Monthly Archives: March 2010
Sports Media Weekly Podcast #26- Keith McSpurren, CoverItLive
Today marks the half-year anniversary of the Sports Media Weekly Podcast with our 26th edition.
Ken Fang at Fang’s Bites and I look at the announcer line-up for CBS’ coverage of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, changes afoot at ESPN Radio, and the media feud between ESPN.com’s Bill Simmons and former WWL’er and current NBC/MSNBC personality Keith Olbermann.
Our guest this week is Keith McSpurren, President of CoverItLive. CoverItLive is arguably the leader in providing websites with live blogging capability. Keith talks about how he came up with the product and how media companies as small as SMJ and as large as ESPN use it.
Here is a piece I wrote on CoverItLive two and a half years ago.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
ESPN Baseball Stable Grows with Garciaparra
Nomar Garciaparra has announced his retirement from baseball and, consequently, has been hired by ESPN to become an analyst for Basball Tonight. Garciaparra will also serve as a game analyst from time to time.
From ESPN PR:
“After years of enjoying the privilege of playing this great game wearing Red Sox, Cubs, Dodgers, and A’s jerseys in front of truly amazing fans, today I’ve decided to end my playing days,” said Garciaparra. “I’ve been blessed to have had a long career as a player and feel fortunate to continue this great journey as a member of the ESPN team.
“I look forward to contributing my knowledge and experience in this new endeavor. I thank my family, friends, teammates, and fans for their support throughout my career and as I move in this new and exciting direction.”
Jay Levy, ESPN senior coordinating producer, said, “Nomar offers the perspective of an All-Star player, recently out of the game, with experience playing in both leagues and in high-profile markets. His baseball knowledge and ability to relate stories from his career will enhance our telecasts.”
CBS Names Announcers for NCAA Tournament
CBS Sports has announced its announcer pairings for the upcoming NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament. Here are the pairings:
Play-By-Play/Analyst
Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg
Dick Enberg//Jay Bilas
Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery
Gus Johnson/Len Elmore
Kevin Harlan/Dan Bonner
Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel
Tim Brando/Mike Gminski
Spero Dedes/Bob Wenzel
Dedes is making his CBS play-by-play debut. Specific location assignments will not be made until after the tournament field is unveiled this Sunday.
Hershiser to Join ESPN Sunday Night Baseball Booth
ESPN baseball analyst anf former Cy Young Award winner Orel Hershiser will be joining Jon Miller and Joe Morgan as the third voice in ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball booth this season. Hershiser replaces Steve Phillips, who served in the role for the 2009 before being let go by the WWL last fall.
From ESPN PR:
“Sunday Night Baseball distinctly offers Jon’s Hall of Fame voice and the combination of Joe’s Hall of Fame approach to hitting and Orel’s profound pitching knowledge,” said Norby Williamson, ESPN executive vice president, production. “Collectively, they will provide compelling analysis and debate during our national game of the week.”
In addition to his Sunday Night responsibilities, Hershiser will continue to serve as analyst during ESPN’s College World Series and Little League World Series coverage. He will also provide analysis for Baseball Tonight. Hershiser most recently provided analysis for Monday Night Baseball in 2009, and has contributed to Wednesday Night Baseball.
Sports Media Weekly Podcast #25- John Ourand, Sports Business Journal
We’ve reached the 25th edition of the Sports Media Weekly Podcast.
Ken Fang at Fang’s Bites and I are joined for the entire show by John Ourand, sports media columnist for Sports Business Journal and Sports Business Daily.
We spend a good portion of the show wrapping up NBC’s coverage of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics and what lies ahead for the next round of bidding for the rights to the 2014 and 2016 Games.
John also shares with us his experience at ESPN The Weekend in Orlando, whether the NCAA will opt out of it’s agreement with CBS for the Men’s Basketball Tournament, and what we can expect from Fox and ESPN heading into the new baseball season.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
