In this day in age, especially in the NFL, up to the minute reporting is a must. CBS has long come in fourth place (behind ESPN, FOX and NFL Network) in the "breaking news" department, but they are making changes to catch up with the other networks. Starting this season, CBS has started an initiative called "Rapid Reports", and will be placing a reporter with every NFL team. Basically they're adding 32 bloggers to file reports throughout the day. Via CBS PR....

CBSSports.com today announced the creation of an innovative new way to cover the NFL. RapidReports will be a network of 32 correspondents, one with each NFL team. These reporters will file multiple bite-sized updates per day from each team's practice facility or stadium that will appear at the top of the CBSSports.com (www.cbssports.com) homepage.

CBS will be the first media outlet to cover the NFL, or any sport, in this manner, with one embedded reporter attached to every team working solely for one entity. Additionally, the style of coverage, with a constant stream of short, original news updates has never been used in the world of sports and CBSSports.com users and highly engaged NFL fans around the world will undoubtedly embrace this new mode of news delivery.

"With RapidReports, CBSSports.com will provide the rabid NFL fan base with the one thing they crave most – the absolute latest breaking news and updates from around the league – and deliver it in a way that will distinguish our service from the competition," said Jason Kint, Senior Vice President and General Manager of CBSSports.com. "We’re thrilled that CBSSports.com was able to find reporters for this initiative with a deep resume of sports experience and combine them with burgeoning new talent for a perspective and approach that fans won’t find anywhere else.”

CBS has also teamed up with Bleacher Report, and many of the correspondents will be coming over from their network. Obviously it's a good move, given the fact that CBS is so far behind the game at this point, but it will be interesting to see if it works. If they use it as a Fantasy tool, then I see it succeeding, but any other use and it might not pan out.

Not only was there news recently that one James William Nantz, III could run for office in the near future, but today we've learned that more importantly (kidding) Nantz will be appearing on the Price Is Right! Not only that, but one of the showcase prizes will be a trip to the Final Four!!! From Fang's Bites via CBS PR....

CBS Sportscaster Jim Nantz, the 2008 National Sportscaster of the Year, will make a special appearance on CBS's Emmy Award-winning THE PRICE IS RIGHT, with host Drew Carey, Thursday, April 2 (11:00 AM-12:00 Noon, ET; 10:00-11:00 AM, PT), on the CBS Television Network. Nantz, who pre-taped his appearance earlier this month, will introduce a special Showcase trip to the NCAA Final Four in Detroit.

Well that was the shortest press release/blockquote in the history of the Internet. It still should be fun. I would also encourage Nantz to wear some kind of "I Love You Drew!" homemade t-shirt of some sort. Preferably bedazzled.

Jim Nantz! Come On Down! You're the Next Presenter on The Price is Right! (Fang's Bites)

It can't be easy to jump between three games, while all are under a minute left to play, but that's exactly what CBS has had to do multiple times in the Tournament so far. For the most part, they've been doing a splendid job, but there have two specific incidents that caused an uproar. The first one came on Friday, as a potential buzzer beater by Wisconsin was switched away from in mid-air, and the second was a change away from the supposed "constant feed" in Louisville during their game against Siena.

Well today, CBS Sports Exec VP/Programming Mike Aresco apologized for the problems, and explained that one was a control room error, and one was just a bad idea. Via SBD....

"We always plan on staying with a constant. In some situations, and we've done it over the years, we'll try to get to just a buzzer-beater and get right back to the constant. In this particular case we had an unusual situation that developed. You had two exciting potential buzzer-beaters at the same time. We're trying to what we call ping-pong back and forth and then there were some bizarre circumstances in those games and we did use commercials as best we could. When games were stopped we would go back but in this particular case, yeah, we didn't get back fast enough and things were happening quickly and it happens." Aresco said CBS "in this particular case" made a mistake. Aresco: "I think in this particular case we probably needed to get back a little quicker." Meanwhile, Aresco described the network cutting away from Friday night's Wisconsin-Florida State game while the final shot was in mid-air as a "control room error"

While I was one of forty people yelling at a bar during the Wisconsin-FSU one, I could understand the slip up, as both games were extremely close in the last minute of play. The whole constant thing in Louisville is only really an issue because they were trailing Siena by two at the time. Had they been up, no one would have complained about missing just a minute of action.

I think CBS does an amazing job of switching between the games, but it might be time to go with a split-screen if they can. That way they cover all of their bases.

Bait and Switch (Sports Business Daily - $)

1) We start with Pete Carroll being featured on 60 Minutes for his work in L.A.'s inner city, trying to keep kids away from gangs:


Watch CBS Videos Online

2) The Arena live-blogged (well, as much as a live-blog can be) ESPN's chronicle of the 1958 Colts-Giants NFL championship game, The Greatest Game Ever Played.

3) Jeff Triplette did an ouch of a face-plant during Bills-Jets today. Hat tip to the Sports Hernia. Never let anyone tell you refereeing isn't dangerous.



Second half thread coming up!

Barack Obama was on 60 Minutes last night to talk about among other things being named President, the Economy and the War, but it was the last question from Steve Kroft that seemed to perk his attention the most. That of course was how the newest President plans on getting College Football to switch to a Playoff system....

I only have one thing to say to that video and that is....YES WE CAN!

So I hit you with the ESPN/ABC NBA preview earlier today, and if you were paying close attention you probably noticed that Greg Anthony is no longer with ESPN. The Basketball analyst has jumped ship over to CBS, and will be replacing Clark Kellogg on the studio team. Kellogg, who recently moved to Billy Packer's empty analyst position after his departure from the network, will of course be paired with Jim Nantz for the 2008-2009 College Basketball Season. That will then make your studio team consist of Greg Gumbel, Seth Davis and Anthony.

The network will tip-off coverage with Memphis at Georgetown on December 13th, and will also carry action from five Conference Championships (MVC, Big Ten, SEC, Pac-10 and Conference USA). Other important dates to mark on your calendar are as follows:

March 15, 2009- NCAA Tournament Selection Show
Thursday, March 19, 2009- First-round Tournament action begins
Saturday, April 4- The Final Four
Monday, April 6, 2009- ThChampionship Game

Here's your entire game schedule for '08-'09 on CBS....

Sat., Dec. 13

Memphis at Georgetown (2pm)
Indiana at Kentucky (4pm)

Sat., Dec. 20

Duke - Xavier (2pm, From New Jersey)*
Michigan State-Texas (2pm, From Houston)*
Connecticut at Gonzaga (4pm)*
Purdue - Davidson (4pm, From Indy)*

Sat., Dec. 27

West Virginia at Ohio State (4pm)

Sat., Jan. 3

North Carolina at Florida (4pm)

Sun., Jan. 4

Kentucky at Louisville (4:30pm)

Sat., Jan. 10

Kansas at Michigan State (1pm)

Sun., Jan. 11

Wisconsin at Purdue (1:30pm)

Sat., Jan. 17

Georgetown at Duke (1:30pm)
Arizona State at UCLA (3:45pm)

Sat., Jan. 24

Memphis at Tennessee (3:30pm)

Sun., Jan. 25

Florida at Vandy (1:30pm)
Michigan State at Ohio State (3:45)

Sat., Jan. 31

Michigan at Purdue (1pm)*
Washington State at Arizona (1pm)*

Sat., Feb. 7

Notre Dame at UCLA (1pm)*
Ole Miss at Vandy (1pm)*

Sun., Feb. 8

Purdue at Illinois (1pm)

Sat., Feb. 14

UCLA at Arizona (1pm)*
Kentucky at Arkansas (1pm)*

Sun., Feb. 15

Illinois at Indiana (1pm)

Sat., Feb. 21

Tennessee at Kentucky (1pm)*
Army at Navy (1pm)*

Sun., Feb. 22

Indiana at Purdue (1pm)*
Wisconsin at Michigan State (1pm)*
Illinois at Ohio State (1pm)*
Villanova at Syracuse (1pm)*

Sat., Feb. 28

Georgia Tech at North Carolina (Noon)
Notre Dame at Connecticut (2pm)
LSU at Kentucky (4pm)

*- Regional Coverage

With every press release you feel the Football Season is getting closer and closer. CBS finally put together its hieracrchy of NFL Announcing teams, and the list really hasn't changed from last year. There is however a new member that we need to welcome to the "Eye". Dan Fouts, who was not renewed by ABC, has been brought on to do both NFL and SEC games for the network....

Jim Nantz and Phil Simms
Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf
Dick Enberg and Randy Cross or Dan Fouts
Kevin Harlan and Rich Gannon
Ian Eagle and Solomon Wilcots
Gus Johnson and Steve Tasker
Don Criqui, Bill Macatee and Steve Beuerlein or Dan Fouts

CBS had a pretty stellar NFL Season last year and continued to pull past FOX in both game and pregame show ratings. Now that Brett Favre is in the network's conference, those numbers should see an even larger boost this year. The network's schedule for the upcoming season is below, and expect a week one NFL announcing schedule for both CBS and FOX in the coming days.
___________________________

PRESEASON

Friday, August 22nd (8pm)- Houston Texans vs Dallas Cowboys (Ian Eagle and Phil Simms)
Saturday, August 23rd (8pm)- Pittsburgh Steelers vs Minnesota Vikings (Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf)

WEEK 1 - SUNDAY, SEPT. 7

Cincinnati @ Baltimore (1pm)
N.Y. Jets @ Miami (1pm)
Kansas City @ New England (1pm)
Houston @ Pittsburgh (1pm)
Jacksonville @ Tennessee (1pm)

WEEK 2 - SUNDAY, SEPT. 14

Tennessee @ Cincinnati (1pm)
Buffalo @ Jacksonville (1pm)
Oakland @ Kansas City (1pm)
Indianapolis @ Minnesota (1pm)
New England @ N.Y. Jets (4pm)
San Diego @ Denver (4pm)
Miami @ Arizona (4pm)
Baltimore @ Houston (4pm)

WEEK 3 - SUNDAY, SEPT. 21

Kansas City @ Atlanta (1pm)
Oakland @ Buffalo (1pm)
Cincinnati @ N.Y. Giants (1pm)
Miami @ New England (1pm)
Houston @ Tennessee (1pm)
Pittsburgh @ Philadelphia (4pm)
Cleveland @ Baltimore (4pm)
Jacksonville @ Indianapolis (4pm)

WEEK 4 - SUNDAY, SEPT. 28

Cleveland @ Cincinnati (1pm)
Houston @ Jacksonville (1pm)
Denver @ Kansas City (1pm)
San Diego @ Oakland (4pm)
Buffalo @ St. Louis (4pm)

WEEK 5 - SUNDAY, OCT. 5

Tennessee @ Baltimore (1pm)
Kansas City @ Carolina (1pm)
Indianapolis @ Houston (1pm)
San Diego @ Miami (1pm)
Cincinnati @ Dallas (4pm)
New England @ San Francisco (4pm)
Buffalo @ Arizona (4pm)

WEEK 6 - SUNDAY, OCT. 12

Miami @ Houston (1pm)
Baltimore @ Indianapolis (1pm)
Cincinnati @ N.Y. Jets (1pm)
Oakland @ New Orleans (1pm)
Jacksonville @ Denver (4pm)

WEEK 7 - SUNDAY, OCT. 19

San Diego @ Buffalo (1pm)
Pittsburgh @ Cincinnati (1pm)
Tennessee @ Kansas City (1pm)
Baltimore @ Miami (1pm)
Indianapolis @ Green Bay (4pm)
Cleveland @ Washington (4pm)
N.Y. Jets @ Oakland (4pm)

WEEK 8 - SUNDAY, OCT. 26

San Diego @ New Orleans (London, 1pm)
Oakland @ Baltimore (1pm)
Buffalo @ Miami (1pm)
Kansas City @ N.Y. Jets (1pm)
Cleveland @ Jacksonville (4pm)

WEEK 9 - SUNDAY, NOV. 2

N.Y. Jets @ Buffalo (1pm)
Jacksonville @ Cincinnati (1pm)
Baltimore @ Cleveland (1pm)
Houston @ Minnesota (1pm)
Miami @ Denver (4pm)

WEEK 10 - SUNDAY, NOV. 9

Tennessee @ Chicago (1pm)
Jacksonville @ Detroit (1pm)
Cincinnati @ Houston (1pm)
Buffalo @ New England (1pm)
Indianapolis @ Pittsburgh (4pm)
Kansas City @ San Diego (4pm)

WEEK 11 - SUNDAY, NOV. 16

Denver @ Atlanta (1pm)
Houston @ Indianapolis (1pm)
Tennessee @ Jacksonville (1pm)
Oakland @ Miami (1pm)
Baltimore @ N.Y. Giants (1pm)
San Diego @ Pittsburgh (4pm)

WEEK 12 - SUNDAY, NOV. 23

Houston @ Cleveland (1pm)
Buffalo @ Kansas City (1pm)
New England @ Miami (1pm)
N.Y. Jets @ Tennessee (4pm)
Oakland @ Denver (4pm)

WEEK 13 - THURSDAY, NOV. 27 & SUNDAY, NOV. 30

Tennessee @ Detroit (12:30pm, Thanksgiving Day)
Indianapolis @ Cleveland (1pm)
Baltimore @ Cincinnati (1pm)
Denver @ N.Y. Jets (1pm)
Miami @ St. Louis (1pm)
Pittsburgh @ New England (4pm)
Kansas City @ Oakland (4pm)

WEEK 14 - SUNDAY, DEC. 7

Jacksonville @ Chicago (1pm)
Houston @ Green Bay (1pm)
Cincinnati @ Indianapolis (1pm)
Cleveland @ Tennessee (1pm)
Kansas City @ Denver (4pm)
N.Y. Jets @ San Francisco (4pm)
Miami @ Buffalo (Toronto, 4pm)

WEEK 15 - SUNDAY, DEC. 14

Pittsburgh @ Baltimore (1pm)
Denver @ Carolina (1pm)
Tennessee @ Houston (1pm)
San Diego @ Kansas City (1pm)
Buffalo @ N.Y. Jets (1pm)
New England @ Oakland (4pm)

WEEK 16 - SUNDAY, DEC. 21

Cincinnati @ Cleveland (1pm)
Miami @ Kansas City (1pm)
Pittsburgh @ Tennessee (1pm)
N.Y. Jets @ Seattle (4pm)
Houston @ Oakland (4pm)
Buffalo @ Denver (4pm)

WEEK 17 - SUNDAY, DEC. 28

Cleveland @ Pittsburgh (1pm)
Tennessee @ Indianapolis (1pm)
New England @ Buffalo (1pm)
Jacksonville @ Baltimore (1pm)
Kansas City @ Cincinnati (1pm)
Miami @ N.Y. Jets (1pm)
Oakland @ Tampa Bay (1pm)
Denver @ San Diego (4:15pm)

PLAYOFFS:
AFC WILD CARD PLAYOFF GAME - SUNDAY, JAN. 4
AFC DIVISIONAL PLAYOFFS - SATURDAY, JAN. 10 & SUNDAY, JAN. 11
AFC CHAMPIONSHIP - SUNDAY, JAN. 18

Television deals rarely even get over a handful of years, let alone ten. That's why it came as a such a surprise that CBS and the SEC agreed to such a long one today. The two sides inked an uncommon 15-year deal to keep their current arrangement going when the deal runs out in 2008. Via the AJC....

In an unprecedented deal between a national network and a college athletic conference, the SEC and CBS on Thursday announced that they have agreed to a 15-year contract extension to televise that league’s football and men’s basketball games. Financial details of the deal were not released.

The current contract between the SEC and CBS was scheduled to end after the 2008 season. The two parties have been negotiating for the entire year.

“This is a great day for CBS,” said Mike Aresco, the Vice President for programming at CBS. “The SEC is the gold standard for college athletics. It has been a great conference for 76 years and that will never change. We love the enthusiasm and the way the fans support the game.”

Aresco said that CBS and the SEC talked about several different options when it came to the length of this contract.

“But at the end of the day the comfort level is so great and the trust is so great that we decided to lock this in for the long haul,” Aresco said. “This is a great deal for both sides.”

That's a heck of a long time, and I don't think there's been a contract this long in the history of College Sports. With this news it also seems highly unlikely that the SEC would still be considering a network of their own, but it's not entirely out of the question.

SEC signs landmark TV deal with CBS (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

I know the Brett Favre stuff is finally settling down, and that you probably don't want anymore piled on, but I found this angle pretty interesting. CBS killed in the ratings game last year on the shoulders of the record breaking Patriots. Almost every game they played received a ton of viewers up until the end of the year when they had to play the Jets and Dolphins, before the Giants game. If the Pats had any other good teams in their division they would have destroyed ratings records.

Enter on, Brett Lorenzo Favre....

Unless Favre fails to make even a middling improvement in the Jets' 4-12 record in 2007, CBS can look forward to a nice ratings bump, at least early in the season.

"Even if the Jets aren't good, they become that much more interesting to watch in New York, if nowhere else," said Rick Gentile, a former veep at CBS Sports who is currently director of the Seton Hall Sports Poll. "Compared to what they've had, they now have something to watch."

Citing CBS as a "clear beneficiary" of the deal, he speculated that "New York's ratings could go up 15%, and 15% of a 10 million person market is a nice chunk." In any event, he added, "It will improve it by some percentage, and some percentage of the New York market is just big numbers. So the advertisers have to be ecstatic."

The Jets are currently scheduled to play only two games on national television, a Monday nighter on ESPN at San Diego on Sept. 22 and a Thursday-night game Nov. 13 vs. their archrivals the Patriots on the NFL Network.

In fact every single network wins out. Now NBC can use Favre's Jets as a flex option after the Cowboys, Pats, and Colts six game primetime windows have been used up. The Jets still provided some crappy matchups near the end of the season (Dolphins and Bills), but there's still the option for NBC to use games against the Seahawks and Broncos (who beat Favre in Super Bowl XXXII), if CBS doesn't protect them.

The Pats and Jets have also already been bumped up to CBS' 4:15 slot in week two. Now if they could work on getting the craptastic Ravens off my TV every Sunday (I know it's not happening, but a boy can dream right?).

Brett Favre frenzy hits New York (Variety)