I have to admit, that I got into Mayne Street a little too much last year, so hopefully this year I can curtail my addiction a bit. The second season launched this morning and in the first episode, Kenny tries to communicate only by "tweets". Look for cameos by Linda Cohn and THE Trey Wingo....

Pretty funny, but Linda....babe....that has to be the worst Pacino I've ever heard.

There's a whole lot of choices as far as games go tonight, but your biggest choice is going to be in Hockey. The NHL has chosen to start the two game sevens for tonight, an hour apart. Not only is the timing ridiculous in its own right, both games are being aired on Versus, meaning that you will likely only being getting the Anaheim-Detroit game because it's starting earlier. There is good news though, you can watch the other game online. For $19.95....

For U.S. hockey fans who live outside the local Carolina and Boston viewing areas, Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinal between the Hurricanes and Bruins Thursday at 8 p.m. ET is available live on NHL Center Ice and NHL GameCenter LIVE. Please call your cable, satellite or telephone provider for details on how to order Center Ice. Or to watch online with NHL GameCenter LIVE, visit nhl.com/gamecenter.

NHL Center Ice is the only way to watch your favorite teams and players on TV if you don't live in their area, with up to 40 out-of-market games per week during the regular season and select games in the first two rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

As a reminder, fans in the Carolina area can watch on Fox Sports Carolinas, and fans in Boston can watch on NESN. The game will also be joined in progress by Versus following the conclusion of Anaheim at Detroit.

Canadian viewers can see the Carolina-Boston game in its entirety on TSN.

You would think with all of the bad press that the NHL has gotten over recent years, and more recently about games on Versus, that they would make tonight's game available for nothing. Other leagues seem to pull this off just fine. Just another great move in the legacy that is Bettman. God forbid, the Wings and Ducks goes into overtime.

'Canes-Bruins to be on Center Ice, NHL GameCenter (NHL.com)

I can't imagine that anyone would opt to watch the Super Bowl online, and not on television, but CBS is petitioning the NFL to get them to add the game on the web. According to Business Week, NBC's online streaming of Sunday Night Football is going to used as a template....

A big attraction for advertisers: Fans generally want to watch sporting events in real time, rather than storing them on digital video-recording services like TiVo (TIVO). While streaming viewers for other types of content chafe at watching online ads, says Screen Digest's Amel, sports sites can jam them into timeouts with little or no backlash.

And online streaming may come yet to the granddaddy of sports events, the Super Bowl. CBS hopes to entice the NFL to allow it to stream the game in February, when the network has the rights to telecast it from Miami, according to Smith. The NFL hasn't said yes, although it claims a success last year when it jointly streamed 17 games online with NBC as a test. The online streaming, which numbered in the millions, didn't cannibalize TV viewing of the Sunday night games, says Brian Rolapp, the NFL's senior vice-president for media strategy. He says 80% of viewers turned to the streams to complement TV watching, as the Internet version offered four alternative camera angles to supplement NBC's primary picture.

Rolapp says the league hasn't decided whether to stream games again this year, and would be open to discussing CBS's Super Bowl request. Says CBS's Smith: "They may say no. But there's night watchmen out there who can't get to a Super Bowl party."

I don't know if anyone saw CBS' online stream of the Masters, but it was by far the most amazing video quality, I've ever seen online. Again, I think the Super Bowl might not garner that many online viewers, but it's certainly worth a try.

CBS Cleans Up on the Sports Fans (Business Week)

I personally haven't logged much time on ESPN360, but there a bunch of people that do so each day. A multitude of Sports are covered by the online channel, and it's obviously the first glimpse into what the future of Sports will look like online. 360's VP, Damon Phillips, conducted an interview with Sports Business Daily, and discussed some what the future of online would look like in the years to come. Via SBD....

Q: What are some of the ideas that you have gained from what others are doing with online video?

Phillips: It’s really how they’re serving their user, and really creating ways to engage users to spend more time on their sites. Whether it’s the quality of the video, or quality of the audio, being able to have functions now like full screens, being able to introduce Web 2.0 features, … we’re always looking for ways to learn what some of the best practices are.

Q: How are you seeking to grow content in the areas of passion sports and wide world of sports in particular?

Phillips: We are really trying to serve those underserved fans. We just did the Pop Warner championship out in Disney World back in December, so we’re always looking for those type of events. From a soccer standpoint, we have a number of the top domestic leagues that are out there. Last year we did Italian soccer, Japanese soccer, Chinese soccer, Russian soccer, so we’re out there looking at content that is going to resonate with our users.

Q: Moving forward, what are some of the ways that you will seek to enhance the viewing experience to make it even more like watching on television?

Phillips: We are constantly improving our technology to deliver a crisper picture, video as well as audio. We also are introducing new modules that allow fans to interact with each other regardless of where they are. Stats integration is also another key component in terms of what we’re doing. So we’re constantly looking at ways to innovate, and a lot of those innovations come from fans themselves who give us ideas about how we can improve the experience, so we really take customer insights very seriously.

Again, I've never really gotten into online content outside of MLB TV, but from what I've seen of ESPN360, it's very comparable as far as picture quality and sound. I think streaming is perfect for out-of-market events, like the World Cup and NCAA Tournament, but I think it's a long ways away from catching on with the majority of the Sports viewing public. Good interview though.

Catching Up With ESPN360.com VP Damon Phillips (Sports Business Daily - $)