More media notes to grapple with

==Here's a link to today's New York Times' version of Gus Johnson preparing for his MMA debut -- by getting sweaty in a New York gym on Thursday. And another NYT piece on how military men are getting more involved in MMA.

==A YouTube spot on the Sunday MMA fight that Versus has been touting for weeks, including heavy promotion during their Stanley Cup Finals Game 1 and 2 coverage earlier this week:

**RADIO
==So, now that KSPN-AM (710) management has admitted to its mistake in letting John Ireland go last November, only to bring him back starting Monday with old partner Steve Mason, how long will it be before Mason and Ireland's "Big Show" returns to its former 4-to-7 p.m. weekday drive-time spot? That would mean admitting another boner: That Dave Dameshek wasn't all that he was touted to be (mostly, a sell job to the station by Dameshek's friend, Jimmy Kimmel).
KSPN sources say that the Mason and Ireland agreement allows management to slide them anywhere between noon and 8 p.m., so the current time slot could easily change as early as this summer, meaning the station would have to eat the last year and a half on Dameshek's contract.

The station, owned and operated by ESPN, could also lobby to have the syndicated Scott Van Pelt Show, currently live from noon to 1 p.m., go tape delay at night so Mason and Ireland could fill four hours from noon to 4 p.m. for the time being.
The Mason-Ireland "Big Show" revival will also be produced by Dave Singer, prying him away from Dameshek to where the spot he formerly held. Fred Roggin will continue to work as a third voice on the show three days a week, and fill in for Ireland when he's away at Laker games over the next three weeks.

**BASEBALL

== Fox will show the Dodgers' game at the New York Mets (Saturday, 12:55 p.m., Channel 11) to 65 percent of the country, with Joe Buck and Tim McCarver on the call. Buck, according to the network's latest media release, says he wondered why Joe Torre wouldn't have been a better fit with the Mets instead of the Dodgers after the Yankees let go after last season.
"Going into the season, I thought Joe Girardi was a better fit to manage this Dodgers team and that Joe Torre was fine where he was (with the Yankees). Torre is more of a veteran manager, while this Dodgers team is extremely young with a ton of talent that will only get better. Girardi proved his ability to nuture young talent in his one season on Florida with the Marlins. Torre has done a good job so far and eventually this could be a great fit, but the question is: How long will he be there for and is there a long-term plan? I think this year's performance will go a long way in answering that."
Fox's other regional games are Atlanta at Cincinnati (with Thom Brennaman and Leo Mazzone, going to 22 percent of the country) and Detroit at Seattle (with Kenny Albert and Eric Karros, going to 12 percent).
ESPN also has the Dodgers and Mets as their Sunday Night Baseball game (5 p.m.) with Jon Miller and Joe Morgan. TBS has Florida at Philadelphia (Sunday, 10:30 a.m.) with Chip Caray and Buck Martinez.

==Angels pitcher Jon Garland is next in line for FSN West's "Before The Bigs" series, with the half-hour feature on the former Kennedy High of Granada Hills star airing tonight at 6:30 p.m. and at 10:30 p.m., before and after the Angels-Blue Jays game.

==This hot off the Internet machine fromThe Onion Sports:

LOS ANGELES -- Dodgers pitcher Derek Lowe asked manager Joe Torre if he could duck out around the fourth inning of his start against the Cardinals this Saturday so that he could hang out with his former college buddy, Greg, who will be flying in from Chicago.
"I hate to cut out early like that, but I promised Greg I'd show him Grauman's Chinese Theater and where they tape Jimmy Kimmel Live," Lowe told Torre, adding that if he stayed the full game, by the time he took a shower and left the stadium it would be close to midnight and Greg might be too tired to hang out.
"I mean, it's not like we don't have a bunch of pitchers around here, and I promise I'll make it up to the team sometime. Just not next week, since my parents are coming in and I know they're going to want to get brunch Sunday."
When asked for comment, Torre said that it was fine if Lowe left early, as he wasn't expecting Lowe to make it past the third inning anyway.

**COLLEGE BASEBALL:
==The ESPN group plans to carry up to 55 games from the NCAA baseball championships, starting today and through June 25, including the College World Series. ESPN360.com will simulcast each one. Among the analysts working for the network during the regional and super regionals are Phil Nevin, Barry Larkin, Robin Ventura, Kyle Peterson, Eduardo Perez and Keith Moreland -- who of whom played in the CWS. Peterson will call games with Clay Matvick from the Fullerton site. Later, Orel Hershiser will join Mike Patrick and Peterson (with reporter Erin Andrews) for the championship series.
Of local interest: Matvick and Peterson call UCLA-Virginia on ESPNU at 4 p.m. and Cal State Fullerton-Rider at 7 p.m.

**NBA:
==A link to the USA Today story as well as a blog item on Wednesday detailing the profane blow up that Kobe Bryant's wife, Vanessa, had with ESPN The Magazine reporter/blogger Laura Lane, which lead to Lane taking her blog down. There's also this follow up on ESPN's magazine blog site.
LA Observed and AwfulAnnouncing.com documents the awfully loud exchange between Mrs. Bryant and Ms. Lane, a 2007 USC grad (pictured) -- which apparently had more to do with Lane reporting on their children's activities rather than other things, such as .. well, other stuff.

**NHL:
==NBC reports that Wednesday's Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final did a 2.8 overnight rating and a 5 share, the best overnight rating for a Game 3 in six years (2002 - Carolina-Detroit, 3.8/8) and an 87 percent boost over last year's Game 3 on NBC (Anaheim-Ottawa, 1.5/3). Versus reported that Game 2 of its Stanley Cup finals coverage Monday did a 1.9 rating and averaged 2.5 million viewers. The first two games combined were an increase of 171 percent (0.7) from last year's Ducks' contests and 111 percent from 2006 (0.9). As far as total viewers, Games 1 and 2 were up 273 percent from last year and 181 percent from 2006. Detroit's two shutout wins over Pittsburgh are the most-watched opening two games of the Stanley Cup final since 2002.
NBC continues with Game 4 coverage Saturday using Mike Emrick, Eddie Olczyk and Pierre McGuire, plus McGuire in the studio with Mike Milbury and Bob Neumeier, the former voice of the Hartford Whalers.

**COLLEGE SOFTBALL:
==Yes, that was the John Kruk working with Beth Mowins and Jessica Mendoza (Camarillo High) on ESPN's coverage Thursday of the UCLA-Arizona contest during the Women's College World Series. ESPN and ESPN2, which are doing up to 17 games, will use Kruk as a game analyst on 10 games, including the best-of-three championship (Monday-Wednesday), busting him loose from his "Baseball Tonight" duties. Check out tonight's games for more Kruk cronk.

**X GAMES:
==ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC will carry 14 hours of live stuff from X Games 14, jetting between the Home Depot Center and Staples Center between July 31 and Aug. 3. In addition, the surfing competition will be held in Puerto Escondido, Mexico, from July 7-11 and shown on tape. The new event for this year: BMX Freestyle Street. Ask your kid what it means.

**GOLF:
==CBS will continue to use David Feherty as a tower observer instead of an on-course reporter as he rehabs from the March bicycle accident that has led to problems with his left elbow. On this weekend's coverage of The Memorial Tournament (Saturday, noon to 3 p.m.; Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.), Feherty is in the 15th tower, while Ian Baker-Finch joins Peter Kostis as an on-course reporter. Jim Nantz, Nick Faldo, Peter Oosterhuis and Gary McCord round out the broadcasting unit.

==NBC sends Dan Hicks with Dottie Pepper, Mark Rolfing, Jane Crafter and Kay Cockerill to cover this weekend's The Ginn Tribute hosted by Annika Sorenstam (Saturday and Sunday, 1 to 3 p.m.).

**MOTORSPORTS
==Fox closes out its NASCAR coverage for the season on Sunday with the Sprint Cup race at Dover, Del. Chris Myers, Jeff Hammond and Darrell Waltrip do the prerace thing, while Waltrip joins Mike Joy and Larry McReynolds for the left-hand turns. TNT picks up the NASCAR coverage starting at Pocono on June 8 and going through July 12.

**NFL:
==The NFL Network has plenty of hours to fill in the summer, and does so by re-airing "classic" games over the next 12 Mondays, starting with this one at 5 p.m.
The schedule (which includes original announcers, graphics and networks):
Monday, 5 p.m.: Miami at N.Y. Jets, Nov. 27, '94 (NBC): Dan Marino's execution of a fake spike for the winning touchdown pass capped the Dolphins' comeback win on the road.
June 9, 5 p.m.: San Diego at Cincinnati, Jan. 10, '82 (NBC): The AFC title game at Riverfront Stadium was at 9 below with a wind chill that pushed it to minus-37.
June 16, 5 p.m.: Jacksonville at Baltimore, Sept. 10, '00 (CBS): The Ravens pull off a 75-yard game-winning drive in the last two minutes.
June 23, 5 p.m.: Buffalo at Tennessee, Jan. 8, '00 (ABC): "The Music City Miracle" in the 1999 AFC wildcard game.
June 30, 5 p.m.: Cincinnati at Green Bay, Sept. 20, '92 (NBC): Brett Favre takes over for injured Don Majkowski to direct a 24-23 comeback.
July 7, 5 p.m.: N.Y. Jets vs. San Francisco, Sept. 6. '98 (CBS): Garrison Hearst wins it with a TD in OT.
July 14, 5 p.m.: Oakland at Seattle, Nov. 30, '87 (ABC): Bo Jackson vs. Brian Bosworth.
July 21, 5 p.m.: Carolina at St. Louis, Jan. 10, '04 (Fox): A double OT game in the '03 NFC divisional playoffs.
July 28, 5 p.m.: Green Bay at San Francisco, Jan. 3, '99 (Fox): The divisional wildcard game.
Aug. 4, 5 p.m.: Dallas vs. Minnesota, Dec. 28, '75 (CBS): The Hail Mary Game in the NFC divisional playoffs.
TBD: 2002 AFC Divisional Playoff: Pittsburgh at Tenessee from Jan. 11, '03 (CBS)
TBD: "River City Relay": New Orleans at Jacksonville from Dec. 21, '03 (Fox)
Following the Monday night premieres, encore showings are on Tuesdays at 9 a.m. and Saturday at 6 a.m. and 5 p.m.

**TALKING HEADS:
==Bob Costas, a guest Wednesday on XM radio's "Basketball and Beyond with Coach K" (Channel 144), said that his role in covering the Summer Olympics from Beijing for NBC starting in August will be a real juggling act that tries to balance what happens athletically to what's going on around the venues.
"This one, moreso than almost any other (Olympics), is obviously about not just sports, and it's a tricky line to walk," Costas told show host and Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski, who will coach the 2008 U.S. men's Olympic basketball team. "I don't think anybody, when they're watching the Olympics in prime time, wants the Olympics to turn into 'Meet the Press' or 'Nightline.'
"On the other hand, no one is going to want us to ignore the circumstances in Beijing, and the possibility that there'll be protests, and that these issues have to be addressed. And I think a good broadcast is going to be a combination of these elements in proper proportion, emphasizing the competition most of the time, but at various times, acknowledging the issues that are there. And if we do a good job of that, and it's going to be hard to do, but if we do a good job of that, then I know this will rank among the most satisfying assignments I've had."
Costas also took the opportunity to opine more about the state of media criticism -- not particularily on the subject of bloggers:
"People think that simply insulting someone or making a mean spirited comment about someone is the same thing as being edgy or having a provocative opinion. Simply being a jerk is not the same thing as being insightful ... Not only does being successful at what you do, and being a decent person about it, not only does that not insulate you against criticism, it almost incites that kind of criticism. In a way, the more worthy of respect you are from reasonable people, the more you're going to get it big time from those on the periphery who traffic only in crazy anger and resentment. I think it's not a healthy thing for the culture overall."
The XM show repeats Saturday at 7 a.m and 3 p.m. and Sunday at 8 a.m.

**MISC.

==Dave Pasch and Doris Burke call the Sparks' game at Washington (Saturday, 12:30 p.m., Channel 7), with Rebecca Lobo as the sideline reporter.

==Another Onion Sports story with its take on the new crazy WNBA TV spots.

==FSN Prime Ticket has the CIF State track and field championships live from Cerritos College (4 p.m. Saturday) with Barry Tompkins, Tom Feuer and Lindsay Soto.

==ESPN starts a deal with IMG to televise all six Golden League track and field meets, starting with two hours from the meetin Berlin on Sunday (6:30 a.m. on ESPN Classic, reairing at 11 a.m. on ESPN2). Dwight Stones and Larry Rawson are on the call from a studio in Bristol, Conn. The rest of the schedule includes Oslo, Norway (June 6), Rome (July 11), Paris (July 18), Zurich, Switzerland (Aug. 29) and Brussels, Belgium (Sept. 5).

==CBS has the Reebok Grand Prix track and field event Sunday at 10:30 a.m., taped from Saturday at Randall's Island, N.Y. Carter Blackburn calls the event, with Stones and Carol Lewis as reporters.

==The Ski Channel has tied up broadcasting rights to several top-notch properties, including the Freeskiing World Tour, the World Freeskiing Championships,
and the Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Series, as well as the big mountain snowboarding series,
The North Face Masters Series. "This is a landmark deal for The Ski Channel -- this is the equivalent of getting Grand Slams on The Tennis Channel or the PGA on The Golf Channel," said Ski Channel creator Steve Bellamy, who also helped launch The Tennis Channel. "Incredible locations, spectacular athletes and amazing competitions."
"The Ski Channel has come from nowhere to become one hottest things in the industry
seemingly overnight," said Adam Comey, CEO of Mountain Sports International.

==Top-notch English Premiere League TV analyst Andy Gray will be part of ESPN's team for the network coverage of the UEFA European Football Championship 2008 that begins Saturday June 7 and runs through June 29 in Austria and Switzerland. Gray will work from the Bristol, Conn., studios and do games off the TV monitor. ESPN says it will also use Adrian Healey and Derek Rae on play-by-play and former English Premiere League player Robbie Mustoe and well-known analyst Tommy Smyth on game and studio commentary roles. In the studio, Rece Davis, Julie Foudy and Rob Stone will rotate in and out, while Pedro Gomez is the only one who'll actually be at the game sites as a reporter.

==The latest in a series of 13 consecutive Sundays of Olympic trails coverage, MSNBC has an exhibition match between the U.S. men's national volleyball team and Argentina at 9 a.m., with Paul Sunderland on the call and Kevin Barnett as the analyst. The match took place Tuesday at UC Irvine.

==NBC, with Ted Robinson, John McEnroe and Mary Carillo, picks up delayed coverge of the French Open this weekend (Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.), leading into coverage of the men's semis and finals and women's finals next weekend. ESPN has been handling the rest of it from Paris.

**DOCUMENTARIES:
==HBO has set aside the next 10 Tuesdays (at 7 p.m.) to re-air a collection of sports documentaries that have drawn critical review in recent years, including the piece that aired last year on UCLA's basketball history.
The entire lineup:
June 3: "Barbaro"
June 10: "Dare to Dream: The Story of the U.S. Women's Soccer Team"
June 17: "Do You Believe in Miracles? The Story of the 1980 U.S Hockey Team," which won a Sports Emmy.
June 24: "Joe Louis: America's Hero...Betrayed," almost 70 years after the Louis-Schmeling world title fight (June 22, '38) at Yankee Stadium). Note: This begins at 6:15 p.m.
July 1: "Hitler's Pawn," on Margaret Lambert, a Jewish athlete training to compete for the German Olympic team in the 1936 Summer Games in Berlin.
July 8: "Fists of Freedom: The Story of the '68 Summer Games," a Peabody Award winner that revisits the controversial actions of Tommie Smith and John Carlos in Mexico City 40 years ago.
July 15: "Mantle." a bio on New York Yankees great Mickey Mantle on the same day of this year's MLB All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium.
July 22: "The UCLA Dynasty," on the Bruins collecting 10 NCAA basketball titles from 1964-'75.
July 29: "A City on Fire: The Story of the '68 Detroit Tigers"
Aug. 5: "Michigan vs. Ohio State: The Rivalry"
Following its Tuesday night airing, each will repeat on Thursday of that week at midnight on HBO2.

==Tennis Channel debuted a documentary on the French Open history on Thursday called "A History: A Story of Roland Garros" that replays today (1 p.m.), Saturday (10 a.m.), Monday (2:30 p.m.), Tuesday (9 a.m.), June 6 (7 a.m. and noon) and June 7 (6 and 9 p.m.)

**FINALLY:
==From The Onion Sports, trying to find the Most Valuable Donkey this side of Gus:

2-Year-Old Donkey Called Up To Pro Donkey Basketball League