The Alabama genius put the media in its place during SEC media day. Fortunately for the media, they still get paid whether they are right or wrong.
Category Archives: College football
Let the hype begin: CBS opens 2013 with Alabama-Texas A&M on Sept. 14
Talk about a huge way to begin the season. The defending national champs trying to avenge their only 2012 loss against the Aggies and “Johnny Football.”
I can hardly wait, except it would mean that summer is nearly over, and we barely get summer in Chicago. High of 54 today. Football weather.
Here are the highlights of CBS college football schedule:
CBS Sports kicks off its 13th consecutive season of national coverage of Southeastern Conference Football on Saturday, Sept. 14 (3:30-7:00 PM, ET) with the much anticipated rematch between Alabama and Texas A&M. CBS Sports continues to be the exclusive national network broadcaster of SEC home football games, showcasing the top conference match-ups with the “SEC Game of the Week.”
The SEC ON CBS schedule features a total of 16 games during the network’s 13-week season, including two doubleheaders and the SEC Championship on Saturday, Dec. 7 (4:00 PM, ET).
In addition to the SEC, CBS Sports also broadcasts Air Force at Navy for the third consecutive year on Saturday, Oct. 5 (11:30 AM, ET), the annual Army-Navy game on Saturday, Dec. 14 (3:00 PM, ET) and the 79th Sun Bowl on Tuesday, Dec. 31 (2:00 PM, ET).
Highlights of 2013 schedule include:
(All Times ET)
September 14 – Alabama at Texas A&M, 3:30 PM
October 5 – Air Force at Navy, 11:30 AM
October 19 — SEC Doubleheader, 12:00 NOON & 3:30 PM
November 2 — Georgia vs. Florida, 3:30 PM
November 9 — SEC Doubleheader, 3:30 PM & 8:00 PM
November 29 — Arkansas at LSU, 2:30 PM
December 7 — SEC Championship, 4:00 PM
December 14 — Army vs. Navy, 3:00 PM
December 31 — Sun Bowl, 2:00 PM
All other “SEC Games of the Week” are announced six-to-12 days prior to their broadcast date.
Verne Lundquist and Gary Danielson, along with Tracy Wolfson reporting from the sidelines, serve as CBS Sports’ lead college football announce team.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL TODAY, the Network’s pre-game, halftime and post-game studio show, is broadcast in the half-hour format throughout the season, providing highlights and analysis of all the day’s action.
New SEC-ESPN deal runs through 2034; SEC Network begins in 2014
What’s the over-under on how many SEC national championships in football through 2034? I’m going with 17.
Here are the details:
Southeastern Conference sports — including football and basketball — will have a 24-hour-a-day home when the SEC Network launches in August 2014.
The SEC and ESPN announced a 20-year agreement and rights extension on Thursday. The deal includes a new television network and digital platform that will show SEC sports 24/7, including more than 1,000 events in the first year.
Included in the programming will be 45 football games, more than 100 men’s and more than 60 women’s basketball games, 75 baseball games and selected events from the other 17 SEC sports. The network will also feature studio shows and coverage of special events such as signing day and football pro days.
The digital network, which will launch nationally with AT&T U-verse, will show hundreds of additional events. Each SEC school will have the opportunity to produce and develop content for various platforms. The network will be based in ESPN’s offices in Charlotte, N.C.
The extension means the SEC will have its games on ESPN’s family of networks, plus the SEC Network, through 2034.
“The SEC Network will provide an unparalleled fan experience of top quality SEC content presented across the television network and its accompanying digital platforms,” SEC commissioner Mike Slive said in a statement. “We will increase exposure of SEC athletics programs at all 14 member institutions, as we showcase the incredible student-athletes in our league. The agreement for a network streamlines and completes an overall media rights package that will continue the SEC’s leadership for the foreseeable future.”
“The SEC is unmatched in its success on the field and its popularity with fans nationwide,” said ESPN president John Skipper. “The new network’s top-quality SEC matchups across a range of sports will serve all sports enthusiasts including the most passionate, die-hard SEC fans. Also, it will serve the needs of our multichannel distributors and advertisers by providing extremely attractive programming options across all platforms.”
CBS’s Dodd opts out of Heisman voting: Objects to attempt to keep votes secret
Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com just told the Heisman Trophy folks to stuff it. My words, not him.
In an open letter to William Dockery, president of the Heisman Trust, Dodds writes:
I respectfully resign my Heisman vote effective immediately.
This is my way of getting out on my own terms before the Heisman Trustees can throw me out. Monday is the deadline in your organization’s ham-handed attempt (in my opinion) to make secret a process that has been a joyful, celebrated American sports tradition for decades.
As you know, in August voters were notified if they didn’t agree to hide their Heisman ballots, voting privileges would be up for review. A heretofore unenforced “non-disclosure requirement” was mentioned.
Last month about 50 of the 928 voters from 2012 were admonished for revealing their ballots. I was one of them. Your letter arrived with the names “Johnny Manziel,” “Manti Teo” and “Collin Klein” highlighted from my column with a yellow marker like I had cheated in class.
By today, voters had to promise “in writing” that they won’t reveal their selections prior to the Heisman announcement. Much like the Oscars, the Heisman folks wants to keep viewers in suspense.
However, there’s a difference. These aren’t actors voting here. There are journalists, some of whom actually watch college football during the season (more than you’d think don’t).
Dodds writes:
It’s called transparency, Bill, and there is precious little of it these days in college athletics. I am resigning my vote because I cannot in good conscience participate in a process where there is more secrecy, not less. You may have noticed, there’s a huge need to keep things on the up and up in college athletics these days. The world has become a very skeptical place because of the implied words from the NCAA: “Trust us.”
There’s something wrong with O.J. Simpson still having a vote (as a former winner) and a bunch of slappy sportswriters in danger of losing theirs. A Heisman vote is not a right. I get that. But someone must still explain to me why, after 70-plus years of not invoking the non-disclosure clause, the Heisman Trust is using it as some sort of threat against loyal voters.
And then:
Hiding things will never change the fact that voters can still anonymously divulge their ballots. I suggest you check out stiffarmtrophy.com which has predicted the Heisman winner for 11 consecutive years. There was even a way for me to keep my vote. I simply could have agreed to hide it, and write after the deadline, “I have filed my ballot and agreed to keep it secret. But if I were to divulge it, I’d be strongly leaning toward …”
Not worth it for me. Either everything is out in the open or nothing is. Lack of transparency is what has NCAA critics howling. But forget about me. Any Heisman process that doesn’t have CBSSports.com’s Tony Barnhart as a part of it, isn’t worth participating in. Mr. CFB has given up his vote too.
Q/A with CBS’ Tracy Wolfson: Horrific injury shows need for sideline reporters
Tracy Wolfson was about four feet from Kevin Ware when the unthinkable happened Sunday afternoon.
“I didn’t see the actual fall,” Wolfson said. “Everyone was watching the game. The fall isn’t what you’re looking at. I heard him when he hit the ground. I was probably one of the first people who realized what took place. I remember I picked up my mic (and told producer Mark Wolff), ‘He’s down and it’s bad.'”
In seconds, Wolfson, CBS’ sideline reporter for the Louisville-Duke game, went into scramble mode for what would be the most challenging assignment of her career. Ultimately, she was lauded for securing vital information about the horrific injury and an emotional post-game interview with Louisville coach Rick Pitino.
Yet when I talked to Wolfson nearly 48 hours after Sunday’s game, you could sense the intensity of that situation still had a grip on her. She still hasn’t watched a replay of the telecast.
“You’re running on adrenaline when it’s going on,” Wolfson said. “It didn’t sink in for me until I got to the airport. I looked at Jim (Nantz). We let out a big sigh. It was a feeling of, ‘Oh my God, what just happened?'”
Here’s my Q/A with Wolfson on how she handled Sunday; how it validated the role of sideline reporters; how she hopes to see Ware during the Final Four in Atlanta; and how the Michigan grad intends to be impartial at the Final Four.
What was Sunday like for you? Did you ever have a comparable experience?
No, it was so unprecedented. You don’t expect to be in a situation like that. Sports is supposed to be lighthearted and fun. Then all of the sudden, you’re facing a news story like that. It’s almost like when the lights went out in the Super Bowl.
I remember I put my hands to my face. I knew I had a few seconds to catch my breath. You saw how devastating it was and you don’t want to get in the way. Then I realized, ‘OK, now I’m part of the story.’
Your job is to get as much information as you can get while trying to be respectful to the team and the coach. You have to find the right balance.
How did you and CBS achieve that balance?
CBS decided not to do any on-cameras interviews with the coaches at halftime like we normally do. Let’s just talk to (Pitino) off-camera. Let him regroup with his team and then see what he wants to say. If he didn’t want to say anything, that’s OK too.
He wound up giving us an inside look at what Kevin Ware said to his teammates and a reminder that his mom lives in Atlanta.
Louisville (sports information director Kenny Klein) was tremendous. There was no panic in him whatsoever. He gave us the information we needed.
How did you mentally prepare for the post-game interview with Pitino?
I wasn’t supposed to do the interview. Normally, (Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg) do the interview with the winning coach during the celebration. I interview the loser.
With three minutes to go, the producer said, ‘Tracy, we’re going to try to get this live before we go to 60 Minutes.’ The only possible way was for me to do it.
It was another delicate situation. You have to ask the right questions. I didn’t want to neglect what the team did. That was the one thing on my mind. You need to ask about Kevin Ware and the incident, but I wanted to get in one question about the team and how well they played despite everything that was going on.
Were you surprised at how graphic Pitino was in talking about the injury?
It did catch me by surprise, I have to admit. We saw the emotion. Maybe for him the best way to keep going was to give the facts. Sometimes, it brings you back to reality. It caught a lot of people by surprise, but they wanted to hear that.
A few days have passed. Are you still replaying what happened in your mind?
I’ve got to be honest. There’s a little bit like a sadness. Not that you don’t get to grieve, but I didn’t have time to actually process what went on. It was trying for everyone involved to not only balance it, but to feel for this kid. It takes a lot out of you. You don’t really have time to think.
What I’ve been doing is following him and seeing his progress and things he tweets out. It brought a smile to my face knowing that he’s going to try to be in Atlanta. I really hope we get a chance to sit down with him to see he’s OK.
You have heard people question the need for sideline reporters. Did your work Sunday provide a sense of validation?
I used the example earlier of what happened at the Super Bowl. I truly believe that is the need for a reporter.
I work with Jim and (Verne Lundquist). They are two of the best storytellers in the business. If you have a game without an incident, you don’t necessarily need someone.
It is in those situations (like Sunday) where you need someone. I’m OK being that person who only steps into that role when it is necessary. I’m not someone who needs to be on the air six times a game because you have a reporter there and you have to put them on. We’re all a team and I add to the broadcast. I try to give to the viewer something they can’t necessarily get. In those situations (like Sunday), that’s a perfect example.
CBS doesn’t use sideline reporters for regular-season NFL games. You work as a sideline reporter for CBS’ college football games. How do you feel about that?
I’m biased. Of course, I believe there’s a need for sideline reporters. It’s my job. I want to work. I see the difference between college football and the NFL. Any relevant information, injury reports. In the NFL, a lot of that stuff goes directly to the booth. But you did see in the Super Bowl where you need them.
There’s nothing wrong with having a sideline reporter present and just utilized pregame, halftime interview or report, postgame. It doesn’t mean they have to do those out-of-the-box stories during the game.
But you have access down there. You can see things that you don’t necessarily get from a PR person. In college you can hear things. You have relationships where you can get information.
It’s great to hear from a coach. It always brings to life the emotions, especially in tight games or when upsets are happening. I think that access is huge.
There’s nothing wrong with having someone down there and not doing a typical sideline reporter job that we’ve all known in the past that gets so criticized. The No. 1 thing is to have someone that can do that job and is knowledgeable is about sports. Also, (that person) can adjust on the fly to have to cover a blackout or a horrific injury like we saw Sunday.
The most visible element for the sideline reporter is to interview a coach after the first half. How do basketball coaches compare to football coaches when it comes to the halftime interview?
It’s always challenging. It depends on the situation and the coach. If his team is getting blown out by 20 points, he’s not going to be happy. It’s a delicate balance. You don’t want to put them in a bad position with your questions, but you want to get the best out of them.
You’re a 1997 grad of Michigan. How is it going to be having the Wolverines in the Final Four?
I’ll definitely know a lot of people in the stands. However, I won’t be wearing maize and blue. This is the Final Four. Once they tip off, it’s just another game.
Bonnie Bernstein to become ‘public face’ of Campus Insiders
Bonnie Bernstein is set to launch the next phase of her career.
She is going to become the “public face” of Campus Insiders, a digital college sports network. Bernstein also will be the network’s vice-president of content and brand development. She will be based out of Chicago, recording her shows from Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Studios.
Also coming on board is IMG, which will participate on several levels.
I’ll have more later on. Here’s the official announcement.
******
Campus Insiders, the online destination for college sports fans, today announced the addition of acclaimed sports journalist Bonnie Bernstein as the public face of the digital sports network and Vice President of Content and Brand Development.
Bernstein will host a daily show providing opinion on the news of the day, studio analysis and debate, and reports from an unprecedented network of campus-based “Insiders,” offering reports and news from college campuses around the country. Launching at the start of the 2013 college football season, Bernstein’s programming will also feature unique interactive components to engage CI viewers. Content will stream on CampusInsiders.com and will be distributed via social media and a strategic alliance of third-party digital destinations. Bernstein’s show is projected to be viewed 100 million times annually.
As VP of Content and Brand Development, Bernstein will utilize her keen eye for talent and her creative vision to develop original programming for Campus Insiders. She will also work closely with the network’s marketing team to develop the Campus Insiders brand and secure corporate sponsorships. Campus Insiders is produced by Silver Chalice and IMG College.
“I’ve always had a passion for entrepreneurship, and this is an incredible opportunity to branch out beyond my broadcast work,” said Bernstein. “I’m looking forward to wearing new hats as I help bring shows from concept to market and build a brand powered by tremendous resources. The unequivocal goal is to make Campus Insiders a destination for college sports fans.“
“Sports fans all over the country recognize and connect with Bonnie Bernstein. We’re fortunate to have both her on-air talents and her passion for programming and content at our disposal,” said Crowley Sullivan, GM of Campus Insiders. “We fully expect Bonnie to act as a guiding force for Campus Insiders as we continue to grow.”
Bernstein is recognized by the American Sportscasters Association as one of the most accomplished female journalists in the industry. She has hosted a variety of ESPN shows, including NFL Live, Outside the Lines, Jim Rome is Burning and First Take, as well as a daily NFL show on ESPN Radio in New York. Bernstein is the only female fill-in host for The Dan Patrick Show. She spent eight years at CBS Sports as the lead reporter for the NFL and NCAA Men’s Basketball Championships.
Bernstein’s show will originate from HARPO Studios in Chicago. CBS Sports basketball analyst Seth Davis and CollegeFootballNews.com founder Pete Fiutak are also featured on the CI talent roster.
To extend the reach of Campus Insiders, Silver Chalice has enlisted the participation of IMG, a global leader in sports, media, and entertainment. IMG will help provide access to on-air talent, contribute sales and marketing support, and provide access to universities, helping increase exposure for the schools and their sports teams.
About Campus Insiders
Campus Insiders will serves college sports fans by creating timely, relevant, and behind the scenes content, programming, products and destinations, and live events that go beyond the standard and give fans a unique, inside perspective, all delivered through the strength of a smart technology experience.
About First Round Media
First Round Media, LLC creates digital product experiences and video properties for digital distribution. The Company develops infrastructure, digital assets, and operations designed to create a leading digital platform for producing and distributing, audio-visual, college sports-themed content (including game highlights). First Round Media’s first property is Campus Insiders, which showcases exclusive video content, national and local coverage, and in-depth analysis for college football and basketball.
First Round Media is a division of Silver Chalice New Media. The Silver Chalice team operates offices out of Boulder and Chicago, with additional satellite sales offices in New York and Los Angeles. Silver Chalice is an equal opportunity employer.
Is staying at ESPN a good move for Big East?
I think there might have been a bigger upside in terms of exposure if the conference went with NBC Sports Network. Like the NHL, the Big East would have gotten the star treatment on the network.
At ESPN, it will remain a lower level player thanks to the Big East not being the Big East anymore.
Old pal Mark Blaudschun addressed the issue in a post at ajerseyguy.com. For starters, he made a great comment about how the Big East isn’t the only entity which saw its value dramatically reduced in the market.
The official announcement came on Saturday afternoon, with details to follow, which should include a 7-year package in football and basketball which will bring Big East schools a total of approximately $130 million.
That total of course, is far short of the more than $1.2 billion offer the Big East turned down 20 months ago, but then again the Boston Globe was a billion dollar purchase by the New York Times 20 years ago and is now being shopped on the market for approximately 100 million dollars.
Stuff happens.
As for staying with ESPN, Blaudschun writes:
What NBC was offering was exposure and a place as the guest of honor for its NBCSports Network. cable network which still needs more programming.
What ESPN was offering was the comfort of a network which is still the gold standard for broadcasts of college athletics, as well as a relationship with the Big East, which dated back to the creation of both the network and the conference in 1979.
Familiarity was definitely a factor. But so was the wide variety of outlets ESPN had. As one source at the Big East said on Saturday, “ESPN over matched the offer. The deal they offered in terms of exposure is better than the deal we have now in football. It was more than fair.”
So while there will be less money–much less money–ESPN is going to be part of making the Big East the “best of the rest”, which means not quite at the BCS level that the Big East will be part of for one more year, but a cut above, the other groups of conferences such as the Mountain West and Conference USA, who are also fighting for a seat at the main table.
Sara Ganim getting harassed by ‘Paterno Truthers’
Joel Mathis of the Philly Post reports that some of Joe Paterno’s supporters have crossed way over the line. They have targeted Sara Ganim.
Apparently, the “Paterno Truthers” have forgotten that without Ganim’s Pulitzer Prize winning reporting, Jerry Sandusky might be free and capable of doing his unthinkable acts.
At one point, Ganim, now with CNN, tweeted last week about quitting Twitter:
There are really some scary people out there. Absolute nutjobs. Thinking about ditching twitter. Not sure of its value anymore.
Writes Mathis:
Let’s put aside how incredibly tedious, tiresome and unavoidable the “Paterno truther” brigade has become for anyone who dares write (or even tweet) credulously about the downfall of Saint JoePa. What even the truthers should understand is this: Fighting back against Paterno’s critics by using sexually demeaning and degrading language is really not the best way to demonstrate that you have your priorities in the right place when a sex abuse scandal—and the ease with which it was overlooked—is at the heart of the whole neverending mess in the first place.
You don’t have a ton of credibility, truthers, except with each other. You reduce it further every time you call Ganim a “bitch” or suggest she’s been sleeping around. And you reduce it when you keep your silence in the face of such misogyny, just because you don’t like Ganim and her work. All of which will actively short-circuit a renaissance for Paterno’s memory, or Penn State itself.
Yet another reason to be sickened by the entire situation.
Deadspin: Manti Te’o’s dead girlfriend was hoax; statement from Notre Dame
Here’s the link to the story everyone will be talking about.
Here’s the statement from Notre Dame:
On Dec. 26, Notre Dame coaches were informed by Manti Te’o and his parents that Manti had been the victim of what appears to be a hoax in which someone using the fictitious name Lennay Kekua apparently ingratiated herself with Manti and then conspired with others to lead him to believe she had tragically died of leukemia. The University immediately initiated an investigation to assist Manti and his family in discovering the motive for and nature of this hoax. While the proper authorities will continue to investigate this troubling matter, this appears to be, at a minimum, a sad and very cruel deception to entertain its perpetrators.
From a journalistic perspective, interesting how Deadspin pieced this story together through using Twitter and Facebook accounts. Once again, welcome to the new world of social media.
Not necessary: ESPN apologizes for Musburger’s comments about girlfriend of Alabama QB
It must be politically correct day at ESPN.
Following the network’s decision to dump Rob Parker, ESPN decided to apologize for Brent Musburger’s comments about Katherine Webb, the girlfriend of Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron.
In a statement, ESPN said: “We always try to capture interesting storylines and the relationship between an Auburn grad who is Miss Alabama and the current Alabama quarterback certainly met that test. However, we apologize that the commentary in this instance went too far and Brent understands that.”
In my view, this was totally unnecessary. Yes, Musburger might have gotten a bit carried away with his statements, but it wasn’t grossly over the line. People were more amused than outraged.
An apology only serves to focus more attention on Musburger and his comments. It elevates the story instead of letting it fade away.