All games are also live on ESPN360.com.
Last week, ESPN, which started a five-year partnership stake in the AFL before the '07 season, announced that it would help the league become the first to allow defenses to use on-field communication devices under a rules change approved by the league Board of Directors. The decision to allow one defensive player on each team radio communication with coaches was to give ESPN's coverage a little extra boost.
"The main concern was competition, but we are excited as this will also provide ESPN an opportunity to allow the viewing fans to get a look at what both teams are thinking pre-snap," said Shy Anderson, chairman of the AFL Rules and Competition Committee.