Erin Andrews has yet to appear since her "hotel incident", but according to Sports Illustrated, that will change on September 11th. The ESPN sideline reporter will be on a special episode of Oprah, that she taped last week, and will be the only time she does an interview on the matter....

ESPN reporter Erin Andrews, who was secretly videotaped in the nude while alone in a hotel room, will discuss the incident on The Oprah Winfrey Show on Sept. 11, SI.com has learned.

The segment was taped last week and will be the only in-depth interview Andrews gives on the subject. The five-minute video, which appeared to be shot through a hotel room door peephole, was posted on the Internet last month and quickly taken down.

Andrews will be reporting from the sidelines Thursday when ESPN televises the college football season opener between South Carolina and host N.C. State. She last appeared on the network as part of its ESPY Awards broadcast July 19. Network officials, who will accompany her to N.C. State, said she had a scheduled vacation through September and was not off the air because of the taping incident. ESPN said it will not address the incident during the game broadcast. The entertainment show Inside Edition attempted to get credentialed for the game but was turned down.

It's amazing how far this situation has traveled. From a rumor, all the way to Andrews appearing on Oprah. What a long strange trip it's been, but hopefully this will bring her some closure.

Andrews to be on Oprah's show (Sports Illustrated)

Tonight Minnesota is playing Houston and we get to see Old Man Favre sling the ball for an entire half (if he can make it that long). Though we are all sick of Favre coverage, he is spicing up what would have been a rather boring, week three preseason game. We are going to be streaming/live blogging his return over at 12StepDrop. Stop by if you want to see Favre do it one more time ...

12stepdrop.com/2009/08/31/streaming-preseason-favre-running-the-show/

Saturday, August 29th:

New York Mets at Chicago Cubs (FOX, 4:10, 63%) - Joe Buck, Tim McCarver and Ken Rosenthal

Markets Include: Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Birmingham, Buffalo, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Greensboro, Greenville, Hartford, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Knoxville, Louisville, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Norfolk, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Raleigh, Richmond, San Antonio, San Diego, St. Louis, Tulsa, Washington, West Palm Beach

Los Angeles Dodgers at Cincinnati Reds(FOX, 4:10, 21%) - Thom Brennaman, Eric Karros

Markets Include: Albuquerque, Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Portland, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Seattle

Tampa Bay Rays at Detroit Tigers(FOX, 4:10, 15%) - Kenny Albert, Mark Grace

Markets Include: Boston, Dallas, Detroit, Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Minneapolis, Orlando, Providence, Tampa

Sunday, August 30th:

Chicago White Sox at New York Yankees (TBS, 1pm) - Chip Caray, Ron Darling
Atlanta Braves at Philadelphia Phillies (ESPN, 8pm)- Jon Miller, Joe Morgan and Steve Phillips

I think the most famous use of holograms to date, is the beaming up of Will.I.Am during the election on CNN, but I could be wrong. Well at ESPN's media gathering (which I unfortunately had to miss), it was announced that the network is going to begin using holograms. In fact, they've started to do so by hologramming one of their own....

Now that we've seen a virtual Bob Ley, I think it's safe to say that we've reached the 21st century. Looks like a ton of fun!

I don't know if you remember the last time that Denis Leary and Lenny Clark took a spin in the NESN booth, but it was epic. They went on a rant about Youklis being a jewish first baseman, and after a great play by Youk, Leary yelled, "Where's Mel Gibson now?!" It was truly amazing. Well the two were back in the booth last night, and while the two weren't nearly as wild, they were certainly entertaining. They even took on Jerry Remy's replacement, Dennis Eckersley, at one point. Via Sox & Dawgs....

Denis Leary & Lenny Clarke Return To NESN Booth Together For First Time Since Mel Gibson Rant (Sox & Dawgs)

Most players wait five, ten or fifteen years before declaring bankruptcy. Not Vick, his financial life is in the toilet unless he can get the ball moving (literally). His one year contract won’t even start to put a dent in the, already, 20M he owes. If he can’t make it work here and now, he’s headed back to Hampton Roads Virginia.

We have a live streaming blog going on over at 12StepDrop. Drop in and say hi ...

12stepdrop.com/2009/08/27/streaming-preseason-michael-vick-is-broke/

Hilarious. SI has decided to put out an issue that is completely void of Brett Favre and they want you to know about it....


(HT: The Sports Hernia)

In the age of viral marketing, and sports based reality shows, players try to do everything they can to get their name out there. The latest, and very interesting venture, comes from Steven Jackson. Jackson has decided to make a video about himself, that is exclusive to his own website. Via 12 Step Drop....

As far as self-made productions go, that actually looks pretty good. It's good to see Jackson busting his but this offseason, because the Rams are going to need every bit of him this fall.

Steven Jackson: The Movie (12 Step Drop)

ESPN rarely uses country music for bumps and intros, but when it comes to College Football, they go all out. For years they used Big & Rich's "We're Coming To Your Citaaaaaay" for their CFB telecast, but now they've taken it a step forward. They actually got Kenny Chesney to pen an original song for their use on Saturdays....

Award-winning country music star Kenny Chesney, known for his high-energy stadium concerts, has written a song exclusively for ESPN’s college football game and studio telecasts during Dick’s Sporting Goods Kickoff Week (Sept. 3-7) and Championship Saturday (Dec. 5) as well as select contests throughout the season and bowl games. ESPN will have the exclusive premiere of the song during its pregame show Thursday, Sept. 3, at 7 p.m.

The song, “This is Our Moment,” captures the passion and dedication of the players to perform at the highest level each week with the understanding that every game counts. It will be used during game and studio telecasts and during promotions of upcoming programs and show elements across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN360.com, ESPN Mobile TV and ESPN International. On select occasions, the song will be accompanied by a video montage of Chesney performing at a recent concert, along with college football highlights.

If you ask me, this move is genius. Especially when you consider the amount of games ESPN broadcasts in the South. You may not enjoy Country music yourself, but there are almost three times as many Country stations in America, compared to any other genre.

In a press conference today, NBC said that they will be sending Bob Costas to the game site each Sunday, and he will do the pregame show with Cris Collinsworth and Al Michaels. Following the trio discussing the bigger stories of the day, along with Tiki Barber on the sidelines and locker rooms, they will then throw it to Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann (along with Dungy, Harrison and Peter King). Via NBC PR....

Costas, the most honored studio host of all time with 19 Emmy Awards, will host the show from a set at the "Sunday Night Football" game site. He will be joined by the new SNF broadcast team of Al Michaels, a six-time Emmy Award-winner whom the Associated Press has called "TV's best play-by-play announcer," and Cris Collinsworth, the most honored studio analyst in sports television history, winning the award in nine of the 12 years of its existence and winning two additional Emmys for game analyst. Collinsworth moves from the studio to the broadcast booth alongside Michaels to replace the recently-retired John Madden.

"At our best we aspire to give the viewer the best seat in the house -- not the hype around the event, but the story of the event itself," said Ebersol. "Bob has proven time and again that he is unmatched in his ability to appropriately set the scene and tell the story of an event. Having the two premier broadcasters of their generation in Bob and Al on site and appearing together alongside Cris, the best analyst in the business, adds an immediacy that makes 'Sunday Night Football' an even bigger event."

Costas said: "Hosting from the site of the game, being in the stadium surrounded by the fans and the energy and atmosphere of the event, creates an urgency and a sense of place that can't be duplicated in the studio. And of course, this allows me to keep working with Cris, while at the same time building on the special chemistry I developed with Al Michaels in BASEketball."

I've always been critical of NBC's decisions when it comes to "Football Night in America", but this year they seem to be close to getting it right. In fact, you could argue that they only really need Costas, Collinsworth and Michaels, manning the highlights.

(Also to note: As I mentioned before, Andrea Kremer is no longer on the sidelines)

With every angle exhausted on Brett Favre, ESPN (and Scoop Jackson) have turned to the next logical slant when it comes to the flip-flopper....


What if Brett Favre were a woman? (ESPN: Scoop Jackson)

Very few changes at the very top, but there are some more the rest of the way down the line. Dan Fouts moves all the way up to Dick Enberg, Kevin Harlan now has Solomon Wilcots as his analyst which in turn drops Rich Gannon to Ian Eagle, and Randy Cross gets moved all the way from Enberg to Don Criqui. Here's your list....

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

FYI....I should have your Regular Season Week One Schedule up in a bit as well.

Thursday, August 27th:

Miami Dolphins at Tampa Bay Bucs (FOX, 8pm)- Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Pam Oliver

Friday, August 28th:

New England Patriots at Washington Redskins (CBS, 8pm)- Jim Nantz, Phil Simms

Saturday, August 29th:

Indianapolis Colts at Detroit Lions (NFL Network, 1pm)- Local Announcers
New Orleans Saints at Oakland Raiders (NFL Network, 4pm)- Local Announcers
San Diego Chargers at Atlanta Falcons (CBS, 8pm)- Greg Gumbel, Dan Fouts

Sunday, August 30th:
Chicago Bears at Denver Broncos (NBC, 8pm)- Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth

Monday, August 31st:

Minnesota Vikings at Houston Texans (ESPN, 8pm)- Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, Jon Gruden

How a player could remain unnamed, after revealing intimate details about the Sport he plays in is beyond me, but that's exactly what will be happening to the NFL. A player, referred to as "Player X", is set to reveal the scandalous detail about the league to ESPN The Magazine. Via Game On....

ESPN The Magazine is launching a column by an NFL star dubbed "Player X" who'll give readers his anonymous take on on athletes' extra-marital affairs, dalliances with groupies and other taboo topics, says editor-in-chief Gary Belsky.

In his first piece hitting newsstands Friday, the player admits that not only are many "negative" tales about pro athletes true, they're actually worse in some cases. The hedonistic lifestyles of some younger, single jocks are "no different" than the party-hearty worlds depicted in sports movies like Semi-Tough or HBO's Entourage, he says.

Player's X's teammates, coaches, agent and family don't know he's writing the column, Belsky says. It will be his call whether he wants to identify himself after penning 10-12 columns during the 2009 season. If the idea takes off, Belsky wants to recruit a Major League Baseball player to write a similar column.

So why the anonymous approach? The most interesting stories come from inside the locker room, answers Belsky. But many athletes will only talk about them on a confidential basis.

"I don't know if he's the Deep Throat of sports. But we hope he's going to be the ultimate guide to the life of a professional athlete," Belsky says.

Well, I'm for sure going to be reading that issue when it comes this week. It seems odd that a player would break the "locker room code" in this fashion, but it will definitely sell some copies.

"Player X" dishes on hedonistic world of pro athletes and groupies (Game On)

Create the Caption is back by popular demand! I took a little hiatus from posting the captions, and sure it's hokey, but it's all in good fun. The CtC is back with a vengeance, and your comments are greatly appreciated.

Last Photo's Winners....


"¿Que es mas rapido que un tornado?"- Wade Robertson

"Titty-twister!!!"- The Genius

"Hey ump, the 'roids can slim you sixty pounds easy. I'm just sayin'."- Tom

"What is this, velvet?! This is beautiful!"- SideshowPA
_______________________________________

Are you funny enough to create a caption for this photo of Mark Sanchez, talking with Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco?


Your Daily Links:

Real Men Of Fantasy Genius (12 Step Drop)
Missing #6 Pick Found In New Orleans (LOCG)
It's Twitter Tuesday! (Hall of Very Good)
Introducing "Soundbytes of the Decade"! (Randall Simon's Sausages)
Pete Rose Twenty Years Later (More Hardball)
Grown Man Suckerpunches A Child (Sports Rubbish)
Fan Attacks WWE Ref (TPS)
A Handy NFL-N Sortable Schedule (Eye On Sports Media)
Best Players By The Numbers (Rumors and Rants)

I remember Jim Traber fondly, since I grew up an O's fan, but since his retirement he's become one of those Sports Talk Guys, that you would just absolutely despise. Traber recently got into a pissing match with the OKC Thunder's, Nick Collison, over some Twitter comments, and after Bill Simmons denied a request to come on his show to talk about it, the radio host turned his hate to the Sports Guy. Ding....let's break it down blow by blow....

Simmons: "Note to unpopular, low-IQ sports radio bully/hosts in non-Top40 markets: I'd never come on your show to bring you attention. Ever. Not ever."

Traber: "Simmons's lack of knowledge on sports is only surpassed by his lack of knowledge about me. Little does he know that his own network - ESPN - did a story on Outside the Lines about this unpopular radio host. #1 in the country per capita...enough said. As far as my IQ, I do not have a masters, as I was playing Major League Baseball during that period of my life, but I was the scholar athlete for the entire state of Maryland.

Last thing about Simmons, if I had the voice of a pre-pubescent girl I'd probably stick to writing a blog as well. Meanwhile, I will just continue to struggle along to support my family without the "attention" I would gain if Bill Simmons would grace my small time OKC radio show."

Hmmm that's a tough round to score. Traber went with the standard Simmons' bashing, and did a pretty good job, but I think Simmons' tweet speaks for itself. He's like the Yankees (before 2004) saying that the Red Sox had to win something, before they could call it a rivalry. How do you like that comparison, Bill?

Simmons Twitter (Twitter)
Traber: Simmons and Seattle – a perfect match (The Sports Animal)
For He Is Traber, Lord Of The Idiots (Daily Thunder)

Soccer fights are just about the weakest fights on the planet. It's hard to believe anything could ever top Baseball fights, but when people fall just by being touched, I think Soccer takes the cake. Well that is until now. I give you Sergio Jauregui, of Blooming in the Bolivian Soccer League, kicking someone named Medina in the face! Via Deadspin....

DAAAAAAAAMN! You got knocked the f**k out!!! Now that was awesome, but you can't run away after something like that, and pretend you did nothing wrong. Still though, he didn't use his hands....which is a plus in Soccer.

You almost have to feel bad for ESPN, when it comes the "Summer of Favre 2", but at least they have a sense of humor about it. In their latest "This Is Sports Center" ad the network pokes fun at their own coverage. According to Sports Business Daily, Senior Dir/Marketing Seth Adler said, "while the concept for the ad was developed several months ago, it was not filmed until last Tuesday, the same day Favre signed with the Vikings." Adler also went onto say that it marks the quickest turnaround time, three days, in the history of the campaign. Here's your first look....

Say what you will about ESPN's 60 Minutes copy, E:60, but they certainly are getting some high profile interviews as of late. It was Donte Stallworth last week, and this week Jeremy Schapp will be sitting down with recently sentenced, Plaxico Burress. Via ESPN PR....

Former N.Y. Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress, will talk in detail with correspondent Jeremy Schaap in an exclusive E:60 interview, Tuesday, Aug. 25, at 7 p.m. ET, about the early morning hours of Nov. 29, when he accidentally shot himself in the leg with his own gun at the Latin Quarter nightclub in Midtown N.Y., and about the two-year jail sentence he now faces.

Burress pleaded guilty Thursday, Aug. 20, to the weapons charge and avoided what would have been a mandatory minimum sentence of three years for second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. He will head to prison when he is officially sentenced Sept. 22, and will be eligible for release after serving a little more than 20 months. The NFL has suspended Burress but will reinstate him once he completes his sentence.

Excerpts from the interview will debut Monday, Aug. 24, on SportsCenter at 6 p.m. ET and in subsequent editions of the show. The interview will air in full on E:60.

Another interesting get for ESPN, and the fact that they are choosing to air it on E:60 is even more interesting. I don't know if they're trying to improve ratings on the show, but given the show's actually numbers, it's probably not going to hurt. If there's anything exciting said, I will be sure to have the video up.

Sad news for Hockey fans, that have DirecTV as their cable provider. Versus is available in about 75 million homes, but DirecTV is considering dropping the channel within the week, which could drop that number by almost one-third. From Multichannel via TSB....

"In our contract discussions, Comcast has demanded a deal for Versus that is not comparable to other providers and is pushing for a significant rate hike that does not reflect current market terms or the value of its programming," DirecTV said in a prepared statement. "We will continue to try and negotiate a fair deal, but we intend to hold the line on our programming costs and protect our customers against these unfair demands that are both discriminatory and wholly unrealistic given current market rates. If we do not reach an agreement, the network will come down on Sept. 1 following the expiration of our contract with Versus."

The dispute comes weeks before the college football season is expected to kick-off - Versus is scheduled to air its first game (Texas vs. Wyoming) on Sept. 12. Versus also airs its first NHL contest on Oct. 1.

In a statement, Versus said that it is negotiating in good faith with DirecTV and hopes a deal can be reached soon.

"Since our last deal with DirecTV, Versus has added many marquee properties and has become the fastest growing sports cable network in the country," the network said in a statement. "Despite this tremendous momentum, we are offering DirecTV the ability to carry Versus the same way it does today at the market price for the network. We continue to talk and are hopeful that we will reach an agreement."

Well that's not good news at all. Versus has made a ton of strides with their programming, and with Hockey back in the National spotlight, it seems like they have more to offer than ever. Hopefully they can come to an agreement soon.

DirecTV, Versus Could Split By Next Week (The Sporting Blog)
DirecTV Could Drop Versus (Multichannel)

I love the MLB.TV's live look-ins they have, when you're perusing scores on MLB.com. They just pop up when the drama is high, and you get to see awesome things like the Mets hitting into an unassisted triple-play to end a game during the Phillies!

Now that is just flat out depressing. My favorite part of the whole play, was that before the triple play the Mets fans were really getting into it. Everyone on hand was chanting "Let's Go Mets"....then BAM!....game over. Schadenfreude at its best. Sorry Mets fans.

I actually enjoy Lou Holtz on ESPN, I really do. I think he's funny, and up until now, I thought he had knowledge of current teams. Apparently I was dead wrong. I'll give you one guess as to who Holtz has picked to win the National Championship....

Yeah, Lou....one tough game against USC. Sure they are returning every player on offense, but that was the same offense could barely beat Navy.

We have a couple games steaming over at 12StepDrop again. If you have nothing to do stop by and chat:

12stepdrop.com/2009/08/22/streaming-preseason-saturday-night-part-deux

Brett Favre is making his preseason debut tonight. If you needed a reason to sit by your computer on a Friday night, head on over to 12StepDrop for a streaming live blog:

12stepdrop.com/2009/08/21/streaming-preseason-who-is-brett-favre/

And if you, like most rational people, have not been able to sit through most of the games, try watching each one in less than five minutes (how long all preseason games should be!).

12stepdrop.com/2009/08/20/preseason-highlight-review-week-1/

If you just can't get enough Favre, please seek help first, then try the 12StepDrop player news crawler: Brett Favre

Saturday, August 22nd:

New York Yankees at Boston Red Sox (FOX, 4:10, 63%) - Kenny Albert, Tim McCarver and Ken Rosenthal

Markets Include: Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Birmingham, Boston, Buffalo, Charlotte, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, Fort Myers, Greensboro, Greenville, Hartford, Jacksonville, Knoxville, Miami, Minneapolis, New Orleans, New York, Norfolk, Orlando, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Portland, Providence, Raleigh, Richmond, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, Seattle, Tampa, Washington, West Palm Beach

Chicago Cubs at Los Angeles Dodgers(FOX, 4:10, 36%) - Dick Stockton, Eric Karros

Markets Include: Albuquerque, Chicago, Cincinnati, Dayton, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Louisville, Memphis, Milwaukee, Nashville, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, St. Louis, Tulsa

Sunday, August 23rd:

Texas Rangers at Tampa Bay Rays (TBS, 1:30pm) - Chip Caray, Buck Martinez
New York Yankees at Boston Red Sox (ESPN, 8pm)- Jon Miller, Joe Morgan and Steve Phillips

Monday, August 24th:

Detroit Tigers at Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (ESPN, 10pm)- Jon Sciambi, Steve Phillips

It wasn't that long ago, that Jemele Hill was suspended for comparing the Boston Celtics to "Hitler" and "Nuclear War", and now she's back in the news for controversial remarks. During "First Take" yesterday, Hill encouraged Packers' fans to give Brett Favre the "Duracell Treatment", and ESPN has issued a statement regarding her comments. First the video via Bob's Blitz....

ESPN's Statement:


Obviously, this is another failed attempt at humor, but you have to wonder what was going through Hill's mind at the time. You can encourage fans to boo and bring signs, but never ask them to bring objects to throw at players.

Video - ESPNs Hill to Packer Fans: Throw Duracells at Favre (Bob's Blitz)

Obviously, this isn't the same is interrupting a Super Bowl TD for Porn, but it's certainly somewhat funny. Last week, the BBC was airing their first edition of "The Football League Show", when all of a sudden the show was switched from Soccer highlights to the movie "Blue Crush". Even more funny, was the fact that the scene they switched to involved actress Kate Bosworth going into a bathroom to pee (:40 mark). Via SS Reporters....

Too funny. I love the fact that they switch back less than a minute later. Also, the Country of England already thinks we are inferior to them intellectually and culturally. Do they really need to be seeing "Blue Crush"? You're not helping us out over here, BBC!

BBC Interrupts Your Soccer Highlights to Show Blue Crush! (SS Reporters)

If I had spent 30+ years, doing the exact same thing each Summer, I don't know what I would do with myself if I didn't have to do it anymore. Apparently John Madden is going through that feeling now, but it doesn't seem to be bothering him. In an interview with the LA Times, he tells the paper that he's enjoying himself and isn't exactly leaving Football entirely....

Q: How’s retirement treating you?
Madden: It’s going well for me. But you know, it really hasn’t started yet. I retired from broadcasting football. So far, it’s been the off-season for me. The Hall of Fame game is the first game I would have done. So I really haven’t retired from anything until football season starts.

Q: Will you spending a lot more time on the virtual gridiron now?
Madden: That’s one thing I’m really looking forward to. Each week I’m going to watch all the games. I have this thing being built right now where I have nine 63-inch monitors. And I’m going to be able to put every game on television. I can watch them all at the same time.

Then I’m going to see more. When I was broadcasting, I would just zero in on the game I was doing. Doing this, I’m going to see more. I’m going to see all the trends. I’m going to see what every team does. Those trends and the things that they’re doing in the games on Sundays, those are the things we will put in the game.

While the above statement was in reference to his work on the 2011 edition of the Madden video game, there are rumors that you'll be hearing a lot of Madden on the radio. There are already talks to get him on Sirius, and you can expect a lot of guest appearance on shows throughout the country, as the season progresses.

John Madden talks about the virtual gridiron, the Madden Curse and life outside of the broadcasting booth (LA Times)

Well it's actually only the 2010 part of the season, but you get the idea. Here is the schedule for the Sunday afternoon games, and while some of the matchups are between two sets of games, you get somewhat of an idea of the teams involved....

Friday, January 1st - Philadelphia at Boston (1pm)
Sunday, January 17th - Chicago at Detroit or Philadelphia at Washington (12:30pm)
Sunday, January 24th - Pittsburgh at Boston or Philadelphia at Carolina (12:30pm)
Sunday, January 31st - Detroit at Pittsburgh or Tampa Bay at Washington (12:30pm)
Sunday, February 7th - Pittsburgh at Washington or Boston at Montreal (12:30pm)
Sunday, March 7th - Boston at Pittsburgh, Detroit at Chicago or Carolina at Atlanta (12:30pm)
Sunday, March 14th - Philadelphia at NY Rangers, Pittsburgh at Tampa Bay, Washington at Chicago or Colorado at Dallas (12:30pm)
Sunday, March 21st - NY Rangers at Boston or Buffalo at Carolina (12:30pm)
Sunday, April 4th - Detroit at Philadelphia (12:30pm)
Sunday, April 11th - Boston at Washington, NY Rangers at Philadelphia or Detroit at Chicago (TBD)

The amount of honesty that Jay Glazer shows on a weekly basis, is refreshing to some, but can get him in trouble from time to time. Earlier this week, Glazer broke the news that Brett Favre was officially heading to Minnesota to sign a deal, and while ESPN credited him with the story, their analysts continued to mock him throughout the day and poo poo the story. Well after his breaking news came to fruition, he went on the Jorge Sedano show, on 790 The Ticket in Miami, and had some more choice words for the "Leader"....

Again, it's refreshing to hear someone who can be serious about his job, but also understand that we're just talking about Sports. ESPN has to be bitter that they spent the whole Summer following Favre around, and when he finally decides to sign with the Vikings, the story is broken by someone else. Burn!

Okay, so this guy isn't actually Kenny Powers, but he sounds exactly like him. Add to the fact that his analysis of Ian Kinsler getting hit in the head, is that it is "f**ked up", and you have a winner! Careful of very NSFW language....

Now that's what we need more of in Sports Broadcasting! Someone saying that the Boston Red Sox pitchers are a bunch of p**ssies. Obviously I don't condone the use of the word faggot, but there's gotta be a place for him at Fox, right?

Kenny Powers As An Analyst? (With Leather)

I was skeptical about the Basketball version of College Gameday, but after a few years under the belt, the pregame show is actually pretty entertaining. This year Rece Davis, Hubert Davis, Jay Bilas, Bob Knight and Digger Phelps, will start out at a women's game for the first time (ND at UCONN), and wrap things up in Durham for UNC-Duke on December 8th. Here's the schedule, all dates are Saturdays and Gameday airs at 11am and 7pm on ESPN (expect where noted on January 30th....

January 16th: Storrs, Conn. - Notre Dame at Connecticut (Women’s)
January 23rd: Clemson, S.C. - Duke at Clemson
January 30th: Manhattan, Kan. - Kansas at Kansas State (6 p.m. show and game at 7 p.m.)
February 6th: Champaign, Ill. - Michigan State at Illinois
February 13th: Lexington, Ky. - Tennessee at Kentucky
February 20th: Seattle, Wash. - UCLA at Washington
February 27th: Syracuse, N.Y. - Villanova at Syracuse
March 6th: Durham, N.C. - North Carolina at Duke

I don't know what it is about this preseason, that makes it seem like it's been dragging on forever, but Football can't come soon enough. That's why every Football related release gets me completely amped. For example, the latest "Is It Monday Yet?" commercial from ESPN....

Are we really only into week one of the preseason? Good lord. You can probably expect a Brett Favre edition of these in about a day.

Well, hello there! I know that mags like to put models and stars in precarious positions, but I don't think I've ever seen a sideline reporter get covered in mud. Here are Erin Andrews' photos from the latest GQ, and a brief video of the shoot.

I guess these are the dirty photos that she wanted out there. Not the ones in the hotel. Somewhat odd, and very interesting, at the same time.

Update: Just got word that these photos were done months in advance, and thus completed way before the hotel incident. Some people are making it seem like she's playing both sides of the "sexy reporter" thing, and I don't think that's the case.

Saturday was quite a hit so we are trying another streaming-live-blog at 12StepDrop. If you don't have ESPN (really?) we will have the game embedded as well as our usual live blog. I am out for this one but feel free to stop by and hang out. I think we are trying to pull the Miami game for you relocated 'fins too ...

http://12stepdrop.com/2009/08/17/live-streaming-preseason-eli-is-rich/

While some teams like the Redskins and Dolphins have banned their players from using Twitter, teams like the Jets have embraced its networking potential. At the current time, New York currently has eleven players using Twitter, and has even hired someone to help the team's players with their posts and accounts. Via the Associated Press....

The Jets have even hired someone responsible for assisting players with social networking.

"We now have more than 80,000 people following our various players and our organization," Higgins [Executive VP of Business Operations] said. "That means that at any given moment, we can reach 80,000 fans directly, rather than having to get a newspaper story to get a message out. I just don't see how you don't embrace such a powerful tool."

Sanchez was leading the Jets with 40,244 followers, followed by Rhodes, center Nick Mangold (6,548), tight end Dustin Keller (5,292) and Feely (5,127).

"It's a good way of not being mean to a fan where you're not able to stop and give them an autograph," Rhodes said, "but you can go online and see what's going on."

Higgins said the timing simply worked out for the Jets, whose new coach, Rex Ryan, is all for his players speaking their minds.

"He's the type of guy who says, 'Say what you're feeling, but make sure you back it up on the field,'" Keller said. "That kind of goes hand-in-hand with the Twitter thing. You have to be smart and it gives us an even better opportunity to get closer to fans."

Obviously using Twitter needs to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, but for teams to completely ban their players from using it, is a terrible idea. As Higgins illustrated above, the Jets alone have 80K followers, and fans appreciate the direct communication. The NFL has already gotten behind Twitter, but it'll be interesting to see the success and trust of the teams that embrace the phenomenon.

Tweet this: Jets encourage players to use Twitter (AP)

Create the Caption is back by popular demand! I took a little hiatus from posting the captions, and sure it's hokey, but it's all in good fun. The CtC is back with a vengeance, and your comments are greatly appreciated.

Last Photo's Winners....


"The Gorilla: "At least I can take my plastic face off at bedtime, Jerry.""- RJBO

"Satan meets his followers."- NMS

"So, how long until I'm as crazy as your owner?"- Posolutely
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Are you funny enough to create a caption for this photo of Manny....ummm?


Your Daily Links:

Early Fantasy Studs From The Preseason (12 Step Drop)
The Nats' Announcers Are Not Fans Of Scott Boras (DC Sports Bog)
Usain Bolt Is Still Fast As Hell (Total Pro Sports)
Yang Takes Out Tiger (Outside the Boxscore)
Two Great Pitcher Names: Manship and Fister (More Hardball)
The World Needs Some Rob Deer Right About Now (American Polymath)
Some Preseason QB Awards (Josh Q Public)
ESPN Doesn't Seem To Be Buying Patrick Kane's Apology (Humor Slays Me)

The female MMA Match of the Century went down over the weekend on Showtime, and Gus Johnson was on-hand for the play-by-play. Not only did he have his usual repertoire of excitable phrases, but he was actually at a loss for words when the fight ended at the buzzer of the first round....

I don't think I've ever seen an exciting game or match, where Johnson didn't freak out at the end. That was such a good fight, that I was expecting him to freak out when it was stopped. There was however a ton of confusion, and you have to praise him and the other guys in the booth, for waiting to get the call right.

Cyborg Stops Carano In Round One (With Leather)

I still have yet to watch an entire episode of "Dancing With The Stars", but with the news of the latest group of wannabe dancers, I might have to check it out. Not only is the arch-enemy of Terrell Owens, Joanna Krupa, involved, but so are Natalie Coughlin, Chuck Liddell and THE Michael Irvin. And those are just the Sports stars (minus Krupa)! Here is the full list....

Kathy Ireland, 46
Joanna Krupa, 30
Mya, 30
Natalie Coughlin, 26
Chuck Liddell, 30
Tom DeLay, 62
Donnie Osmond, 51
Michael Irvin, 42
Louie Vito, 21 (Pro Snowboarder)
Mark DaCascos, 45 (Host of Iron Chef America)
Aaron Carter, 21
Macy Gray
Ashley Hamilton, 34 (Son of former DWTS competitor George Hamilton)
Melissa Joan Hart
Debi Mazar, 45 (Actress from Entourage)
Kelly Osbourne, 24

Now I don't know much about previous season, but this group of dancers seems like it has the potential to be the best. Best on an unintentional comedy level, I mean. Watching Chuck Liddel alone, hammered out of his mind, would be enough on its own.

It was a huge undertaking to get a UK ESPN up and running in a few short months, and after their debut in England, ESPN is getting some rather interesting reviews. None are really that bad, and there are a few that are rather glowing. Here's a sampling...

The Guardian: "ESPN, who did not get where they are today by refusing to accept this reality, launched its Premier League coverage with Chelsea v Hull on opening day, but where Setanta had parked its tanks on Sky's lawn, ESPN, part owned by Disney, kept its ice-cream vans harmlessly round the corner from Sky's patch.

Its pictures came from Sky cameras, and in the presentation, there was scarcely a whiff of innovation. This is extremely annoying for people like me, used to getting three snappy paragraphs out of an Andy Townsend Tactics' Truck or some similar gimmick. Steven Berkoff was about all there was to laugh at on ESPN, filmed on a stage somewhere, declaiming about the importance of football, in the style of Henry V on the eve of Agincourt, but without entirely losing sight of the Hovis advert. "This is who we are. This is what we are," thundered the great actor. "This is bollocks," was the unworthy response, I am afraid, from my sofa."

The Telegraph: "It was hard, though, not to scoff at ESPN Axis, a half-time analysis gizmo which was essentially a slow-motion replay. Whatever next? A little clock in the corner of the screen?

However, the battle for armchair season-ticket-holders is ultimately won and lost in the commentary box.

There ESPN deployed another ex-BBC stalwart, Jon Champion, and renowned Toffeeman Joe Royle in a standard 1-1 formation. This workmanlike pairing at least offered respite from Sky Sports' Andy "maake noo mistaaake" Gray, whose accent gets increasingly Scottish at moments of arousal, and Martin "Martin" Tyler, who has taken to bellowing "and IT'S LIVE" prior to every kick-off. Of course IT'S LIVE, Martin. That's why we're watching.

So, at the end of the day, a promising debut for ESPN, who showed some classy touches and should have what it takes to compete at this level."

To get such positive reviews, with only seven weeks to prepare, is a very good sign for ESPN in the UK. The "Leader" has also added a slate of games for us folks in the U.S. to watch. Here are the games we'll get to check out this season in the States....

Sat., Aug. 15th

Chelsea vs. Hull City (ESPN2, 7:40am)

Sat., Aug. 22th

Wigan Athletic vs. Manchester United (ESPN2, 9:55am)

Mon., Aug. 24th

Liverpool vs. Aston Villa (ESPN2, 2:55pm)

Sat., Aug. 29th

Chelsea vs. Burnley (ESPN2, 7:40am)

Sat., Sept. 12th

Liverpool vs. Burnley (ESPN2, 9:55am)

Sat., Sept. 19th

Burnley vs. Sunderland (ESPN2, 7:40am)

Sat., Sept. 26th

Portsmouth vs. Everton (ESPN2, 7:40am)

Mon., Sept. 28th

Manchester City vs. West Ham (ESPN2, 2:55pm)

Initially, ESPN is living in the past and Andy Gray is present and incorrect (Guardian)
Premier League opening weekend success for ESPN (Telegraph)

There are six preseason games on tonight. We won't be live blogging these, but we are trying something new. We have opened up the comments and will be embedding live streams of each of the games in a post over at 12StepDrop. If you don't have NFL Network, or just can't go without seeing Cleveland's opener (God help you) ... head on over.

http://12stepdrop.com/2009/08/15/live-streaming-preseason-saturday-open-thread/

Saturday, August 15th:

Philadelphia Phillies at Atlanta Braves (FOX, 4:10, 60%) - Kenny Albert, Eric Karros and Ken Rosenthal

Markets Include: Albuquerque, Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Birmingham, Boston, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Dallas, Fort Myers, Greensboro, Greenville, Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Knoxville, Las Vegas, Louisville, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, Nashville, New Orleans, Norfolk, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Providence, Raleigh, Richmond, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, St. Louis, Tampa, Tulsa, Washington, West Palm Beach

New York Mets at San Francisco Giants (FOX, 4:10, 26%) - Thom Brennaman and Mark Grace

Markets Include: Buffalo, Denver, Hartford, Los Angeles, New York, Portland, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle

Cleveland Indians at Minnesota Twins(FOX, 4:10, 13%) - Dick Stockton and Bert Blyleven

Markets Include: Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Detroit, Minneapolis

Boston Red Sox at Texas Rangers (MLB-N, 8pm)- Local Announcers

Sunday, August 16th:

Boston Red Sox at Texas Rangers (TBS, 2pm) - Chip Caray, Ron Darling and David Wells
Philadelphia Phillies at Atlanta Braves (ESPN, 8pm)- Jon Miller, Joe Morgan and Steve Phillips

Monday, August 10th:

St. Louis Cardinals at Los Angeles Dodgers (ESPN, 1opm)- Dave O'Brien, Orel Hershiser and Steve Phillips

Mike Vick, along with Tony Dungy and Andy Reid, sat down with the media today to announce his signing with the Eagles today, and I wanted to share the video if you missed it....

Create the Caption is back by popular demand! I took a little hiatus from posting the captions, and sure it's hokey, but it's all in good fun. The CtC is back with a vengeance, and your comments are greatly appreciated.

Last Photo's Winners....


"That's the power of leather."- nikralm17

"Where's Patrick Bateman when you need him?"- 49er16

"Huey, you say that you have a new drug. But are they deux deux deux's?"- GMoney

"I wanna go BACK BACK BACK BACK BACK in time."- BHill
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Are you funny enough to create a caption for this photo Jerry Jones hanging with Raiders' fans?


Your Daily Links:

John Daly is still awesome! (Devil Ball)
Soccer goalie pulls teammates hair (Sports Rubbish)
Why does no one want Q Rich? (Barkley's Mouth)
Women's boxing added to the 2012 Olympics (Rumors and Rants)
NCAA sticks it to SEMO Basketball (Rush the Court)
Mike Tyson cut Joe Jonas' hair for some reason (Outside the Boxscore)
Breaking down a Whitlock column (Sportstress of Blogitude)
Now this is a brawl! (Steady Burn)

One of the more fun things about the MNF booth over the past few years, was the love/hate relationship between Ron Jaworski and Tony Kornheiser. Whether you thought Tony was good or not was irrelevant, because he knew how to get under Jaws' skin, and every time he did so, it was pretty funny. Well now Jon Gruden is in the booth, and after a pretty good debut last night, the Coach didn't hold anything back after Jaws said he didn't like the Vick signing by the Eagles. Here's the clip....

I obviously agree with Gruden, and while I was skeptical of his hiring at first, it seems like this trio really could work out. The producers of MNF always wanted three different perspectives in the booth, with Tirico providing the images, Jaws providing the stats and analysis and Kornheiser providing the angles. And while those three perspectives didn't gel, replacing the writer's slant with a coach's slant, looks like a winner. Especially when you have a story like the Vick signing that will bring up many different emotions and opinions.

Jaws Jumps The Shark on the Vick Idea, ESPN Video (NESW Sports)

I have no idea why Jay Glazer decided to email out this video, but it's damn funny. The NFL on FOX reporter stopped in at his local Bingo match recently, and showed some elderly ladies just how they play Bingo in the UFC....

Ummm....okay then. While Chris Mortensen is touring every training camp in the NFL, Jay Glazer is trash talking old women in a bingo hall. Whatever recharges your batteries I guess.

The same players have been in the FOX NFL booths on Sundays, for the past few years, but with the addition and subtraction of some announcers, the NFL on FOX has had to make some changes. Gone are Brian Baldinger, J.C. Pearson, Tony Boselli and Matt Vasgersian. In are Chris Myers (from the sideline to the booth) John Lynch, Trent Green, and The Greatness that is Charles Davis. Here are your new teams for this season....

Joe Buck and Troy Aikman
Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, Tony Siragusa
Dick Stockton and Charles Davis
Thom Brennaman and Brian Billick
Sam Rosen, Tim Ryan
Ron Pitts and John Lynch
Chris Myers and Trent Green

While I think both Lynch and Green will do a good job, Stockton and Davis has to be the most hilarious pairing in the history of the NFL. I'm going to have way too much fun with that one.

We'll be doing some more live blogging tonight over at 12StepDrop at 8pm. Brady's back and Jon Gruden makes his debut on Monday (well Thursday) Night Football.

If you haven't been by 12StepDrop yet, checkout the Chatter section. It filters out all the useless tweets by the players and shows you just their thoughts on camp and their teams. Just what the internet needs, more fantasy data.

See you back here at 8 ...

Outside of some random discussions on CNBC, CNN and MSNBC, Sports Business rarely comes up in today's news. Well Versus is planning on changing that with a new show called "The $ports Take", which will debut at the end of August. Via Sports Business Daily ($)....

Versus is launching a weekly sports business show called "The $ports Take," hosted by sports consultant Rick Horrow. Career Sports & Entertainment (CS&E), Atlanta, is producing the show, which debuts August 25 at 6:30pm ET. The show will run on Tuesday nights. The first episode features an interview with Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones and a tour of his new stadium. Future shows will include interviews with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, NBA Commissioner David Stern, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, NASCAR Chair & CEO Brian France and PGA of America CEO Joe Steranka. CS&E President of Media & Marketing Mark Lazarus said, "We're excited to bring sports junkies a new perspective on the sports they already love."

I'm sure a lot of people won't find this line of programming interesting, but for there is a small sect of diehard Sports' fans, that love anything involving the business of Sports. Hearing about television deals, free agency and collective bargaining agreements, has always been something I've been drawn to, so I'm definitely going to give the show a chance.

There are regular random athletes that come in to co-host with either Greenberg or Golic, but there's also the occasional completely off-the-wall hosts that come in as well. Next Wednesday, THE Dennis Leary will be filling in for Mike Golic on the radio program. Via ESPN PR....

Five-time Emmy Award-nominated comedian/actor Denis Leary will co-host all four hours of ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike in the Morning (6-10 a.m. ET, M-F) on Wednesday, Aug. 19. The show is simulcast on ESPN2 and streamed live on ESPNRadio.com. Leary, a big sports fan who says ice hockey is his favorite sport and the Boston Bruins are his favorite team, will join Mike Greenberg in ESPN Radio’s studios in Bristol, Conn. Leary, also a die-hard Boston Red Sox fan, will be subbing for co-host Mike Golic.

While, I know that Leary is a huge Sports fan, and I haven't watched M&M in months so I don't know how often this has been happening, but this does seem a little out of left field. Oh well, whatever brings in the ratings.