There are acceptable ways of ending an interview. A handshake is the customary move, but even a simple nod and thank you can suffice. Asking for a kiss on the lips, however, probably isn't the best move (as Joe Namath demonstrated in 2003). Well that's the exact move that Herb Deshaies, father of Astros' announcer Jim Deshaies, pulled during an exhibition game on the MLB Network this afternoon. Here's the clip....

Awkward! I love that the announcers immediately went to the Namath comparison and Deshaies referred to his pops as a "masher". I have no idea what that means, but I think I can guess.

Well okay, that title was a bit of hyperbole, but at least in the C.I.T. we get a buzzer beater or two. Like take this one for example. The powerhouse matchup of Bradley vs. Oakland was decided by one heck of a shot. A 70-footer to be exact....

You know, I actually thought that the C.I.T. was a make believe tourney, but I guess the video proves me wrong. Good stuff.

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 - $)

Huzzah! The ESPN war that is Simmons vs. Reilly will be heading to the airwaves. Bill Simmons was on WEEI's Dennis & Callahan, and when the hosts asked him about his feud with Rick Reilly, he said things are fine and that the two will be together on the B.S. Report soon. Here's the audio....

Man, I cannot wait for that one. This podcast has anticipation similar to that of Tyson-Holyfield. Oh and Bill, I know the Rushmore thing was technically your idea, but after seeing how it turned out....you might want to distance yourself from it a bit.

Bill Simmons (WEEI)

There's not a television deal that bugs me more than the NFL Ticket. However, when it's been exclusively with one provider for 15 years, AND said provider pays $1 Billion to keep it, there's not much you can say. The NFL and DirecTV have once again thumbed their noses at the likes of Comcast and Time Warner, and the "Ticket" will be staying on the satellite platform through 2014. Via MCN....

The National Football League has reached a four-year contract extension with DirecTV to remain the TV home of the Sunday Ticket package through 2014.

Sunday TicketAnnounced Monday during the NFL owners meeting in Dana Point, Calif., the pay-per-view pact, according to sources familiar with the negotiations, is valued at about $1 billion annually from 2011-2014. DirecTV currently pays some $700 million annually on its Sunday Ticket contract that expires after the 2010 season.

However, the agreement opens the door to a wider reach for the out-of-home package, which will become available to broadband subscribers that can't receive DirecTV. The satellite leader will aim this broadband game service at those who reside in multi-unit dwellings or DirecTV customers with poor exposure to a satellite signal.

This broader broadband service, according to league officials, would kick off no later than 2012. Currently, broadband coverage of the games is limited to those who purchase Sunday Ticket, and then pay an additional $99 for the broadband Super Fan package.

While the Internet option sounds cool, don't get excited. You would have to be officially ruled out of receiving satellite television first, before getting that service. However, in the 2012 season, the NFL will be allowing some cable carriers to sell the "Red Zone" Channel. The live cut-in section of the "Ticket" would be available to almost all cable providers, as well as on the Internet.

With the money that's out there for the NFL, it still seems odd that they are giving an exclusive to DirecTV. But again....when there's a guaranteed billion dollars on the table, I'm sure that's hard to pass up.

NFL Scores With $4 Billion DirecTV Sunday Ticket Extension (Multichannel News)

Another one that needs zero setup, and is just about the height of irony. ESPN continues to amaze me everyday....


I'm Sure This Won't Annoy Curt Schilling One Bit (Deadspin)