The Fox Sunday lineup: Politics, tough dudes and celebs
In case you need an itinery for your Super Bowl party:
6 to 9 a.m.: Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace
He's joined by Shepard Smith (live in Glendale, Ariz.) as well as politicos Bill Hemmer and Megyn Kelly (in New York) to talk about sports and politics as Super Tuesday nears.
9 to 10 a.m.: "Road To The Super Bowl"
It's NFL Films' recap of the 2007 season, narrated by Alec Baldwin.
10 to 10:30 a.m.: "Inside the Rings with Troy Aikman"
Fox's lead NFL analyst has a taped show (with the help of Chris Myers) interviewing John Elway, Kurt Warner and Doug Williams about their Super Bowl experiences.
10:30 to 11 a.m.: "Howie Long's Tough Guys"
Howie brings in Jim Kelly and Mark Bavaro to talk about guys in today's NFL who are, well, tough. Don't expect any special treatment of L.T.
11 a.m. to 3 p.m.: Fox's official pregame show
It breaks down as such (according to plans released by Fox on Thursday morning):
11 to 11:30 a.m.:
-Chris Myers, assigned to cover the Patriots, reports live from the team hotel.
-Pam Oliver, assigned to cover the Giants, reports live from the team hotel.
-Jimmy Johnson reviews the Patriots' 38-35 win over the Giants on Dec. 29.
-A feature on the '72 Dolphins.
11:30 a.m. to noon: -First Ryan Seacrest red carpet interviews
-Grumpy Old Coaches segment with Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer.
-Eli Manning feature
-Terry Bradshaw interviews Archie Manning
Noon to 12:30 p.m.:
-Frank Caliendo picks
-Jay Glazer has a roundtable with Tony Gonzalez, John Lynch, Shawne Merriman and Jason Witten
-More Seacrest red-carpet stuff
12:30 to 1 p.m.: --Jimmy Johnson interviews Bill Belichick
-Willie Nelson and Sarah Evans perform “Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys”
-More Seacrest
-Jillian Reynolds "reports" on the Super Bowl XLII party scene
1 to 1:30 p.m.: -More Seacrest
-Randy Moss feature
-More Caliendo makes
-A promo for Fox's coverage of the Daytona 500 (interview with Jimmie Johnson)
-World premiere performance of "American Idol" judge Paula Abdul’s new hit single “Dance Like There’s No Tomorrow”
1:30 to 2 p.m.:
-Howie Long interviews Junior Seau
-The making of Bud Light’s Super Bowl commercials
-More Seacrest
2 to 2:30 p.m.:
-Alicia Keys performance
-Joe Buck and Troy Aikman talk
-Oliver interviews Giants coach Tom Coughlin
2:30 to 3 p.m.:
-Terry Bradshaw interviews Tom Brady
-Bradshaw, Long and Johnson make their predictions
-More Caliendo
-A reading of the Declaration of Independence reading by people in NFL and military personnel stationed around the world, plus Pat Tillman’s widow Marie.
3:17 p.m.: Kickoff
Approx. 7 p.m.: Postgame
Approx. 7:15 p.m.: A very special new episode of "House."
Some of the counterprogramming to Sunday's Super Bowl XLII on Fox (KTTV Channel 11), or, how the other networks have decided to throw in the towel:
KCBS Channel 2: 3 p.m.: “The Coastal Gardener” Dave Egbert explores plants and gardens all over the country, followed by “P. Allen Smith Gardens, Gardening through the decades,” a history of gardening.
KNBC Channel 4: 3 p.m. “American Gladitors” repeat, leading up to (7 p.m.) “The Biggest Loser: Couples”
KTLA Channel 5: 3 p.m. The 1997 movie “Air Bud.”
KABC Channel 7: 3:30 p.m.: “Ladies’ Home Journal: Celebrate Your Love,” a celebratio nof marriages from around the world, leading into “American Latino TV,” with guests Charo and gossip blogger Perez Hilton
KCAL Channel 9: After the Lakers-Wizards game from 9 to 11:30 a.m., there’s “Family Feud” (3 p.m.), plus reruns of “Cold Case,” “Without a Trace,” and “CSI: Miami” through the game.
KCOP Channel 13: Following the Will Smith movie “I, Robot” (2 to 4 p.m.), some light Hollywood entertainment shows and then the 2006 movie “Engaged To Kill” (5 p.m.)
KCET Channel 28: “Big Time Losers,” (4 p.m.), an hour-long documentary on the impact of sports on academics at elite Ivy League schools and big-state universities.
ESPN: Taped figure skating, including the ISU Grand Prix final from Italy last year (1:30 to 4 p.m.) and last week’s European Championships from Croatia (4 to 7 p.m.)
ESPN2: An endless loop of “World Strongest Man” competitions
ESPN Classic: A series of snow-related documentaries, including Warren Miller’s “Skiing is Believing” (3 p.m.) and “Some Like It Cold” (4 p.m.), leading into the 1999 Michael Douglas-narrated documentary, “One day in September” about the 1972 Munich Olympics.
ESPNU: Replays of Syracuse at Villanova basketball (3:30 p.m.), followed by Oklahoma State at Texas Tech (5 p.m.), and Miami at Duke (6:30 p.m.)
FSN West: A series of outdoors shows, including “Fishing Ventures” (3 p.m.) and “Best Damn Sports Show Best Dam Top 50 Sports Bloopers” (5:30 p.m.)
FSN Prime: The usual soon-to-be-stale collection of “Before The Bigs” and “In My Own Words”
Versus: A series of fishing shows, including “Hunt for Big Fish” (2:30 p.m.), “Off the Hook” (3 p.m.) and “Sport Fishing Magazine” (4:30 p.m.)
Golf Channel: Final round replay of the European PGA Tour from Dubai (3:30 p.m.)
TNT: A marathon of “The Closer”
TBS: The 2004 movie: “Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason” with Renee Zellweger and Hugh Grant (3 p.m.) followed by the 2001 movie “The Wedding Planner” with Jennifer Lopez and Matthew McConaughey.
BBC America: (3 p.m.) “My Big Breasts and Me,” three women who feel defintied by their naturally big breast and what it’s really like to have a huge cup size.
FX: The 2002 animated movie “Ice Age” (2:30 p.m.) followed by the 2005 animated movie “Robots” (5 p.m.)
Animal Planet: “Puppy Bowl IV” from noon to midnight. Otherwise known as "Michael Vick's Total Request"
VH1: “Britney’s Most Shocking Year Ever” halfhour show on Britney Spears (3 p.m.) followed by five episodes of “Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew”
USA Network: A marathon of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”
Bravo: A marathon of “Law & Order: Criminal Intent”
Comedy Central: A marathon of “Scrubs” (3 to 5 p.m.) followed by the 2001 Reese Witherspoon movie, “Legally Blonde.”
Turner Classic Movies: The 1951 flick “An American In Paris” with Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron (3 p.m.), followed by the 1995 flick “Sense and Sensibility” with Emma Thompson.
Discovery Channel: A marathon of “MythBusters”
TVLand: Two episodes each of “The Beverly Hillbillies,” “The Andy Griffith Show” and “M*A*S*H” from 3 to 7 p.m.
HBO: A replay of five episodes of “In Treatment” with Gabriel Byrne. (3:30 to 6 p.m.)
Cinemax: The 2007 movie “Because I Said So” with Diane Keaton and Mandy Moore.
Starz: The 2006 movie “Glory Road” (4 p.m.)
Showtime: The 1999 movie “Notting Hill” with Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant
Do It Yourself Network (DIY): “The Toilet Bowl”: a marathon of “Bathroom Renevoation” shows from 9 a.m. to midnight. Before that is five episodes of “Backyard Stadiums” (6:30 a.m. to 9 a.m.)
Halftime counter programming at 5:15 p.m.:
No Lingerie Bowl V: As we already told you about a few days ago. Sorry if this ruins things. Stay tuned to the game for the Victoria's Secret ad.
Spike TV: “Competitive Eating” A ham and egg eating contest.
Oxygen: “Deion and Pilar: Prime Time Love,” a 22-minute commercial free look at the series about Deion Sanders, his wife Pilar and their five kids. The eight-episode series premieres April 15. On this episode, according to the press release: “Deion refuses to help with housework because he is too busy ‘thinking’ about his football picks for a live radio show. Not wanting to play by his rules, Pilar issues a challenge: if Pilar can do his radio job as well as he can, then Deion can assist with house chores. Meanwhile, daughter Deiondra has a hot date and an over-protective Deion offers to "help" her prepare.
ESPN announced its new broadcast teams for Major League Soccer a few minutes ago in a release, and those who weren't Dave O'Brien fans can breathe a sigh of relief.
But those who had a thing for Eric Wynalda have to be wondering what the heck just happened. JP Dellacamera will do play-by-play, John Harkes is in as the lead analysis, and Allen Hopkins returns on the sidelines when ESPN and ABC cover their 13th season of the MLS on Thursday nights, plus the U.S. men's team as it heads into 2010 World Cup qualifying matches.
A reaction from ESPN's most loyal soccer viewers? Seems to be mixed. Rob Stone and Julie Foudy are back as studio analysts.
“JP and John will enhance our overall soccer presentation and offer consistency throughout our second season of MLS Primetime Thursday and in our coverage of the U.S. Men’s National Team, including upcoming qualifying matches for the 2010 FIFA World Cup,” Tim Scanlan, ESPN vice president for remote productions, said in a statement without addressing the departure of O'Brien or Wynalda.
The rest of the release does mention that O'Brien will "focus on his prominent role with ESPN’s Major League Baseball and NCAA Men’s Basketball telecasts (O’Brien also handles radio play-by-play for Boston Red Sox games)" and Wynalda "has been reassigned to ESPN in-studio soccer duties."
An ESPN spokesman said that O'Brien's committment to doing more Red Sox games this coming season -- 140, up from 50 a year ago, by some reports -- contributed to the decision.
The first game for the new ESPN team will be Wednesday at 6 p.m. when the U.S. men's team faces Mexico in Houston.
A one-hour special on the recovery of Buffalo Bills tight end Kevin Everett from what appeared to be a life-threatening dislocation of his cervical spine in a game last September airs on ESPN2 Friday at 5 p.m. But, when you consider how the story has become property of Disney, Inc., it might not be so special.
Bob Woodruff, the ABC News correspondend who himself recovered from traumatic brain injury while reporting in Iraq, does the interview with Everett from his rehab in Houston.
Portions of that interview will air tonight on ABC's "World News" and "Nightline" and will re-air Friday morning on "Good Morning America." Yup, it's become a Disney news event.
Coincidentally, Everett's interview coincides with the release of a book this week on his experience, "Standing Tall," with Sam Carchidi (Triumph Books, 224 pages, $16.95), a staff writer at the Philadelphia Inquirer who had to do an exceptional job to get it cranked out this quickly.
We look forward every year to the 50-name ballot issued by the Baseball Reliquary for its annual induction of Shrine of the Eternals -- the membership organization’s equivalent to the Baseball Hall of Fame -- and executive director Terry Cannon already has the list polished off and ready to your disemination.
There are 11 new names on the 2008 ballot that add to the eclectic mix of well-known players and those behind the scenes (in alphabetical order): Charlie Brown: Yes, the Peanuts character created by Charles Schulz, having yielded more line drives up the middle than any other pitcher in baseball history. Jim Eisenreich: The big-league outfielder (and one-time Dodger) who played with Tourette Syndrome. Susan Fornoff: The Oakland A’s beat reporter for the Sacramento Bee from 1985-1991 who co-founded the Association for Women in Sports Media (AWSM) to combat discrimination and promote equal opportunities for women sports journalists. "Pop" Kelchner: Legendary baseball scout for 50 years (1909-1958).
January 28, 2008
Lingerie Bowl V: All undressed and no where to go
To the objectivications of viewers everywhere, the notorious Lingerie Bowl -- which throws women in bikinis out onto a shortened field to play a little tackle football as a pay-per-view alternative to the annual Super Bowl -- is again a no-show, promoters confirmed to the East Valley (Ariz.) Tribune.
The L.A.-based Horizon Productions, which brought the game to new lows in 2004 and managed to pull off an event at the Coliseum for three years, "unfortunately ... wasted too much time in Scottsdale in trying to attain a permit thus limiting our possibilities in neighboring cities,” company spokesman Chris Martin told the newspaper.
According the preliminary plans, Jim McMahon was coaching the Western Conference team, Brian Bosworth was coaching the Eastern Conference team, William Perry was going to be there in some capacity, Kato Kaelin was produred to be a sideline reporter and supermodel Joanna Krupa was the game's "hostess."
Promoters pulled out in October trying to get the city of Scottsdale to approve it, but then they called a Jan. 7 press conference to say the game would still go on somewhere else in the area. But that press conference didn't happen.
The were still calling this Lingerie Bowl V, even though the 2007 Lingerie Bowl IV was also canceled for dubious reasons.
Martin did tell the paper that a location has already been secured for Lingerie Bowl VI in Tampa, Fla., the site of the 2009 Super Bowl XLIII.
And at least the company managed to get out a 2008 calendar to mark the days leading up to when it bails out again:
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- As the architect of the critically acclaimed University of Phoenix Stadium, Peter Eisenman knew he would have no trouble finding Super Bowl tickets.
He just had no idea he’d be watching his favorite team play for the NFL title in the retractable-roofed stadium he designed.
Eisenman, a native New Jerseyan, has been a New York Giants season-ticket holder since 1957.
“Sure, I could go see the Patriots play the Packers, but this makes it really different,” Eisenman said in a telephone interview from his Manhattan office. “To go to see the ‘G-men’ play, you have to understand bringing the stars together on that one. As a football fan, as a 50-year season-ticket holder, I thought, ‘This is karma.’”
No matter how the game turns out, Eisenman will probably go home happy. His creation in the farmland west of Phoenix is expected to be among the biggest stars of Super Bowl week.
The $455-million home of the Arizona Cardinals and the Fiesta Bowl opened two years ago to widespread praise. In February 2006, BusinessWeek named it one of the world’s 10 most impressive sports structures. It was the only one in North America.
Eisenman wanted football fans to rave as well. At heart, he’s one of them.
“I had a lot of love for that project,” he said. “My soul was in it. I am a fan, and I wanted it to be a place that a fan would love to see a game.”
The stadium’s sleek look has become the subject of debate and amusement among local residents. Some liken it to a barrel cactus. Others see a spaceship, especially when the structure is lit at night. A few say it resembles nothing more than a coiled snake basking in the desert sun.
“It’s this sort of gleaming container sitting in the cotton fields out there,” said John Meunier, an Arizona State University architecture professor who advised the Cardinals on the project. “It’s an egglike enclosure. It feels like it’s enclosing something that’s rather special.”
That’s not the case on many autumn Sundays, when the ho-hum Cardinals play there. But the stadium has played host to a Bowl Championship Series title game — Florida 41, Ohio State 14 in January 2007 — and two Fiesta Bowls, including Boise State’s unforgettable overtime victory over Oklahoma last January.
The building will also be the site of an NCAA men’s basketball regional in 2009, and there are plans to lure a Final Four.
One thing is certain: the 206-foot-high stadium is a singular structure in the rapidly changing Phoenix metropolitan landscape.
On clearer days, it is visible from the top of Camelback Mountain, a 2,700-foot peak some 20 miles to the east.
Eisenman worked with stadium builders HOK Sport and Hunt Construction Group to create the 63,400-seat stadium, which will have its seating expanded to about 75,000 for the Super Bowl.
Many of those attending the Super Bowl will visit the stadium for the first time. They’re in for a surprise.
“Anyone who asks, I said, ‘We’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto,’” Cardinals owner Bill Bidwill said on the day the stadium opened in August 2006.
Many domed stadiums resemble aircraft hangars. Eisenman created a sense of airiness in his stadium, with a translucent roof and a series of vertical glass panels that allow the desert light to filter into the 1.7-million square-foot structure.
“So many of the roofed stadiums almost have a gloomy feeling about them,” Meunier said. “There’s a wonderfully milky, pearly, diffused light.”
As part of the effort to promote openness, the concourses behind the lower grandstand provide views of the field. When a fan leaves his seat for a hot dog and a beer, he can still glimpse the action as he’s waiting in line.
Another unusual feature is a retractable field, the first of its kind in the United States. The 18.9 million-pound field slides out the stadium’s south end on a tray, allowing it to receive maximum sunlight. The design also frees up the building’s 160,000-square-foot event floor for trade and consumer shows, conventions and concerts.
The Cardinals put $150 million into the stadium, with most of the rest coming from a tourism tax on hotels and motels, and a rental car surcharge.
For the Cardinals, the stadium represents an enormous upgrade from open-air Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, where they landed after fleeing from St. Louis in 1988. At night, Sun Devil Stadium can be a
raucous place for Arizona State games. But the Cardinals played mostly in the afternoon, so fans baked on metal bleachers in September and October.
Arizonans love their air conditioning, and the stadium’s 8,000 tons of cooling provides plenty.
The stadium has also provided lots of cold cash for the Cardinals. As team officials campaigned for taxpayer support, they said new stadium revenue would help the Cardinals compete.
The Cardinals have sold out every home game, which rarely happened in Tempe. They also landed a $154 million, 20-year naming-rights deal with the University of Phoenix.
But the stadium has yet to offer the homefield advantage many fans envisioned. Nor has the building transformed the Cardinals into a playoff team.
The idea of the Cardinals playing in the Super Bowl, instead of merely hosting one, remains remote. But those attending the game are likely to be impressed by the team’s home. NFL owners awarded Arizona the Super Bowl in October 2003, only a few months after ground had been broken on the stadium. “I think a lot of the NFL owners who haven’t been there are going to have a feeling of ‘Wow, look at this place,’ “ Eisenman said.
Eisenman said he experienced the same feeling before the Gators met the Buckeyes in the BCS title game last year.
“I got there four hours early,” he said. “I sat in my seat and watched the stadium fill up. It was like an out-of-body experience. It was fabulous, and I loved it.
“It’s like a daughter getting married. It doesn’t happen very often, and you happen to like the groom. That’s what makes it special.”
Eisenman will probably have that feeling again when the Giants run onto the field in the Super Bowl. He said he believes the Giants turned their season around when they gave the Patriots fits in an otherwise meaningless regular-season finale.
“Suddenly, they were a different team,” Eisenman said. “Then I began to think, ‘Holy jeepers, they could go a long way.’ “
All the way to Eisenman’s newfangled stadium in the desert southwest, it turned out.
The Los Angeles Lightning of the International Basketball League, who crossed our radar earlier this month, will start its inaugural season with a two-game home series against the Battle Creek Knights on April 18-19, the league announced.
All 14 home Lightning games will be played on Friday and Saturday nights at Cal Lutheran’s Gilbert Sports Arena in Thousand Oaks with 7:30 p.m. tipoffs. The team plays eight road games.
Two of the home games will be against China’s Shanxi Knights of the Chinese Basketball League, on May 23-24. The CBL produced current NBA players Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian. The regular season ends June 20-21.
The 22-team IBL is in its fourth season of operation. The season begins March 8.
Woodland Hills’ Mark Harwell, an entertainment industry executive, announced the formation of the Lightning last December, assuming the role of owner/general manager.
More information: www.lalightning.net, with the complete schedule on the IBL site.
ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz, in response to today's Daily News media column on how the network handled Dana Jacobson's week-long suspension, would like it to be known:
"In no way did we take action in this matter as a response to public or media reaction as Friday's LA Daily News column suggested. In fact, just the opposite. We had already taken action BEFORE there was any media or public reaction related to her comments."
The implication from Friday's column was that ESPN reacted to the Catholic League's response, which came out Tuesday. That would have been obviously impossible, since a week-long suspension had already started Monday.
But there was almost immediate Internet writer reaction, and the Press of Atlantic City (N.J.) responded with an account. Today, it posted this account of the whole episode as it was unfolding and explains:
"The review was discovered by sports bloggers soon after it was posted on pressofatlanticcity.com. They began linking their readers to the story."
The problem, as it stems from any time ESPN reprimands or suspends an on-air employee, is often it takes days, even weeks, before the media is informed about it. It often comes as second-hand information from a source, and then contact is made with ESPN's media relations department, and a standard response is that there is neither a confirmation or a denial, because it is an internal matter, or, in Krulewitz's case here, a quote that appeared in several publications where he said: "‘Her actions and comments were inappropriate and we’ve dealt with it."
There would seem to have been a delay in any sort of action, considering ESPN people would have been at the event, if a suspension wasn't made immediately if it was so offensive.
We expected nothing but pure entertainment when we heard about Tommy Lasorda's planned visit to the Kings' broadcast booth Thursday night. And he came though in spectacular fashion during a 3-1 victory over the rival Ducks, playing everything right into his rah-rah wheelhouse.
During a pregame visit with Patrick O'Neal and Jim Fox on FSN West, Lasorda was already in Zamboni form recalling the pep talk he gave the Kings in the "clubhouse":
"I told them to play for the name on the back of their jersey and not the one on the front of their jersey," Lasorda said.
Well, OK, it was something like that....
Read on...
Wearing a Kings' home jersey, not only with his No. 2 but with the captain "C" shoulder patch, Lasorda joined Fox and Bob Miller in the booth for the second period and talked. And talked. And talked some more.
Lasorda told the Kings fans that his pregame speech to the team was all about them.
"I said, 'Look, you guys have a lousy record, and the fans keep coming out,'" Lasorda relayed to the TV audience, showing again that you can inspire a group of guys by using the term "lousy" as long as it's just done correctly. "You got the best fans around. Why don't you do something for them? Why don't you win?"
Man, if only the Kings had learned to simplify things three months ago.
When Fox asked him to riff about the first-period brawl that took place between Ducks' enforcer George Parros and the Kings' Raitis Ivanans, which drew 5-minute fighting penalties, Lasorda reflected on ... himself:
"Let me tell you something, we had a trainer (during his days with the Dodgers' Montreal minor league team) by the name of Ernie Cook, and he used to be the trainer for the Canadiens. And he said to me: 'You are the only guy on this team ...'
HORN.... The Kings' Derek Armstrong scores to put them up 2-0 four minutes into the period.
The crowd is louder, the music blares ... and Lasorda goes on... only louder.
"HE SAID, YOU ARE THE ONLY GUY ON THIS TEAM THAT COULD BE A HOCKEY PLAYER, AND THAT WAS A GREAT COMPLIMENT TO ME ..."
Music still goes, crowd continues cheering ... Lasorda isn't finished ...
"And I know that guys play under ... whatever conditions .. They get hit in the mouth .. get it sewed back up and get back out ... In baseball, a guy would be out a week ..."
Now the replay of Armstrong's goal begins on the screen, and Fox jumps in with an explanation of what happened. It may be the only live goal in the Kings' last 25-plus years that Miller hasn't called on a broadcast. At least Lasorda got to finish his thought.
Later in the period, Fox asks Lasorda about how physical play works in a baseball game.
"Physical in baseball means on every pitch, every out, you're giving it everything you have," Lasorda said. "That's what you have to do down there. ... Right now, if someone were to come in here and look at this game right now and say, 'Who's the best team on the ice?' They would tell you the Kings without question ..."
HORN ... Alexander Frolov scores, giving the Kings a 3-0 lead halfway through the period. And apparently Lasorda's point was now punctuated by the goal, not interrupted by it.
It leads to the Ducks pulling goaltender J.S. Guguere and replacing him with Jonas Hiller.
"Well this is a good opportunity for the Kings to score a game," Lasorda says.
A few seconds of silence.
"Score a goal, excuse me," he adds.
It's OK. We knew what you meant. Now get to the concession stand before it closes....
UPDATE:
Fox emailed this AM to pass on these thoughts:
"He would have made a great hockey player with all the energy …I was impressed how good his memory was of all the former Montreal Canadiens players…all his former teammates with the Royals…he has a great memory for that type of stuff…hate to sound sappy but it was a great pleasure and honor having him there."
And I wonder, still I wonder, who'll stop complaining about the rain.
Did your paper get soaked in the driveway again? Our apologies. Ours wasn't in great shape either. Dennis McCarthy even looked more washed out than usual.
Link back to the Daily News media column today, and then continue on a dry path toward more media notes as "DRIZZLE WATCH '08" continues on many of these fine Daily News affiliates:
==For those who choose not to believe, Kobe Bryant did drop "passion bucket" during the TNT post-game Monday night (only on TNT, not on FSN West, which was also carrying the game) and you can see him trying to find Reggie Miller off to the side (this clip, obviously, from some member of the Zapruder family):
==Dan Patrick, at the forefront of trying to make Rick Neuheisel's gushiness a national catchphrase, has mentioned that many folks have already secured it, as well as anything else related to it, as a website domain. That's a wise $6.95 a year investment, eh?
According to searches on both GoDaddy.com and Google apps, sitename "passionbucket" has been bought up as a dot-com, -net, -org, -info and -biz. So, too has "Mypassionbucketisfull.com" and "fullpassionbucket.com" been put in someone's shopping cart.
Somehow, Pat Riley has not jumped in to trademark it. Yet.
Before all this, the only passion bucket we were aware of was the Betmar Passion Bucket Hat, just $38 at the Village Hat Shop. Keeps the rain away. As well as all men.
==Patrick, whose syndicated radio show began playing on XM Radio this week, starts his Sports Illustrated career with the Feb. 4 issue, which hits the homes and news stands this coming Wednesday. That day, SI will also relaunch Danpatrick.com as a link through SI.com. The company will now own and produce the site.
Read on, please...
==The PGATour.com website, operated by Turner Sports, is also relaunching, no doubt because of Tiger Woods' debut this weekend in San Diego. The site's "Live@" element will continue to cover specific holes as 12 tournaments this year, including Torrey Pines' No. 3 this weekend (today, 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.; Saturday, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Sunday, 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.). Use it as a gauge to see how the weather's working out for the players. "Our fans love the live coverage and the ability to watch live golf from our most dramatic holes,” said Paul Johnson, PGA TOUR senior vice president of new media. “It is an outstanding compliment to our television partners’ telecast coverage. We know that many of our fans consume PGATOUR.com at the same time as they watch the telecast, and we’re excited about continuing to enhance that experience as well as deliver incremental coverage.”
The new PGATour.com includes a blog from Tour commissioner Tim Finchem with a fan feedback application.
==Jim Nantz, who'll be in the 18th tower at Torrey Pines for the final two rounds of the Buick Invitational, will motor up to Anaheim on Saturday night to accept the honor of 2007 Sportsman of the Year at a roast hosted by the Orange County Youth Sports Foundation at the Anaheim Marriott.
==Your Onion Sports headline and story of the week:
==Follow the money: CNBC, the NBC business channel that occasionally shows curling during the Winter Olympics, breaks out an hour-long special called "Touchdown! The Patriots and The Business of Winning" (Sunday, 7 p.m.) with reporter Scott Wapner profiling New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. No doubt an angle to this is the new CBS-themed restaurant that'll be opening down the road in partnership with Kraft's company.
==The NFL wants you to know that its product is the one to watch during the writer's strike.
This list, issued by the league this week after the NFC and AFC title game, shows a distinct dominance by the league:
15 MOST-WATCHED PROGRAMS OF 2007-08 TV SEASON, 9/6/07-1/20/08
(We've boldfaced those shows that are non-NFL-related to make it easier):
1. Fox NFC Championship Game (Giants-Packers), 1/20/08, 53.9 million average viewers
2. CBS AFC Championship Game (Chargers-Patriots), 1/20/08, 44.8 million
3. Fox NFC Divisional Playoff (Giants-Cowboys), 1/13/08, 40.1 million
4. CBS/NBC/NFL Network Saturday Night Football (Patriots-Giants), 12/29/07, 34.5 million
5. CBS Sunday National (mostly Patriots-Colts), 11/4/07, 33.8 million 6. Fox American Idol (season premiere), 1/15/08, 33.4 million
7. CBS AFC Divisional Playoff (Chargers-Colts), 1/13/08, 31.6 million
8. CBS AFC Divisional Playoff (Jaguars-Patriots), 1/12/08, 30.9 million 9. Fox American Idol, 1/16/08, 30.4 million
10. CBS Sunday NFL national game (mostly Steelers-Patriots), 12/9/07, 30.3 million
11. CBS Sunday NFL national game (mostly Patriots-Cowboys), 10/14/07, 29.1 million
12. Fox NFC Divisional Playoff (Seahawks-Packers), 1/12/08, 28.2 million
13. CBS AFC Wild Card Playoff (Titans-Chargers), 1/6/08, 26.6 million
14. Fox NFC Championship pregame show, 1/20/08, 25.8 million
15. NBC AFC Wild Card Playoff (Jaguars-Steelers), 1/5/08, 25.7 million
==The L.A.-based Tennis Channel's offering for the conclusion of the Australian Open includes broadcasts of all five finals -- a first by one network. Following Thursday's coverage of the women's doubles finals (which was live), the men's doubles finals are live today (8 p.m.), with the mixed doubles finals live Saturday (9 p.m.). Sunday, the Tennis Channel replays the men's (noon) and women's (3 p.m.) singles finals that ESPN2 originally aired live (Saturday at 12:30 a.m. for the men and Friday at 6:30 p.m. for the women).
==One more thing about CBS' David Feherty, who hopped on the phone with us just minutes before he raced up to the 16th tower for the first-round coverage of the Buick Invitational for the Golf Channel: He was at a casting call in New York on Tuesday with Phil Mickelson's mother, Mary, for those who are trying to get into the next Crowe Plaza TV commercial series called "A Meeting With Phil." Those who go to the hotel's website set up for this can submit tapes with stories about how they, for example, were hit by a Phil Mickelson golf ball, look like Mickelson, or are "people whose left hand has taken them to greatness in anything."
That last one "could get us in trouble," said Feherty.
Two more casting calls remain: At the Crowne Plaza San Diego, it's today from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and there's another at the Crowne Plaza Beverly Hills (1150 S. Beverly Drive) set for Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Deadline for submitting a video is Saturday, Feb. 2.
==Sunday's ESPN 8 p.m. "SportsCenter" will include a story on Nick Madaras, a former Army private killed in Iraq in Sept., 2006 who succeeded in delivering soccer balls to Iraqi children during his tours. Madaras played at Wilton (Conn.) High School and wanted to help distribute balls, asking his parents to send used soccer balls. Before they could fill his request, he was killed in action. Friends and family have continued the movement in his honor. Reporter Tom Rinaldi says more than 1,500 soccer balls have been delivered so far.
==Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson are on the call for ABC during Sunday's Lakers-Cavs game (12:30 p.m.) from Staples Center, following the Celtics-Magic game (10 a.m.) with Mike Tirico and Hubie Brown.
==Pay no attention to the creepy man swinging what looks to be a mannequin around the ice. That would be Simon Shnapir and Marissa Castelli performing during the novice pairs short program at the 2008 U.S. Figure Skating Championships last weekend.
They won't be on this weekend.
After 43 years of the U.S. championships of either ABC or ESPN, NBC begins a three-year deal with the U.S. Figure Skating Association to carry the U.S. championships from St. Paul., Minn., a contract that goes through the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver. The seven hours of coverage on NBC this weekend are the most by a network for this event since 1998, and the five hours in prime time are more than has been shown in a decade. It helps, of course, to have a Super Bowl played up against it this weekend.
NBC’s coverage goes live in the East on Saturday (dance final and ladies free skate, 8-to-11 p.m.) and Sunday (men’s free skate, 7-9 p.m.) but it tape delayed in the Pacific. The pairs free skate and ladies short program is live Saturday from 1-to-3 p.m.
Confusion in the past over what network and what times the events would be televised are hopefully put to rest with this schedule, said producer David Michaels.
“When my mom used to go look to see where she could watch the U.S. Figure Skating Championships the last few years, she couldn’t figure it out,” Michaels said. “So, at least the moms of America will be able to tune in.”
Ratings have been taking a hit in the sport during recent years that have been devoid of any real rivalries or, outside of Michelle Kwan, anyone with star power.
ABC’s days of drawing double-digit ratings in the late ‘90s trickled to a point to where it was only doing a 1.9 rating on ABC last year (with only two hours of coverage) and another 0.5 rating on ESPN2, which showed the men’s competition overnight. Tom Hammond, Dick Button and Bob Costas are joined by Scott Hamilton, Sandra Bezic, Tracy Wilson, Jamie Sale and David Pelletier as analysts.
==During Saturday's "Boxing After Dark" program (10 p.m.), which sends Bob Papa, Max Kellerman and Lennox Lewis to Berlin to cover a fight between Alexander Povetkin and Eddie Chambers, last Saturday's Roy Jones Jr. decision over Felix Trinidad will get the replay treatment.
==ESPN has announced a new series, "Dale Jr. -- Shifting Gears" that begins airing on ESPN2 on Feb. 8. Think Dale Earnhardt Jr.. doing a "Bonds On Bonds" for NASCAR fans, without the steroids (allegedly). The show is produced by Earnhardt Jr.’s own Hammerhead Entertainment, a division of JR Motorsports, in cooperation with Hendrick Motorsports. So consider the source.
“We were working on a new DVD about my life and the guys kept getting more and more footage, so they decided to put a whole TV show together to document the biggest career decision I’ve ever made,” Earnhardt Jr. said in a statement. “The past year of my life has been a roller coaster, and it’s pretty cool that we’re giving everyone an inside look at how everything came together.”
Oh, that picture of Dale with someone in a bikini ... taken a few years back from a "Cruise with Dale Jr." trip he sponsored. She's the supposed winner of the bikini contest during that cruise. Uh, OK...
Meanwhile, the network also says it will juggle its NASCAR coverage this year, sending Dale Jarrett to the booth with Dr. Jerry Punch and Andy Petree. Rusty Wallace will be the lead analyst for ESPN studio shows. Jarrett, who is retiring from driving after the first five races of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, was booth analyst for 10 NASCAR Nationwide Series ESPN races last year and worked several NASCAR Sprint Cup races as a guest analyst on "NASCAR Countdown."
==The NFL Network's weekend programming includes a replay of the Patriots-Giants regular-season finale (Saturday, 7 a.m. and Sunday, 10 a.m.) as well as every Super Bowl NFL Films produced half-hour highlight show, starting with Super Bowl I (Saturday, 8:30 a.m.) through Super Bowl XLI (Sunday, 9 a.m.)
Interrupting that marathon is live coverage of the Senior Bowl (Saturday, 1 p.m., pregame as 12:30 p.m.) with Rich Eisen, Mike Maylor, Charles Davis and Trent Dilfer on the call. USC's John David Booty, Sam Baker, Fred Davis, Sedrick Ellis, Lawrence Jackson, Drew Radovich, Keith Rivers, Terrell Thomas and Chauncy Washington, as well as UCLA's Bruce Davis , are scheduled to compete for the North team in Mobile, Ala.
The NFL Network will also reair the entire Super Bowl broadcast of particular games under the series name "Super Bowl Classics." They include:
Sunday at 1 p.m.: Super Bowl XXXI
Green Bay Packers vs. New England Patriots
With Fox's Pat Summerall and John Madden
Sunday at 5 p.m: Super Bowl XXXVIII
New England Patriots vs. Carolina Panthers
With CBS' Greg Gumbel and Phil Simms
Monday at 5:30 p.m.: Super Bowl XXI
New York Giants vs. Denver Broncos
With CBS' Pat Summerall and John Madden
Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.: Super Bowl XXXVI
New England Patriots vs. St. Louis Rams (and U2 at halftime)
With Fox's Pat Summerall and John Madden
Wednesday at 6 p.m.: Super Bowl XXV
New York Giants vs. Buffalo Bills
With ABC's Al Michaels, Frank Gifford and Dan Dierdorf
Thursday at 6 p.m.: Super Bowl XXXIX
New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles (with Paul McCartney at halftime)
With Fox's Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Cris Collinsworth
Saturday, February 2 at 6:30 pm.: Super Bowl VII
Miami Dolphins vs. Washington Redskins
With NBC's Curt Gowdy and Al DeRogatis
Making note of the reaction after the USC women's basketball team defeated UCLA at Galen Center last Saturday (a game that Arbogast called to an audience of about three on TrojanTV.com): "When it was over, Conquest was played the Bruins fans who had remained skulked out in to the harsh glare of the Trojan sun."
And on UCLA's hiring on former USC offensive coordinator Norm Chow: "I never once heard of any acrimony from Pete from Norm or anyone else on the staff. I don’t think it’s very true, or if so, has been, as usual, blown out of proportion to make it look like the reason Norm left SC. It’s a bunch of BS as far as I’m concerned and until one of the men involved admits to something other than what they have always said, I’m not buying it.
"You believe what you want to believe, but don’t believe it just cuz some writer tells you it’s so."
Not to repeat himself, but more likely to try to convince himself, he also blogged Thursday with this information:
"And please take this word of advice. No matter what you might read from guys trying to make a name for themselves by making stories much larger than they really are—-Pete Carroll and Norm Chow never had a problem, and still don’t. There are personality conflicts in any office place (how about yours for instance?) and these things get so overblown that it becomes comical. Those who know the truth just laugh and all of the guesswork that goes on. What you read about these two fine men and coaches is about 10% truth."
That comes after this gem: "The OJ Mayo thing with the tickets: another instance of news starved writers making something about nothing."
And one last thing about the stuff swirling around about Reggie Bush:
"I watched some news magazine show with interviews of the guys who reportedly have iron clad information to take down Reggie Bush. They look and sound like thugs. I thought someone told me they have a criminal past. If they have admissible tapes, or documents without the phony signature that I saw, or some other “goods” they’d best get themselves in a court of law and present their case, or take a big helping of shut the heck up."
File that one away for sometime down the road.
==And finally: A documentary entitled "Kicking It," about the Homeless World Cup soccer tournament, was bought by ESPN in a deal where the network gets exclusive TV rights and digital distribution as well as working with filmaker Ted Leonsis as finding distribution in theatres and DVD.
Leonsis calls the project a "filmanthropy," trying to incorporate online and on-air public discussions about the issue of homelessness,such as a link to help support the cause through globalgiving.com.
The film, narrated by Colin Farrell, follows the stories of seven players who competed in the fourth annual Homeless World Cup in Cape Town, South Africa. More than 500 competitors representing 48 nations compete in the event.
Leonsis, a vice chairman at AOL and owner of the NHL's Washington Capitals, said of ESPN's involvement in "Kicking It": "Good films entertain, and the best of them also challenge and engage their audiences. It takes a true ‘worldwide leader’ to spotlight both great sports action and the triumph of the spirit over hardship through the redemptive power of sports – so we are thrilled to be teaming up with ESPN to bring 'Kicking It' to the broadest global audience on all media.”
The text of Kelly Tilghman's re-re-apology, given at the top of the Golf Channel's noon telecast today:
"I'm Kelly Tilghman. It's an honor to be with you again. In a recent live broadcast I used an inappropriate word that was offensive to many. Over the last two weeks, I've taken the time to reflect and truly understand the impact of what I said. While I did not intend to offend anyone, I understand why those words were hurtful. I am terribly sorry for any hurt that I've caused. I would like to express my deepest apologies."
You can see the video on The Golf Channel's website by clicking on the link under "headlines."
But if you wish to see it, as the rest of us did, with that five-second audio glitch, here it is (sponsored, apparently, by Cialis):
OK, now move on. There's nothing more to see here...
If you're not a regular viewer of ESPN2's "Cold Pizza" "First Take," then the update that co-host Dana Jacobson has been kicked off the air until Monday won't upset your morning.
But the fact that she's in trouble for saying stuff at a roast that was intended to make fun of the network's own Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic on Jan. 11 seems a little hypocritical.
Jacobson is serving the end of a one-week suspension, an ESPN spokesman confirmed, for making vulgar references about Notre Dame while she was trying to fashion a joke about Golic's alma mater. Included in that was a reference about Jesus Christ.
In essence, Jacobonson, in true roast fashion, said: "F--- Notre Dame, f--- Touchdown Jesus, f--- Jesus."
A bit too salty, perhaps. But consider the context. Again. (See: Tilghman, "lynch")
Somehow, the Catholic League caught wind of it and holy hell broke out. Tuesday, it put out a statement -- "ESPN Anchorwoman Trashes Jesus Christ." Wednesday, it put out another release, taking more offense to the "F--- Jesus" remark.
That meant Jacobson had to put out her own statement, saying: "My remarks about Notre Dame were foolish and insensitive. I respect all religions and did not mean anything derogatory by my poorly chosen words. I won't make excuses for my behavior, but I do hope I can be forgiven for such a poor lack of judgment."
Jacobson, a Michigan grad, also apologized the next day to Golic and Greenberg.
In a story in today's USA Today about the suspension, there's a reference to a report about the roast in The Press of Atlantic City (N.J.) -- where the event took place -- saying Jacobson was "swilling vodka" and "cursing like a sailor" and made "an absolute fool of herself" as the crowd booed.
Green and white: Winter X Games 12 comes in two colors
It shouldn't come as much of a surprise that the athletes, spectators and organizers of the ESPN Winter X Games 12 are about a socially conscious and green-minded as they get.
The Games, which started Wednesday and run through Sunday at Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen, Colo., will have a few new twists and tweaks to its X Games Environomentality program that aims to reduce waste with recycling and composting, but cut greenhouse gas with alternative, sustainable fuels.
"The X Games attracts a young demographic, and that puts us in a terrific position to lead by example in increasing environmental education and awareness for future generations," Chris Stiepock, X Games general manager, said in an ESPN release. "Our sports depend on a healthy environment, and we're proud of our efforts to preserve natural resources in any way we can."
Aspen/Snowmass has been the Winter X Games host site since 2002 and they plan to keep it there though 2010. Meaning, they want to keep the place nice, clean and green -- or white, depending on how much snow they'd like to see.
Everything from making sure the event is water efficient, to planting more trees to using alternative transportation could serve as a template for other sporting events, whether they be weekend deals or spread over many months.
What are the chances that Tommy Lasorda has ever had the appetite to take in a hockey game? Or that the only puck he's ever heard of is Wolfgang and his array of pizzas?
Regardless, as a guest of the Kings on Thursday night at Staples Center, the Dodgers' Hall of Fame manager (other than Joe Torre) will do the honorary puck drop, as well spend the entire second period in the booth with Bob Miller and Jim Fox, when the Ducks come to visit.
Learn him how to drive the Zamboni, and we'll be sure to watch.
(By the way, was that a hockey stick he was dodging in the All-Star Game a while back, or a bat?)
We'll give Lasorda, who grew up in Philadelphia and played minor-league ball in Montreal, the benefit of the doubt that he's at least heard of hockey, based on this cute little entry in a recent AOL Fanhouse blog where he takes some credit for helping future Hall of Fame goaltender Jacques Plante create his first mask.
Seacrest: A name you can type with only your left hand
It is our wish to do nothing more than make a passing note of this, but Fox made Ryan Seacrest available for about a half hour on Wednesday to promote the fact that he'll be hosting a red-carpet segment of the Super Bowl XLII pregame show, interviewing celebrities as they come into the stadium interspersed between game yammering between Terry, Howie, Jimmy, etc., a week from Sunday in Arizona.
A brief recap of the Q-and-A that took place with the media on the call and Seacreast:
But first, let Fox chief David Hill explain, short story long, how he came up with this brainstorm:
"It all started in Miami prior to the Super Bowl ... I was in a car on my way to a cocktail party hosted by (name is incidental), who represents Howie Long and Cris Collinsworth, and I wanted to go and say hi to them. In the car on the way, the driver had a talk radio show on. They were broadcasting from the Versace mansion, talking about all the glitterati. One of them was Michael Strahan from the New York Giants ... The next morning, I'm sitting at breakfast across from Strahan and ask him how it was ... chat, chat, chat ... that's cool ...
(At this point, our ears are starting to bleed... we'll praphrase: Blah, blah, blah... Baldwin Brothers ... He decides it would be a good idea to tie in a celebrity-at-the-game element with the telecast because he thinks Seacrist "nailed it" as host of his network's "American Idol" and calls him "the later day Dick Clark" where "America views pop culture" through him).
"And now it's taken a life of its own," Hill summarized, meaning the reaction to Seacrest rather than his story.
Now, the vapid Q-and-A, again edited a bit to cut to the chase:
Q: How are you going to treat this differently from a red carpet show that you've done at the Academy Awards or the MTV Music Awards?
Seacrest: There are very simililar dynamics to it. This has become a really big national and world-wide holiday. We'll show the glitz and glamour. We'll be there to cover it as it unfolds.
Q: What's your reaction to Paula Abdul performing? (Apparently a new video that Abdul has created will be part of the show).
Seacrest: I am excited. She is not nervous. She's elated. She brought the single to me and we premiered it on the radio show and had 200 callers in a row supporting it. More than that, I'm looking forward to Randy Jackson's dance. I'm serious. He's been training, taking pilates. So I'll look forward to that.
Q: I'm wondering how you get all this energy to do all these things and how much preparation it takes. Are you cloned?
Seacrest: I'm not cloned but considering it. It's the only think I can do that I'm comfortable doing. ....
Blah, blah, blah, blah... is Paula appearing live or on video ... blah, blah, blah...
Q: How much of a football fan are you?
Seacrest: I grew up playing Pop Warner football in Atlanta and played every year of junior high and senior high. More shocking is I started playing a pulling guard. I was short and stocky. I transitioned to safety. ...
Blah, blah...
OK, we can't go on with this.
Oh, wait, one more thing from a fashion reporter:
Q: What will you be wearing, and what are other people going to be wearing?
Seacrest: A mesh shirt from old scrimmages. Either a jeans jacket or mesh. I expect those attending to be wearing typical weekend wear.
Three more years of the NHL on Versus.
Sorry, eh.
That's what the network decided to do after agreeing the other day (and announcing it today) to carry games through the 2010-11 season, sure to alienate viewers even more who haven't bothered to add the channel to their dish or cable service in hopes the league would come to its senses and latch back onto ESPN.
That could still happen, but only if ESPN pushes the issue and strikes a deal seperately with Versus to pilfer some action.
Versus is paying $72.5 million for league rights this season. It'll cough up even more over the next three years.
Versus, when it was known as the Outdoor Life Network, started doing NHL games in 2005, following the league's lockout of the 2004-05 season. The network is owned by Comcast.
If ratings mean anything, Versus likes it end of the deal.
It has drawn a 0.3 rating so far this season. Last year, it was 0.2. So that's a 50 percent increase! And the network says it's making money off it.
“We’ve really benefited from our relationship with the NHL,” said Versus president Gavin Harvey. “It was a game-changer for us. We certainly feel we’ve seen great growth, but there’s major growth ahead. We feel positive momentum.”
The January 2008 edition of the USC Alumni Association e-newsletter makes note of that fact that Lakers owner Jerry Buss (Ph.D. '57) has given a $7.5 million planned gift to support education and research in the Department of Chemistry at USC.
No immediate reaction from chemically-dependent Paris Hilton, Snoop Dogg, Paula Abdul, or any of the other glue-sniffers who were at Buss' Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremonies last year.
The cash is supposed to fund two endowed chairs in the chemistry department and an endowed scholarship fund for chemistry graduate students. Buss named the two chairs in honor of his former USC chemistry professors, Sidney Benson and David Dows.
Buss got his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wyoming in 1953, and then his masters and Ph.D. at USC at age 24. He has yet to achieve anything that the kids in "Weird Science" did back in the mid-80s, but our guess is Buss could get Kelly LeBrock at any stage or age in her acting career without flashing any beakers.
The fourth season of the Beach Tennis USA national tour will include a couple of venue switches -- and only one Southern California stop -- as the sport continues to try to build a beachhead locally and nationally.
A year ago, we did a story in both the Daliy News and Daily Breeze, and blog follow up on the Tour as it went through Santa Monica, having passed through San Diego and on its way to Santa Barbara and Long Beach for the so-called SoCal Series Slam between June 10 and July 22. The 10-stop Tour ran from March through the finals in New York on Labor Day weekend.
The 2008 schedule, released today, has only a stop in Hermosa Beach on June 28-29, following up on a stop in San Diego on June 7-8. The reason seems to be because the Tour is adding a fourth stop in Florida as well as another stop in Rye, N.Y.
There had been talk of trying to coordinate a Beach Tennis Tour event around an AVP pro beach volleyball tour event in Southern California. The AVP has yet to announce its complete 2008 schedule, but traditionally the Hermosa Open has been earlier in June. With the Summer Olympics taking place this year, the Tour usually accomodates for players trying to qualify for the U.S. teams and will likely adjust its schedule.
Here's how it breaks down:
March 21-25: Key Biscayne, Fla (at the Sony Ericsson Open)
April 12-13: Clearwater, Fla.
April 26-27: Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
May 4-5: Miami
June 7-8, San Diego
June 14-15: Charleston, South Carolina
June 28-29: Hermosa Beach
July 10-11: Rye, N.Y.
Aug 16-17, Long Beach, N.Y.
Aug 30-Sept 1, Long Beach, N.Y. (2008 National Championship)
A lot of people watched a lot of football Sunday. If you want it boiled down to language the kids can understand.
In the early game, CBS's AFC title tilt (San Diego-New England) was witnessed by 44.8 million.
Fox's NFC overtime title game (N.Y. Giants-Green Bay) later in the afternoon was seen by 53.9 million viewers, according to the data that the networks released today.
Combined (and probably many of the later comprised the audience in the former), that'd be ... we're not even asking you to do the math. It really doesn't matter.
The CBS number is up three percent from the 43.3 million who saw the early-game NFC title game between Chicago and New Orleans a year ago. The Fox spin is that the 29.0 rating/43 share make it the highest-rated NFC title game on any network in 11 years (1997, a 30.1 for Green Bay-Carolina).
Furthermore, the NFC game was the most-watched program other than Super Bowls since the 1998 “Seinfeld” series finale (76.3 million viewers). It's a stretch, but that's how Fox is selling it.
The game climaxed to 65.1 million viewers when Lawrence Tynes kicked his game-winning field goal at about 10 p.m. (EDT).
Jilted sports agent and convicted felon Lloyd Lake does a rather convincing job on the latest episode of HBO's "Real Sports" (tonight, 10 p.m.) of trying to clear his name amidst allegations that he's attempting to extort almost $300,000 from former USC tailback and Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush.
To see and hear Lake explain his side of the story to interviewer Bernard Goldberg, it's tough not to think there's something gone wrong here. Whether or not Lake's story results in USC being put on probation or Bush losing his Heisman -- and Lake even tells Goldberg that's not his intent -- it does put Bush in a very bad light as someone who, along with his parents, used Lake as an ATM machine and decided they didn't have to pay Lake back.
"He hustled me, period," Lake tells Goldberg during the 12-minute piece.
Goldberg asks that if Bush had paid him back, would any of Lake's story ever gotten out?
"Never in a million years," said Lake.
"I didn't want this; it's all on (Bush). He renieged on an agreement."
Lake takes Goldberg to the house that his company, New Era Sports and Entertainment, ended up buying for Bush's mother and step-father, Lamarr Griffith. The Griffith's name is even carved into the concrete driveway.
He also displays the DUB magazine cover of Bush posing in front of a car that Lake bought for him -- $13,000, plus $8,000 more for Bush to buy new wheels and a stereo system for.
Most incriminating are two recorded conversations Lake eventually secretly recorded with Griffith, who tries to convince Lake that Bush is "not going to do you like that," meaning, he'll repay all money given to him.
Goldberg reports that Michael Michaels, a wealthy San Diego businessman who Lake recruited to help with the sports marketing business, recently settled a $200,000 deal with Bush that precludes him from talking about anything that took place in the past.
Goldberg asks Lake why anyone should believe someone like him -- a former gang member with a past history of domestic violence who spent two years in federal prison for dealing marijuana. Goldberg is repeating what Bush's lawyer has been saying about Lake in questioning his credibility.
"First, his lawyer is an idiot," says Lake. "Second, the facts and proof will speak for themselves. Then see who you believe."
Last week, Lake talked to USA Today for more than two-hours and pretty much laid out the same story that he told that's included in the just published Don Yeager book, "Tarnished Heisman."
While some may spend off-hour reading Oprah's magazine "O," we find more productive information in "E" -- The Environmental Magazine -- that covers everything from how China is getting tougher on proventing the production of plastic grocery bags to the Sierra Club suing Shell Oil for its continually poluting the planet to how to invest your 401k in companies that are going for the right kind of green.
The January/February issue goes with the headline "Losing Winter," and focuses on the dwindling snowfall that's a result of global warming -- yes, it's happening.
More interesting from a sports spin are the winter athletes -- particularily skiiers and snowboarders -- who are ahead of the curve in trying not only to alert the rest of the world about how their playground is disappearing.
In a sidebar story entitled "SOS: Save Our Snow, Winter AthletesTake the Lead in Fighting Global Warming," managing editor Brita Belli writes about alpine skier Steven Nyman, like everyone else, finds themselves now "chasing off-season snow, missing out on crucial contests cancelled due to unseasonable 60-degree weather, or competing in rough conditions as the snow rapidly melts and compacts beneath their skis and boards. They’ve been trying to out-run global warming’s effects."
A fact brought up in the story: Over the last 16 years, the National Ski Areas Associationhas tracked the number of days that its 326 member ski resorts are open. The data shows that the resorts have lost one day per season over those 16 years and 1.2 days in the northeastern U.S. More than 88 percent of those resorts make snow, but rising overnight temperatures is already making that difficult to sustain.
“Last year we only had a total of three World Cup events,” says 22-year-old snowboarder Lindsey Jacobellis, the World Cup snowboardcross (SBX) champion who won the silver in the 2006 Olympic SBX event. “Normally there are eight. All the contests in Europe were cancelled because there was no snow.”
Also, Boston Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference is an outspoken eco-advocate, pushing for a carbon-neutral commitment from the entire NHL, which would affect the league's practice of travel and hotel accomodations.
Taft High of Woodland Hills is one of five top 25 boys high school basketball teams (according to ESPN’s rankings) who will appear on today’s Hall of Fame Classic tripleheader from Springfield, Mass., on ESPNU.
Taft faces St. Raymond (N.Y.) at 10 a.m., between the Archbishop Mitty-Holy Cross (N.Y.) and Scott County (Ky.)-St. Anthony (N.J.) games. Clay Matvick, Mike Adams and Melissa Knowles are on the broadcast.
The Ducks are in Anaheim, right? In the county of oranges, correct? And L.A. needs not to take credit, nor blame, for anything that particular NHL team accomplishes, you'd think?
Just checkin.
The voters of the L.A. Sports Awards named the Mighty Ducks' victory in the last summer's Stanley Cup finals the top Los Angeles sports moment of 2007, announced Sunday night at the Los Angeles Sports Council's annual shindig in Beverly Hills, and televised on FSN Prime Ticket. David Beckham, who planted a football flag in L.A. and sometimes even played, was named the Male Athlete of the Year. Allyson Felix, the 22-year-old former L.A. Baptist High sprinter who won three gold m
-First Ryan Seacrest red carpet interviews
--Jimmy Johnson interviews Bill Belichick
-More Seacrest
