Monthly Archives: September 2012

It’s official: Jim Rome to host show on new CBS Sports Radio Network

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The new venture added a big hitter to its lineup. Doug Gottlieb already is in place for the late afternoon slot.

Also, you have to figure this was part of the deal for Rome when he jumped from ESPN to CBS.

Here are the details:

CBS Sports Radio today announced the newest member of its line-up for when the nation’s largest 24/7 major-market radio network launches next year. Jim Rome will serve as host of The Jim Rome Show, broadcast live weekdays from 12:00Noon-3:00PM, ET beginning on Wednesday, January 2, 2013.

Also at the start of the new year, Rome will provide his unique take on the day’s sports headlines via theCBS Sports Minute, sixty-second commentaries that can be heard hourly on CBS Sports Radio affiliate stations.  Rome recently signed a multi-year agreement with CBS contributing across a variety of platforms.  In addition to his weekday ROME show on CBS Sports Network, he provides commentary for CBS Sports and CBSSports.com.  Further, Rome will also be hosting a talk series for Showtime, which will air later this Fall on the premium network.

“Jim would be at the top of any list highlighting sports radio’s most authoritative and opinionated hosts which is exactly why we’re thrilled to welcome him to CBS Sports Radio,” said Dan Mason, President and CEO, CBS RADIO.  “We are building a network that showcases the incredible assets of CBS RADIO and CBS Sports, and creating a strategic opportunity for growth in this untapped marketplace.  Jim’s presence in this marquee timeperiod adds strength to our lineup and exceptional value to our advertisers.”

“I am excited for the continued opportunity to extend my personal contributions to the various platforms that this incredible company has to offer,” said Rome. “I am proud to be a part of the CBS family and look forward to the successful launch of CBS Sports Radio.”

Perhaps the most respected voice in the world of sports broadcasting, Rome is one of the leading opinion-makers of his generation.  Best known for his aggressive, informed, rapid-fire dialogue, Rome has established himself as the top choice of athletes and fans when it’s time to know what is going on beyond the scoreboard.

For more than 15 years, Rome has hosted a nationally syndicated radio program,The Jim Rome Show, a.k.a. The Jungle, reaching millions of listeners nationwide.  His show on ESPN,Rome Is Burning, signed off in January 2012 after airing for six years.

Rome previously served as host of the popular programThe Last Word with Jim Rome, broadcast nightly on Fox Sports Net, for five years.  Prior to that, he spent a two-year stint hosting ESPN2’sTalk2, a nightly one-hour interview show.  Rome began his radio career at KTMS, Santa Barbara as the “5 dollar-an-hour” traffic reporter and covered UC Santa Barbara’s sports. He left KTMS for San Diego’s all-sports station, XTRA Sports 690 where he created The Jim Rome Show. The show was first syndicated in 1996.

In addition to his extensive sports broadcasting career, Rome has made cameo appearances alongside Al Pacino and Matthew McConaughey inTwo For The Money, with Adam Sandler in The Longest Yard and opposite Michael Jordan inSpace Jam; appeared in blink-182’s music video; appeared on HBO’s “Arliss;” and released a CD,Welcome to the Jungle, which features memorable sound bites from frequent callers and the hip music regularly used on his radio show.

CBS Sports Radio will offer around-the-clock national sports coverage and programming, harnessing the power and resources of CBS RADIO and the award-winning CBS Sports.  High-profile figures from CBS Sports, CBS Sports Network and CBSSports.com will play a prominent role onCBS Sports Radio which will reach more than 10 million listeners at launch.  Original programs across multiple weekday and weekend time periods will feature expert sports commentary and interviews with major sports figures along with listener calls and fan interaction.  It was previously announced that Doug Gottlieb will serve as host of afternoons (weekdays, 3:00-6:00 PM, ET) onCBS Sports Radio.

 

Are they bailing on Newton in Charlotte? Cartoon seems a bit harsh

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Only three games into the season, the Charlotte Observer is dumping on Cam Newton.

Kevin Siers penned this view of the Carolina quarterback.

Seems a bit harsh, doesn’t it? He was great in the week 2 victory over the Saints, and there’s plenty of season left.

And besides, he’s my fantasy QB. I don’t need him playing like a pussycat.

 

Posted in NFL

How the Ryder Cup went from nothing to coveted TV property for NBC

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It’s Ryder Cup week, one of the biggest weeks in golf. The event will get wall-to-wall coverage on NBC and the Golf Channel.

It wasn’t always that way. During the 1980s, the Ryder Cup barely registered with the networks.

It might have stayed that way if NBC hadn’t lost its Saturday afternoon baseball package. But it did, and the network found itself looking for sports programming in September.

NBC took a flier on the 1991 Ryder Cup at Kiawah. However, it generated little interest from sponsors, and the network had low expectations.

Well, it turned out to be the greatest Ryder Cup ever, captivating the entire country. Suddenly, the event became a hot TV property.

NBC Sport Jon Miller, president of sports programming for the NBC Sports Group, tells how the Ryder Cup became the Ryder Cup.

********

Jon Miller: The Ryder Cup had been on USA Cable with a taped version on ABC. It never was a big event. It took place in the fall. ABC had college football. We had baseball. There was no home for it.

NBC baseball made a decision not to extend baseball deal in 1989. We needed to fill 26 weeks of programming.

Since we were out of baseball, we made a deal with Joe Steranka (of the PGA of America) for the Ryder Cup. We had two sponsors: Cadillac and IBM. We wanted to create a Masters feel.

The plan was to show three hours a day on Saturday and Sunday, and three hours on USA Network on Friday. It was big deal at the time.

In Jan., 1991, Operation Desert Storm happened. The economy suffered greatly. There were management changes at IBM and GM, and both companies walked away from the deal. In the spring of ’91, we had no advertisers and were facing big production costs.

Suburu was exclusive car advertiser for $500,000. We went to Wally Uihlein (the president of Titleist). He said nobody is going to watch a golf tournament in September. He offered us 25 cents on the dollar.

We ended up with major, major leakage. There was no way we came close to breaking even on it.

We get to Kiawah. The first day’s matches were exciting. Seve and Azinger get into it.

Then there was fog on Saturday morning. Nobody could play until 9:30. When we come on the air at 3, the afternoon matches just started. By the time we got to 6, all four matches are on the course. Great matches.

We ran all of our commercials. We knew we had an hour to 90 minutes left. I called (NBC Sports president Dick Ebersol), and we decided we’d stay on the air. Since we ran all of our commercials, we ran last 90 minutes commercial-free. The matches were terrific. It was amazing television.

On Sunday, it came down to the last putt (Bernhard Langer missed to give the U.S. the victory). The next thing you know, Kiawah became “The War by the Shore.” The overnight numbers were OK, but it didn’t come anywhere close to showing the kind of passion and heat that the event generated (among viewers who watched). People talked about it, and the Ryder Cup went to another level.

I don’t think American TV viewers had seen golfers get this nervous under this kind of pressure. It was so compelling.

For the 1993 Ryder Cup in England, we changed our strategy. We increase the number of hours. We sold five advertisers and we’re were off and running.

It’s been a great marriage ever since.

******

For more, Classic Sports Network has a complete breakdown of TV and the Ryder Cup.

 

White Sox featured on NBC Sports Network’s ‘Caught Looking’

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Considering that my White Sox are fading, this might be all the national exposure they receive this fall.

From NBC SN on tonight’s show:

With the Oakland A’s and the Chicago White Sox both chasing Postseason berths, Caught Looking (Thursday, Sept. 27th at 9 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network) will feature a behind-the-scenes look at the recent series pitting the A’s against the New York Yankees, and the White Sox against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Major League Baseball Productions embedded camera crews with both the A’s and the White Sox throughout each of their individual series, providing a unique perspective on the action between the lines. MLB Productions cameras captured the White Sox as they fight for the AL Central crown, and the A’s as they tried to make up ground in the AL West while holding on to one of the two Wild Cards.

The episode features compelling in-game audio from A’s pitcher Brett Anderson and White Sox pitcher Jake Peavy. Off the field, camera crews followed A’s pitcher Travis Blackley as he took in the New York City sights for the first time, and pitcher A.J. Griffin, as he visited the MLB Fan Cave. In addition, this week’s episode also includes a profile of White Sox manager Robin Ventura, an interview with White Sox General Manager Kenny Williams, and features on outfielder Alex Rios and first baseman Adam Dunn.

Caught Looking, a new collaboration between Major League Baseball Productions and NBC Sports Group, will follow two different teams each week, as the final eight weeks of the season unfolds. Each original episode will be one hour in length and will air on NBC Sports Network.

 

Posted in MLB

Feherty: On stage doing his version of Letterman; Jordan surprises Michael Phelps

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With a golf club in hand, David Feherty performed before thousands of people during the game’s biggest tournaments.

On television, Feherty analyzes golf for millions of viewers throughout the world. Sometimes, he even makes sense.

On Monday, though, Feherty stepped on a different kind of stage. He hosted a David Letterman-like talk show in front of a full house at the Tivoli Theater in Downers Grove, Ill. Among his guests were Michael Phelps and a surprise appearance by Michael Jordan.

Feherty was taping a new version of Feherty Live, which airs on the Golf Channel Wednesday at 9 p.m. I’m not sure how you call a taped show “live,” but who am I to quibble with semantics?

This is the second time Feherty has done a show before a studio audience. He did it at the Super Bowl in Indianapolis.

Feherty now has a great appreciation for Letterman and all the other talk show hosts who do this for a living.

“Oh, absolutely,” Feherty said. “You know, they’re so comfortable with it, and I’m not.  I was jumpier than a box of frogs until the bell rang last night.  That’s typically ‑‑ I’d be worried if I wasn’t, because like I said in the opening monologue, confidence is that warm, fuzzy feeling you get before you fall on your ass.

“But yeah, it does give me an appreciation for what ‑‑ and they go through it every night it seems.  They tape, what, two or three shows a day.  It’s a different discipline, that’s for sure, than just walking around behind the leaders making inane comments every now and then.”

He had plenty of inane comments, er, observations during Monday’s show. Feherty, though, is in his element. Give him a captive audience, some stories and jokes, and he’s good to go. He’s done it at pubs throughout the world.

The native of Ireland, who now is a U.S. citizen, came out rocking a suit that was half American flag, half European flag. He actually shot a taped opening wearing a speedo in honor of Phelps. No, the guy isn’t shy. And no, it’s not something I want to see again.

Among his lines:

About the Ryder Cup: “The U.S. defends itself against the rest of the world. Kind of like a United Nations meeting.”

On the U.S. early dominence over Great Britain and Ireland: “(The figure on the trophy) is bent over alright, but it has nothing to do with putting.”

On Seve Ballesteros: “Seve united Europe. Even the French.”

To Phelps: “You must have come out of your mother like a dolphin.”

To Jordan and Phelps: “Among the three of us, we have 18 gold medals, 6 NBA titles, and 2 Irish PGA Championships.”

The highlight of the show came when Jordan surprised Phelps; the basketball star was his hero. Feherty needed the boost from MJ because the other Michael was about as dull as a 3-iron.

According to the Golf Channel’s Dan Higgins, Phelps said “he froze from the shock of seeing Jordan entering the stage and thought he was going to burst into tears.”

Said Feherty: :(Phelps) was sort of overwhelmed, I think, by the moment.  He’s such a Michael Jordan fan, and I think to have the big man come up on stage… I was so grateful that (Jordan) chose my show to come on this week because he’s been tortured by a lot of people.  Why on earth he would pick me is another story.”

Later, Feherty mined more familiar territory with former Ryder Cup captains Paul Azinger, Sam Torrance, and Lanny Wadkins. Plenty of terrific stories.

Afterward, Feherty appeared to be spent. I asked what’s harder: Walking 5-hours in the 90-degree or doing a one-hour show?

“(I’m) much more tired than I’d be after walking 18 holes with Tiger or whatever,” he said  “I was really sort of jumpy before the show, and I felt like somebody had let the air out of me afterwards with a loud rasping noise characteristically.”

 

 

 

Feherty, former European Ryder Cup player, will be rooting for U.S.

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David Feherty grew up in Northern Ireland and was a member of Europe’s Ryder Cup team in 1991.

So naturally, Feherty said he will be rooting for the U.S. during the Ryder Cup at Medinah.

Actually, it makes sense. Feherty, a resident of Dallas, loves the United States so much, he became an American citizen. When he’s not working, which nearly is all the time, he spends countless hours with wounded veterans.

Said Feherty of his choice and how it would go with his good friend, Sam Torrance, Europe’s captain in 2002:

Well, to be honest, I’ve been leaning in that direction for quite a while now.  You know, since my first visit toIraqback in 2006, I’ve felt like ‑‑ well, that was the instant that I knew I had to be an American.  I’d wanted to be one for a while, but my wife had always wanted to be married to an Irishman, and I wasn’t going to win that argument.

But she knew things had changed for me when I came back from down range there with our armed forces.

Sam was fine.  He knows.  He’s the greatest friend I’ve ever had, and he knows that I’m an American.  Yeah, he gave me a hard time afterwards, and he’ll give me a hard time again most of the week, but that’s what you expect from your friends.  If he were kind to me about it or say, you know, hey, I understand, I’d be seriously worried.  There’s a plot going on somewhere.

 

Post replacement ref fiasco could produce record SportsCenter rating

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Next Monday night, ESPN hopes the winning scores occurs with the replacement refs missing that the offensive team has 14 men on the field. It would make for another good night for SportsCenter.

From USA Today:

(SC) drew a 5.0 overnight. and that, says ESPN executive vice president NorbyWilliamson, could make it the most-watched SportsCenter ever when all TV markets are included in a national rating. (At least that’s true, says ESPN as it combs through its ratings history, for SportsCenter shows that lasted at least an hour. The 5.0 overnight translates into 5% of households in the 56 urban TV markets measured for overnights.)

 

Posted in NFL

Sunday books: War By The Shore tells tale of 1991 Ryder Cup

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It’s a big week for us in Chicago. The Ryder Cup begins Friday at Medinah Country Club.

To put you in the mood, noted golf author Curt Sampson has written a new book, The War By The Shore. It tells the tale of the 1991 Ryder Cup, the first real Cup that grabbed our attention. It all came down to one final 5-foot putt for Bernhard Langer.

Here’s a trailer for the book:

 

A little perspective: Videos show regular NFL refs also blew plenty of calls

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Heck, NFL Network even dedicated one of their Top 10 shows to “The Most Controversial Calls” of all time.

Remember the Tom Brady and the “Tuck Rule”? Jamie Dukes called “one of the most heinous crimes ever committed against a team.”

And how about the official who screwed up the coin toss? Imagine if that happened to a replacement ref.

This video below also includes the controversy over the “Music City Miracle.”

And No. 1 on the list was Franco Harris’ “Immaculate Reception.” Back in those days, a pass couldn’t be tipped from one player to the next. Imagine if replacement refs were on the call for that one.

Since I was a Steeler fan, I’m glad they made that call.

Sunday, Phil Mushnick of the New York Post wrote:

If you scroll back to roughly this time four years ago, you would find that many of the same print and electronic media, letter-writers and callers to radio shows, who now are demanding a return of the tried-and-true NFL game officials, were calling for a total overhaul of NFL officiating, a demand to replace the old with the new.

Many fans and media, without suggesting or considering how officials spend the rest of the week and year, demanded that the NFL hire full-time officials.

Now, this isn’t too excuse what happened last night in Seattle. It was terrible and inevitable. The NFL deserved to get burned for playing with fire with the replacement refs.

The blown call should hasten the return of the regular refs. When the stripped-shirt brigade does return, they should give thanks to all the network analysts, who despite their networks having big-money deals with the NFL, have been grilling the league for their ridiculous hard-line stance against the referees.

I listened to the end of the game on radio and Kevin Harlan and Dan Fouts tore into the NFL in the aftermath.

Still a little perspective. Things will get better when the regular referees come back. But as the videos show, they won’t be perfect.

 

Eisen Q/A on his podcast: Hanging with Olivia Munn, Matt Damon, Larry David; football as pop culture

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Part 2:

Really, the picture (courtesy of the NFL) says it all for Rich Eisen. I mean, the guy is getting paid to talk football with Olivia Munn!

And Matt Damon, Jon Hamm, Adam Sandler, Larry David, “The Most Interesting Man in the World” guy, etc…

Eisen casually mentions that he is in a fantasy football league with Jeff Garlin, as if we’re all in a fantasy league with the Curb Your Enthusiasm star.

The guy truly is living the life.

In Part 2 of my interview, he discusses the popular Rich Eisen Podcast and how he deftly mixes football with pop culture. Actually, Eisen contends they are one and the same.

Here’s the Q/A:

So what is like sitting across from Olivia Munn for an interview?

It was great. I’d love to have her back. She also had a really good take. She said Romo is going to have a better year because now he’s married. Sure enough, Week 1, he had the best game of his career.

How do you explain your podcast to people who never have heard it before?

This is what I love about the podcast. Sometimes it’s talking about football, and other times, it’s about pop culture.

We had Bryan Cranston on. He’s not a football nut, so we spent 40 minutes talking about Breaking Bad, which is one of my favorite TV shows.

Matt Damon came on once last year. He knew every facet of the Patriots season. Every nuance. I turned to the movie he was promoting, and he seemed visibly irked that we were talking about his movie. It was like, ‘Hey man, let’s talk ball, because when I talk to the guy from Extra or ET, I can’t talk ball.’

Is that why the stars love doing the show so much?

It could be the engaging host too.

Why does the NFL and pop culture mix?

I get Tweets from people saying they want hardcore sports stuff. I say, hey, listen the NFL isn’t just sports. It’s pop culture. The NFL, to me, has reached the iconic pop culture status. It’s up there with movies. Watching the NFL is as part of the American pop culture landscape as going to a movie theater.

The big game of the season (the Super Bowl) has a rock concert in the middle of it. It’s a convergence of sports and entertainment. That’s what I’m trying to do with the podcast.

You live in Los Angeles. You have stars on your podcast. If I looked at your cell phone, would I be impressed with your contacts?

(Embarrassed laugh) I don’t know. I’ve been fortunate through the podcast and living where I live to meet a lot of people who are talented. Actors, actresses, directors. People I’ve admired for years. Part of the thing I love about the podcast is whenever I meet people I’m a fan of, I don’t mind telling them.

Who is  your favorite?

Larry David, hands down.

Why?

I’m friends with one of his executive producers on the show. A guy named Jeff Schaeffer. Through Jeff, I got invited into this focus group. You go and watch the Curb show in an edit bay months before it airs. Everything is so improvised, they want to make sure everything makes sense to people who aren’t involved in the show.

So they show the episode. It’s 6-7 people sitting in an edit and Larry is in the back with a note pad. He takes notes on whether they are laughing or not. Later, they ask questions, ‘Did you understand this? Did you get that?’

Based on that, I asked if Larry would call into the podcast. It couldn’t have been better. Then for last year’s debut, I invited Larry in. Believe me, during the lockout, I was looking for any sort of escape.

He came in to do a round table with Jeff Garlin, JB Smooth, and Bob Einstein. It was amazing. That was my favorite podcast, hands down.