Emmitt Smith has traded his live Monday Night Football appearances on ESPN, for taped ones on FOX Sports, but he's still bringing the goods. In this clip he talks about the awesomeness of tailgating at the new Cowboys' stadium, and the wonders of the other white meat....PORK! Via NESW Sports....

"For fans that are going to the ball game, they have an opportunity now to tailgate at a brand new stadium and smoke it up and saranate the whole stadium itself. To me tailgating is a part of gameday experience. And what we found is that 42% of the people prefer pork over the other meat. And at tailgate parties I can understand why because pork is easy, easy to cook, its simple and it's affordable, and so going to gameday stadium, look for everyone out there to be tailgatin. To be using some type of pork meat on their grills."- Emmitt Smith

Ah yes....Smoke it up and seranatin' at Gameday Stadium! I've missed you Emmitt.

Great News! Emmitt Smith Is Still Talking! (NESW Sports)

ESPN will be broadcasting their last Champions League final, before the rights move over to FOX Sports, and the "Leader" couldn't have hoped for a better matchup. Barcelona will take on Manchester United today at 2:25pm on ESPN and ESPN360 live from Rome, and ESPN can't hide its excitement. Via the NY Times....

“We’re going out with a bang,” Mike Walters, the vice president of programming for ESPN International, said in a telephone interview. “We’re not going to mistreat or somehow shortchange this property because we’re not televising it in the U.S. next year.”

The game will be shown in high-definition on ESPN in the United States and other countries (and in Spanish on ESPN Deportes, which will offer a 90-minute pregame show), while the network will also beam the game to more than 167.8 million households in 115 countries around the world, including in Latin American, Africa, the Pacific Rim, Asia and Canada. ESPN2 will carry a one-hour preview show on Tuesday, the day before Manchester United attempts to defend its title, at 7:30 p.m. Eastern. The match will also be available on the broadband network ESPN360.com. ESPN will also present halftime and postgame in-studio analysis.

“It’s really a dream final,” Adrian Healey, one of ESPN’s studio analysts, said in a telephone interview. “These are the two best teams in Europe and it’s one game to determine the champion. But I think what really makes it intriguing, with all the focus on the managers, the players and the history, is that these two clubs really haven’t won that many European titles. ManU has been outshone by its domestic rival Liverpool and Barcelona by Real Madrid.”

“It’s no secret that we made a run to continue, we’ve been nurturing and growing the event here for 15 years,” Walters said. “We’re never happy to see something go elsewhere, but properties come and go. We’re all really in the rights rental business. We don’t have a divine right to air it year to year, unless it’s something you’ve created yourself, like the X-Games. But this certainly is a loss.”

The final should be a awesome (Manchester United is a -130 favorite), and ESPN couldn't have got a better final to go out on. In fact, it's so important that they actually sent Derek Rae, Tommy Smyth and Dave Roberts, to Rome to call the event in person. If anything exciting happens during the game, I'll be sure to have the video for you.

ESPN Gears Up for Final Final (NY Times)

Another weekend of Baseball action is coming, and to prepare for it, you absolutely HAVE to head to the MLB on FOX's Twitter Page! Where else would you learn that Joe Buck's daughters will be in the new George Clooney movie?!?!

Saturday, April 18th:

Cleveland Indians at New York Yankees- Joe Buck, Tim McCarver, Ken Rosenthal (FOX, 3:30pm, 65%)

MARKETS INCLUDE: Albuquerque, Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Birmingham, Boston, Buffalo, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Dayton, Detroit, Fort Myers, Greensboro, Greenville, Hartford, Jacksonville, Las Vegas, Miami, Minneapolis, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Norfolk, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Portland, Providence, Raleigh, Richmond, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Francisco, Seattle, Tampa, Washington, West Palm Beach

St. Louis Cardinals at Chicago Cubs- Thom Brennaman, Mark Grace (FOX, 3:55pm, 24%)

MARKETS INCLUDE: Chicago, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Knoxville, Louisville, Memphis, Milwaukee, Phoenix, San Diego, St. Louis, Tulsa

Colorado Rockies at Los Angeles Dodgers- Dick Stockton, Eric Karros (FOX, 3:55pm, 10%)

MARKETS INCLUDE: Denver, Los Angeles

Los Angeles Dodgers @ Arizona Diamondbacks (MLB-N, 8pm)- TBD

Sunday, April 19th:

Cleveland Indians at New York Yankees (TBS, 1pm) - Chip Caray, Ron Darling
St. Louis Cardinals at Chicago Cubs (ESPN, 8pM)- Jon Miller, Joe Morgan, Steve Phillips

FOX is out of the BCS game following next season's set of games, with the games moving to ESPN in 2010, and there are rumors circulating the Sports World that the network is interested in selling of its rights for 2009. Via the Atlanta Journal-Constitution....

Remember that back in 2007 FOX jumped into the BCS sweepstakes and took it away from ABC by paying $80 million a year. When the contract came up for bid last year, ESPN outbid FOX by putting up $125 million a year for 2010-13. FOX has one more season, 2009, on its current deal to televise the BCS games. But there are some rumblings that FOX could sell those 2009 rights to ESPN if the Worldwide Leader made them an offer they couldn’t refuse. Because the BCS championship game is being hosted by the Rose Bowl this season, it will be on ABC, of which ESPN is a part. Stay tuned on this one.

Any other year, this move would probably cost ESPN too much, but with the "Leader" airing the Championship game in the Rose Bowl....it actually might be too good a situation to pass up. Again, this is all just speculation, but not all that far-fetched given the timing of everything in 2009.

Speaking of the BCS: Will FOX Sports televise the final year of its contract? (AJC)

I usually pass on stories that involve media member's personal lives, but this one plays out like a bad movie, so I had to share. Michael Strahan has been dating Nicole Murphy since his divorce in 2007, but lately he hasn't been exactly trusting her. Which is why he installed a tracking device on her Range Rover. Of course, Strahan was right about said indiscretions, and after Murphy took her SUV into the shop with her new lover and had the device removed, the "s" hit the fan....

Things came to a head Feb. 20, after Spencer and Murphy took her Range Rover to a luxury dealership in Thousand Oaks, Calif.. Mechanics quickly discovered the tracking apparatus.

"This is the second tracking device he's had put in her car," one source said.

"This one was found behind the front dashboard." Murphy and Spencer went to have lunch while the tracer - which one source said provided up-to-the-minute location status - was removed.

Seconds later, Strahan barged into the garage, "yelling and screaming," a source said.

Spotting Murphy's car with the tracking device exposed, Strahan walked over, ripped it off the dashboard and stormed out of the shop.

Well that's just about the craziest thing I've heard this month. It seriously sounds like an episode of "Cheaters". This story did come from the NY Post, so remember that it might not be entirely true. It's definitely worth a read though, even if it's made up.

Strahan's Love Bug (NY Post)

Michael Strahan has been all over the place as of late. Since Strahan announced his retirement and joined up with FOX, the former DE has been a correspondent for various programs and was even a guest star on the NBC show Chuck. Well according to the NY Daily News via The Big Picture, Strahan could be getting his own sitcom....

Michael Strahan will be on the tube, too. We hear the 6-foot-5 ex-Giant is in negotiations to star in a Fox sitcom, having gotten a taste of the laugh track on “Chuck.”

Hmmm, not sure how I feel about that one. Sure, Strahan is entertaining and occasionally funny, but the star of his own sitcom? That might be a bit of a stretch. Here's his performance on Chuck....you be the judge....



Meanwhile, back at the raunch (NY Daily News)
Michael Strahan to star in FOX sitcom? (The Big Picture)

I don't know what we should blame for this trend (Laff-A-Lympics? Pro Stars?), but FOX has made a habit on depending on cheesy cartoons during games. First it was Slider, the goofy baseball with a face that told you about certain pitches. Next it was Cletus, the hip-hop inspired robot. And now it's Digger, the annoying gopher that pops up from the track during races.

Digger first appeared last year during NASCAR coverage, but this year they're giving him a little bit more airtime. To the tune of his own pre-race show! Via Sports Media Watch....

FOX has announced that Digger, an animated gopher that serves as the "alter-ego to FOX’s Gopher Cam," will be the subject of a series of vignettes that will air prior to the network's NASCAR telecasts this season.

The two-minute vignettes will be entitled "The Adventures of Digger & Friends", and will feature Digger, "his girlfriend Annie, best friend Marbles, Gramps and arch-nemesis Lumpy Wheels." The series' theme song will be sung by country star Keith Urban, who says of the theme: "I just hope that Digger likes it."

The series makes its debut during the NASCAR on FOX pre-race show prior to this Sunday's Daytona 500.

Digger and his associates will also "appear throughout NASCAR on FOX broadcasts as animated wipes, billboards and bugs," akin to what the network did with its robots during NHL coverage in the 1990s.

FOX hopes to use Digger & Friends to cultivate future fans. The network notes that "roughly a third of the FOX NASCAR audience" is made up of homes with children.

Are we positive that David Hill of FOX is qualified to run a network? I mean, between the band shots and now the cartoons, I almost picture him as Tom Hanks in "Big". A cartoon about a gopher before a NASCAR race? You think the names they call Jeff Gordon are bad? Wait until a kid down South gets caught watching this by some bully.

'Digger and Friends' to precede NASCAR telecasts (Sports Media Watch)

Had a good talk with the folks at the "Leader" yesterday, and I wanted to write this post so you and I could better understand what the plan and outlook is for ESPN Soccer in the future. The other day, BSkyB snagged up four of the six "international" packages, which each consist of 23 games for a network to air. That left two packages, with a total of forty six games.

Well according to the English Premier League, BSkyB grabbed yet another set of games today and the final one went to Setanta, leaving ESPN empty handed. Via EPL Talk....

The Premier League has announced that out of the six TV packages available for bidding in the UK for the 2010-2013 seasons, Sky Sports won five of those packages with Setanta getting the sixth and final one. That means that ESPN’s attempt to bid on the rights ended in failure — in the UK, at least.

This is a huge win for Sky Sports who have increased their number of packages from four (for the 2007-2010 seasons) to five. Setanta Sports will be showing less games because they’ll be moving from two packages (2007-2010 seasons) to one. But the biggest loser is ESPN who despite a lot of the chatter about the Disney-owned company making an aggressive raid on rights to the UK EPL TV market ended up empty handed.

Now that is certainly a downer for ESPN, who is looking to beef up their European presence, but not all is lost. Like I mentioned above, those packages were just for "international rights", and do not include the United States packages. Fox Sports, Setanta and ESPN, should be the major players for that three-year deal, but there's yet another caveat.

Based on the BCS bidding, everyone knows ESPN has the money to outbid Fox Sports, but the economy and game times could make the "Leader" weary in making a huge bid. Due to the time difference from England to the U.S., the majority of EPL games are played early on the weekends. As you know, that's quite possibly the worst timeslot for Sports, and might not even be worth the purchase of the rights.

It's a tough spot to be in for ESPN, who obviously wants to get in the Soccer game, but does the reward ultimately outweigh the risk? We'll find out soon, as the bidding for U.S. right should get underway shortly.

ESPN Loses Premier League UK TV Rights Battle (EPL Talk)

Huzzah! That was fast wasn't it? You would have thought that HBO would have taken a little bit of time considering Bob Costas left just two days ago, but when there's a marquee guy like Buck out there I guess you don't wait. The network made it official just a few minutes ago and here's their press release....

NEW YORK, Feb. 5, 2009 – HBO Sports, widely recognized for its pioneering, award-winning and distinctive storytelling productions, will add another accomplished broadcast talent to its programming roster when Joe Buck hosts a sports talk show launching this May, it was announced today by Ross Greenburg, president, HBO Sports, and Rick Bernstein, executive producer, HBO Sports. The new series will be presented on a quarterly basis and likely utilize a live town hall format.

“I am flattered and beyond excited that HBO has given me this opportunity,” said Buck, who will continue as FOX Sports’ lead play-by-play commentator on its NFL and MLB packages. “With HBO’s track record, production quality and rate of success, there is no more desirable home in sports. I hope to create something fresh and unique for the network that truly showcases all I can do. And I hope to get Larry David’s cell phone number someday.”

“At HBO we strive to produce programs viewers cannot watch anywhere else on the dial,” said Greenburg. “Whether it’s ‘Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel’ or ‘Hard Knocks’ or our ‘Sports of the 20th Century’ documentary franchise, we try to capture our audience’s attention with something unique and innovative. With someone as talented and engaging as Joe Buck, this new show should become another signature program for HBO Sports.”

“We will craft the series to showcase Joe’s character and personality,” said Bernstein. “Joe is a tremendous broadcaster and we are thrilled to develop this new platform with him.”

So yeah, I said everything I wanted to say in regards to this yesterday, so umm....good luck or something. Oh and Larry David's cell phone number? You never cease to amaze me with your wit and humor, Buckster.

With Costas Gone, The HBO Door Opens For Joe Buck (Awful Announcing)

Rumors abound! With Costas on his way to the MLB Network full-time, there is a vacancy at HBO Sports, and there's someone who's been looking for a coosh hosting job out there. That person is Joe Buck, who has failed in recent attempts to get a talk show, and the NY Daily News is saying he might be the heir apparent to the HBO gig....

After losing Bob Costas to the MLB Network, no one at HBO Sports looked to pass the buck. Instead HBO may be looking to acquire one - Joe Buck, that is.

The history of HBO Sports provides evidence its boss, Ross Greenburg, likes to hire high profile network talent. Seven years ago he brought in Costas ("Costas Now") and before that Bryant Gumbel ("Real Sports").

Buck, Fox's marquee play-by-play man (MLB, NFL) looms large as the next guy Greenburg may try to snare to fill the void left by Costas. Also, it's no secret Buck shot a pilot for his own Fox variety show. That project was put on hold. That leaves Buck out there looking for something else to do.

It seems like HBO is a good fit. HBO Sports will move quickly on finding a show to replace "Costas Now." The network may make an announcement as soon as Thursday.

My first reaction, as with any Buck news, is to cringe. But this actually could be a blessing in disguise. The more and more shows that Costas starting hosting, the less and less play-by-play he actually did. I also rarely watched Costas Now, so the prospect of having Buck as far away from games as possible, is certainly appealing.

Again, this is just a rumor, but a boy can dream, right?

With Bob Costas gone to MLB Network, HBO may eye Joe Buck (NY Daily News)

You never wish bad things on people, even the ones you can't stand, and especially when it comes to financial endeavors. Two of Joe Buck's aptly named J Buck's restaurants are reportedly closing their doors in Missouri and the original in downtown St. Louis could be next. Via Sports by Brooks....

The J. Buck’s restaurants at West County Center in Des Peres, Mo., and in Springfield, Mo., closed last week, and the O’Fallon, Mo., location might soon be taking on another name. The downtown and Clayton locations of J. Buck’s continue to operate under new ownership. In October, Bodley Buck LLC, a new company formed by investors including broadcasters and siblings Joe and Julie Buck, announced it would take over two J. Buck’s locations, in Clayton and downtown St. Louis.

The Bucks had not previously invested in the restaurants.

Now if this was his broadcasting career and/or talk show, I might be a little more giddy, but when it comes to matters of the wallet....I feel for the guy. Hopefully the others can survive, and one day when this is all said and done, I can have a beer with the man. I've heard he's fun to hang out with!

Joe Buck’s Restaurant Doesn’t Care About Profits (Sports by Brooks)

The Arizona Cardinals are going to the Super Bowl! Read that again please. The f'ing Buzzsaw that is the Cards is going to Tampa. The Eagles made a valiant effort after a terrible first half to take the lead, but Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald and Tim Hightower, were just too much for Philly's D in the end....

Just an amazing second half and congratulations to the Cardinals for making it to a Super Bowl for the first time since they moved to Arizona. Great effort by the Eagles to make it a game, but this offense is just flat out exciting to watch and will be a tough opponent on February 1st.

Final: Cardinals 32 - Eagles 25

I don't know how you could possibly think that there was nothing wrong in using the nation's resources to get an escort to and from a sporting event, but that's exactly what FOX analyst is claiming today. Neil Best transcribed a brief interview with Aikman, and here's what was said....

“No, no. I just got knowledge of the whole thing today, as a matter of fact, and whatever has been reported. We show up outside of our hotel, we’re told what cars to get in and we go. When the game’s over, we’re directed as to where our cars that are taking us to the airport or back to the hotel and we get in those vehicles and we go.

“None of us certainly had any idea that anything was going on that shouldn’t have been going on or that there were people involved with escorts that were supposed to be doing other jobs or anything like that. That was news to me.”

This was at the tail end of a Fox conference call to preview the NFC Championship Game. After Aikman answered, Michael Strahan interjected (good-naturedly, I think):

“Neil! You mean to tell me, Neil Best, you got on here and asked that question? All these years of knowing you and that’s all you got, a damn police escort?’’

Oh Michael! You crazy guy. Actually now that I think about it, not knowing who is driving you right before you're going on air is definitely a possibility. I think the attention needs to be diverted away from Aikman, Buck and McCarver in this matter, and directed to the brass at FOX Sports.

Fox' Troy Aikman was unaware of escort impropriety (Watchdog)

I was going to pass on this item because I reported on it back in May, but the World is apparently now learning about FOX and Joe Buck's penchant for using U.S. Marshals as escorts to and from ballparks. In May, Baseball was the only Sport that FOX used the trips for, but now The Smoking Gun is reporting that Buck and Troy Aikman were given multiple rides for NFL games....

JANUARY 12-- A federal government lawyer who moonlighted as a statistician for Fox Sports improperly arranged for United States Marshals Service (USMS) deputies to drive broadcasters Troy Aikman and Joe Buck to the 2008 Super Bowl and lead motorcades for Buck and Tim McCarver during the 2007 World Series, according to a blistering report by the Department of Justice's inspector general. Lawyer Joseph Band, who works in the USMS's Office of General Counsel, violated government ethics rules by arranging the transportation by armed federal marshals, according to the January 9 IG report, excerpts of which you'll find below.

In October 2007, Band improperly arranged for USMS escorts from Fenway Park for McCarver and Buck after Games 1 and 2 of the World Series. In January 2008, Band set up a USMS escort to the Tampa airport for Aikman and Buck after the sportscasters called an NFL playoff game. And, on the morning of the 2008 Super Bowl in Arizona, the attorney also arranged for a USMS deputy to pick up Aikman and Buck at their hotel and drive the pair to University of Phoenix Stadium. After the game, a deputy drove Aikman to his hotel and escorted Buck to the airport. While federal prosecutors declined to press criminal charges against the 68-year-old Band, the IG's findings have been provided to USMS brass for "appropriate action." In an IG interview, the marshal who chauffeured Aikman and Buck at the Super Bowl recalled telling a colleague afterwards that he thought "the whole thing was silly" and "an inappropriate use of his time." Usually, federal marshals hunt fugitives, guard federal judges, courts, and protected witnesses, and transport prisoners.

Again, this is an old item, but it's still pretty damn ridiculous. I understand traffic around events can get insane, but to be that much of a diva that you need to call in U.S. Marshals is just unbelievable. The best part of the whole story though is that a few of the Marshals were even invited to watch the World Series game from the booth. I mean if they're going to waste their time, at least they got something out of it.

If you feel like reading a bunch of jargon, then head over to TSG. They have a seven page report on the case.

Free Federal Ride For Fox Sports (The Smoking Gun)
Only Buck And McCarver Could Get A U.S. Marshall In Trouble (Awful Announcing)

I didn't doubt for a second that a good number of people would watch the game last night, but the numbers were actually much better than I expected. Thanks to a close game, and some high profile players, the BCS National Title Game on Fox pulled in a 17.0/27 for their overnight ratings. Via Sports Business Daily....

Thursday night's Florida-Oklahoma FedEx BCS National Championship Game earned a 17.0/27 overnight Nielsen rating on Fox, up 9.0% from a 15.6/23 for last year's LSU-Ohio State matchup, which aired on a Monday night. The 17.0/27 marks Fox' highest-rated primetime program this season and highest since last season's "American Idol" finale, which earned a 17.5/27. Fox for the game earned a 16.1/25 in primetime, tops among all nets. Oklahoma City topped all metered-markets with a 52.6/67, followed by Tulsa's 47.8/63. In Florida, Jacksonville delivered a 40.5/55, followed by a 32.5/49 in Tampa and a 30.7/45 in Orlando.

Your grand total of average viewers from the telecast comes out to a whopping 26.76 million, and while it easily beat last year's average of 23.1, the final total could approach the 2007 LSU-OSU total of over 27 million. Also, when the final rating is tabulated, this year's game should easily surpass both totals from the last two years, and should be in the top three of all games since the BCS was instituted in 1999.

Fox Earns 17.0 Overnight For BCS National Championship Game (Sports Business Daily)

Game: The Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
Teams: Ohio State Buckeyes (10-2) vs. Texas Longhorns (11-1)
Location: Glendale, Arizona, University of Phoenix Stadium
Start Time: 8PM EST (FOX)
Network and Announcers: Matt Vasgersian, Tim Ryan, Laura Okmin, Chris Myers
Favorite: Texas (-9)
AA's Pick: Texas 31 - OSU 16

Fox announced yesterday their deal with 3-D theater company, Cinedigm, the theaters that will be airing the January 8th, BCS National Championship Game. I don't know why anyone would want to leave the comfort of their home, and pay $20 to wear silly glasses, but if you do....hopefully your town is on the list.

ALABAMA

HOOVER
Rave Patton Creek 15
(205) 982-4778
HUNTSVILLE
Rave Valley Bend Stadium 18
(256) 882-1202
MOBILE
Carmike Wynnsong 16
(251) 639-1748
MONTGOMERY
Rave Festival Plaza 16
(334) 244-1300

ARIZONA

SURPRISE
UltraStar Surprise Pointe 14
(623) 584-3880

ARKANSAS

LITTLE ROCK
Rave Colonel Glenn 18
(501) 687-0499

CALIFORNIA

APPLE VALLEY
UltraStar Apple Valley 14
(760) 240-9661
LIVERMORE
Cinema West 13 - Livermore
(925) 443-7403
MARTINEZ
Cinema West Contra Costa 8
click here for tickets
PETALUMA
Cinema West Boulevard Cinemas 12
(707) 762-0800
RIVERBANK
Galaxy 12 - Riverbank
(209) 863-9012
SAN DIEGO
UltraStar Del Mar Highlands 8
(858) 259-6619
TULARE
Galaxy 10 - Tulare
(559) 688-9006

COLORADO

COLORADO SPRINGS
Carmike Chapel Hills 15
(719) 531-5142
FORT COLLINS
Carmike 10
(970) 204-9654

FLORIDA

BRADENTON
Carmike Royal Palm 20
(941) 752-3796
FERNANDINA BEACH
Carmike Amelia Island 7
(904) 261-9867
MELBOURNE
Rave Avenue 16
(321) 775-1210
PENSACOLA
Rave Pensacola 18
(850) 475-2240
PORT ST LUCIE
Rave Port St Lucie 14
(772) 344-3580

GEORGIA

COLUMBUS
Carmike 15
(706) 571-0858
CONYERS
Carmike Conyers Crossroads 16
(770) 929-0612
SAVANNAH
Carmike Wynnsong 11
(912) 920-3994

ILLINOIS

CHAMPAIGN
Carmike Beverly Cinemas 18
(217) 359-4995 x4
DEKALB
Carmike Market Square 10
(815) 748-7887 x4
PEORIA
Rave Grand Prairie 18
(309) 282-7308

INDIANA

EVANSVILLE
Showplace East 18
(812) 479-9732
PLAINFIELD
Rave Metropolis 18
(317) 839-0525

IOWA

JOHNSTON
Carmike Wynnsong 16
(515) 331-3256

KANSAS

MANHATTAN
Carmike Seth Childs 12
(785) 776-9811

LOUISANA

BATON ROUGE
Rave Mall of Louisiana 15
(225) 769-5176

MICHIGAN

BRIGHTON
MJR Brighton Town Square 20
(810) 227-6327
GRAND RAPIDS
Celebration Cinema North
LANSING
NCG Eastwood Cinemas
(517) 272-9289
NOVI
Emagine Novi 18
(248) 468-2990 x1
SOUTHGATE
Southgate Cinema 20
(734) 284-8083
STERLING HEIGHTS
Marketplace Sterling Heights Cinemas 20
(586) 264-1533

MINNESOTA

OAKDALE
Carmike Oakdale 20
(651) 501-8411

MISSOURI

WARRENSBURG
Carmike University 8
(660) 429-4442

MONTANA

BILLINGS
Carmike Wynnsong 10
(406) 656-9717
MISSOULA
Carmike 10
(406) 541-7467

NEVADA

CARSON CITY
Galaxy Fandango 10
(775) 885-9500
LAS VEGAS
Rave Town Square 18
(702) 362-7283
NORTH LAS VEGAS
Galaxy Cannery 16
(702) 639-0363

NEW JERSEY

TOMS RIVER
Marquee Orchard 10
(732) 341-4966

NEW MEXICO

LAS CRUCES
Allen Telshor 12
(575) 522-4992

NEW YORK

BROOKLYN
Park Slope Pavilion 9
(718) 369-0836
NEW HARTFORD
Marquee Cinemas Orchard 14
(315) 768-3180
OLEAN
Carmike 8
(716) 373-6690

NORTH CAROLINA

ASHVILLE
Carmike 10
(828) 298-4885
FAYETTEVILLE
Carmike Market Fair 15
(910) 868-9791
HICKORY
Carmike 14
(828) 304-0089
JACKSONVILLE
Carmike 16
(910) 577-1382
RALEIGH
Marquee Wakefield 12
(919) 453-1003
WINSTON-SALEM
Carmike Wynnsong 12
(336) 765-1555

OHIO

COLUMBUS
Rave Polaris 18
(614) 781-8228
MENTOR
Great Lakes Stadium 16
(440) 352-8846
WEST CHESTER
Rave West Chester 18
(513) 463-2324

OKLAHOMA

STILLWATER
Carmike 10
(405) 372-0349

PENNSYLVANIA

CENTER VALLEY
Rave Promenade 16
(610) 709-8635
PITTSBURGH
Carmike 10
(412) 835-7074

SOUTH CAROLINA

CHARLESTON
Carmike James Island 8
(843) 762-4904

TENNESSEE

CHATTANOOGA
Rave East Ridge 18
(423) 855-9652
FRANKLIN
Carmike Thoroughbred 20
(615) 778-0775
JOHNSON CITY
Carmike Johnson City 14
(423) 929-7155
DYERSBURG
Carmike 9 - Dyersburg
(731) 285-8116
KNOXVILLE
Carmike Wynnsong 16
(865) 769-8115

TEXAS

AUSTIN
Galaxy Highland 10
(512) 467-6165
EDINBURG
Carmike 20
(956) 380-2032
EL PASO
Carmike 16
(915) 751-5613
FORT WORTH
Rave Ridgmar 13
(817) 566-0021
HOUSTON
Rave Yorktown 15
(832) 427-1540
HURST
Rave North East Mall 18
(817) 591-8540
TYLER
Carmike 14
(903) 939-8149

UTAH

PROVO
Carmike Wynnsong 12
(801) 764-9345

VIRGINIA

CHARLOTTESVILLE
Carmike 6
(434) 973-5972
FREDERICKSBURG
Southpoint 9
(540) 710-1069
ROANOKE
Carmike 10
(540) 725-5341

WASHINGTON

GIG HARBOR
Galaxy Uptown 10
(253) 851-8300

WEST VIRGINIA

CHARLESTON
Marquee Southridge 12
(304) 746-9900

We all know that Sam Bradford won the Heisman late Saturday night, but apparently FOX Sports didn't get the memo. The network's website had the headline right, but if you take a closer look at the copy, you'll see that the whole article is centered around Tebow winning the award. Here's a screencap via Deadspin....



What probably happened, is that Fox had prepared different pieces ahead of time and when the decision came down, the pulled the wrong one. It is pretty funny that they went as far as to say he's only the second player to win back-to-back Heismans though.

FOX Botches Heisman Story, Announces Tebow As Winner (Deadspin)

My predetermined guesses of what's likely going to be revealed by the Fox crew at 8 Eastern:

BCS Championship Game: Florida vs. Oklahoma
Sugar Bowl: Alabama vs. Utah
Rose Bowl: Southern Cal vs. Penn State
Fiesta Bowl: Texas vs. Ohio State
Orange Bowl: Virginia Tech vs. Cincinnati

If this comes to pass, I understand why the selections work out this way, but let's face it: I want Boise State in this sucker instead of Ohio State and I'm willing to bet I'm not alone. Granted, three of the five games listed would have some slobber-worthy match-ups for viewers, and since the Fiesta is one of those three, that scenario would draw eyeballs.

The problem is we're obviously using a "what draws eyes" model to determine the best teams in college football rather than a "who made it through unscathed" model with regard to I-A (suck it, Football Bowl Subdivision). We know Boise State can play; the 2007 Fiesta Bowl should have given them some benefit of the doubt. So be it, though.

Debate the actual match-ups here, and any other bowl assignments to come.

The Sporting Blog came across a funny and yet somewhat disturbing poll on the pages of Fox Sports this afternoon that I wanted to share. Let's have some fun with sexual innuendo!


It's odd to me that this whole Sean Avery situation has become so polarizing in the MSM community. The comments seemed bad enough to the AP that they wouldn't even use the term "sloppy seconds" in their article, but FOX Sports just went to town with their poll. It's not enough that Cuthbert was probably pretty embarrassed by this, but now a nationally recognized website is rubbing it in. Tsk tsk, Fox.

FOX Sports Has Fun With Sexual Innuendos (The Sporting Blog)