Colorado's Conor Casey missed a crucial penalty kick in the Rapids' last game. He can make up for it against a team he easily found the back of the net against earlier this month.
Casey and the Rapids host the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday, looking to continue their domination in the all-time series.
Colorado (2-2-1) beat Los Angeles 3-2 on April 4 behind three goals from Casey, who netted the winner in the 84th minute. Casey is tied for the league lead with four goals.
The Rapids return home after a three-game road trip in which they went 1-1-1. They ended it on a disappointing note, losing 1-0 to Houston on Sunday.
Casey is especially looking for some redemption after missing a chance to tie the match last week. He was awarded a penalty kick in the 83rd minute, but his shot was denied and the rebound attempt was also saved.
"It was a long trip and long day not to get a point after Conor did everything he did to create the PK," goalkeeper Preston Burpo said. "There are some positives going on with us. We just have to keep building on that for next week."
The Galaxy (0-1-3) remain the only winless team in the Western Conference. They've played to a draw in their last two contests, including 1-1 at San Jose last Saturday. Forward Bryan Jordan scored in the 76th minute to tie the game after the Earthquakes took a lead in the fifth minute.
"Overall, I was encouraged by our performance," coach Bruce Arena said. "Obviously the early goal we gave up is a concern, but I think our guys showed a lot of character.
"I was encouraged at halftime. I thought we could win the game, not just get a point."
Los Angeles' slow start is made all the more frustrating by the fact that it was unable to take advantage of a stretch of home games to start the season, dropping two of three. The loss to the Earthquakes kicked off a stretch of four of five games on the road.
The Rapids play three of their next four in Colorado, where they won 2-1 on March 28 in their only home game of the season. This is the fourth all-time meeting at Dick's Sporting Goods Park between these teams, with Colorado outscoring the Galaxy 8-0 in winning all three matches.
"It's been almost a month now since we've played a home game," defender Scott Palguta told the Rapids' official Web site. "I'm really, really looking forward to it. Everybody's looking forward to it."
"I think the character of this team has been tested in the early going and they've responded well," Arena said. "Despite what people may think, this has not been a negative start to the season. Are we happy with where we are? No, of course not. But there are some real positive signs."
The Galaxy are 7-15-3 all-time in Colorado. They have not won in their last 11 visits there since a 3-1 victory July 13, 2002.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
John Madden retires from broadcasting
By Tom Hoffarth
Boom, he's gone.
Thirty years after he retired as a Hall of Fame NFL coach, and more than a dozen years after he became the iconic face of video-game football, John Madden decided, six days after his 73rd birthday, to bus away from his Emmy Award-winning broadcasting career and announce his retirement on Thursday morning.
During his regular 10-minute daily radio show, which he has done the last 30 years at KCBS-AM in San Francisco, Madden told listeners that retirement afforded him the chance to look forward to spending his 50th wedding anniversary with his wife, Virginia, his two sons and five grandchildren this December rather than be on the road again via his Madden cruiser.
``You know, at some point you have to do this; I got to that point,'' Madden said on the radio. ``The thing that made it hard is not because I'm second guessing: `Is this the right decision?' But I enjoyed it so damn much. If you hated part of it or if something was wrong, it'd be easy.''
The only NFL broadcaster to work for all four major networks that televised the league's games -- outside of the league-owned NFL Network -- Madden leaves NBC and its `Sunday Night Football' package three years into a six-year contract.
He moved to NBC from ABC after four years on `Monday Night Football' (replacing the experiment with Dennis Miller). That was preceded by 13 years at Fox working with Pat Summerall, a partnership began at CBS in 1981, after Madden segued from coaching 10 years with the Oakland Raiders and got into broadcasting.
Madden's first practice game for CBS was with Bob Costas from the L.A. Coliseum, and then he was teamed with Vin Scully for much of his first couple of years at the network. Scully's last game for CBS was in San Francisco, in the 1981 NFC title game that featured `The Catch' from Joe Montana to Dwight Clark. Scully quit when network chief Van Gordon Sauter decided it was best to pair the boisterous Madden with the low-key Summerall.
Neil Pilson, the head of CBS Sports at the time, said the first deal he made with Madden was four games guaranteed, at $3,000 a game, and he was almost immediately a star.
Making more than $4 million a season with NBC and nominated for another Emmy -- he has won 16 of them -- Madden's decision caught nearly everyone at the network and beyond by surprise.
``I got a phone call nine days ago, late in the day at my apartment, and he said, `I'm going to retire,' and I went, `No, you're not,''' said NBC Sports chief Dick Ebersol. ``And he said, `I'm going to retire.' From that moment forth I set on a course to persuade him not to. I knew right away I couldn't talk him out of it. He's thought about it the last two months.
"When he makes a decision, he doesn't look back," said Ebersol. "It's the mark of a man, and I hate it."
Madden's every-man, crumbled shirt exterior and Xs and Os brilliance connected with football fans on every level, from every generation.
"He's the only broadcaster I believe could change ratings," said Ebersol. "Not necessarily bring more people to a game that he was doing, but because he was so entertaining and larger than life. People would stay with him during a game that may be a rout than with anyone else, and it consistently gave that game better ratings. I envied that."
Said Michaels: "He's been the gold standard for analysts for almost three decades. As John said today, 'it was time." That's John -- succinct, pithy and right to the point."
``He had a physical a week before and it was the best physical he's had in years, and that's what actually propelled him in this direction. He's had to balance (his family life with his professional life) and he came to the same conclusion as he did 30 years ago, that the coaching game was at a point where he'd done everything he possibly could and he steps away as the absolute best sports broadcaster who ever lived. His fame is better than with anyone else's because he did the biggest sport in America.''
Madden's longtime friend and agent Sandy Montag, the senior corporate vice president of IMG, said the main concern was his time away from his Bay Area home base, and ``unfortunately, the Raiders and 49ers and football in general on the West is not as strong as it once was so he never got home during the season. When you're 73, your priorities change.''
Ebersol gave Madden a couple of games off last season to accommodate his schedule, using Cris Collinsworth as Michaels' partner. Now, the job belongs to Collinsworth, and Ebersol says he believes Madden won't be pulling a Brett Favre and reversing his decision when it comes closer to the season. Nor does Ebersol expect to use Madden on the NBC pregame show in any kind of capacity.
Boom, he's gone.
Thirty years after he retired as a Hall of Fame NFL coach, and more than a dozen years after he became the iconic face of video-game football, John Madden decided, six days after his 73rd birthday, to bus away from his Emmy Award-winning broadcasting career and announce his retirement on Thursday morning.
During his regular 10-minute daily radio show, which he has done the last 30 years at KCBS-AM in San Francisco, Madden told listeners that retirement afforded him the chance to look forward to spending his 50th wedding anniversary with his wife, Virginia, his two sons and five grandchildren this December rather than be on the road again via his Madden cruiser.
``You know, at some point you have to do this; I got to that point,'' Madden said on the radio. ``The thing that made it hard is not because I'm second guessing: `Is this the right decision?' But I enjoyed it so damn much. If you hated part of it or if something was wrong, it'd be easy.''
The only NFL broadcaster to work for all four major networks that televised the league's games -- outside of the league-owned NFL Network -- Madden leaves NBC and its `Sunday Night Football' package three years into a six-year contract.
He moved to NBC from ABC after four years on `Monday Night Football' (replacing the experiment with Dennis Miller). That was preceded by 13 years at Fox working with Pat Summerall, a partnership began at CBS in 1981, after Madden segued from coaching 10 years with the Oakland Raiders and got into broadcasting.
Madden's first practice game for CBS was with Bob Costas from the L.A. Coliseum, and then he was teamed with Vin Scully for much of his first couple of years at the network. Scully's last game for CBS was in San Francisco, in the 1981 NFC title game that featured `The Catch' from Joe Montana to Dwight Clark. Scully quit when network chief Van Gordon Sauter decided it was best to pair the boisterous Madden with the low-key Summerall.
Neil Pilson, the head of CBS Sports at the time, said the first deal he made with Madden was four games guaranteed, at $3,000 a game, and he was almost immediately a star.
Making more than $4 million a season with NBC and nominated for another Emmy -- he has won 16 of them -- Madden's decision caught nearly everyone at the network and beyond by surprise.
``I got a phone call nine days ago, late in the day at my apartment, and he said, `I'm going to retire,' and I went, `No, you're not,''' said NBC Sports chief Dick Ebersol. ``And he said, `I'm going to retire.' From that moment forth I set on a course to persuade him not to. I knew right away I couldn't talk him out of it. He's thought about it the last two months.
"When he makes a decision, he doesn't look back," said Ebersol. "It's the mark of a man, and I hate it."
Madden's every-man, crumbled shirt exterior and Xs and Os brilliance connected with football fans on every level, from every generation.
"He's the only broadcaster I believe could change ratings," said Ebersol. "Not necessarily bring more people to a game that he was doing, but because he was so entertaining and larger than life. People would stay with him during a game that may be a rout than with anyone else, and it consistently gave that game better ratings. I envied that."
Said Michaels: "He's been the gold standard for analysts for almost three decades. As John said today, 'it was time." That's John -- succinct, pithy and right to the point."
``He had a physical a week before and it was the best physical he's had in years, and that's what actually propelled him in this direction. He's had to balance (his family life with his professional life) and he came to the same conclusion as he did 30 years ago, that the coaching game was at a point where he'd done everything he possibly could and he steps away as the absolute best sports broadcaster who ever lived. His fame is better than with anyone else's because he did the biggest sport in America.''
Madden's longtime friend and agent Sandy Montag, the senior corporate vice president of IMG, said the main concern was his time away from his Bay Area home base, and ``unfortunately, the Raiders and 49ers and football in general on the West is not as strong as it once was so he never got home during the season. When you're 73, your priorities change.''
Ebersol gave Madden a couple of games off last season to accommodate his schedule, using Cris Collinsworth as Michaels' partner. Now, the job belongs to Collinsworth, and Ebersol says he believes Madden won't be pulling a Brett Favre and reversing his decision when it comes closer to the season. Nor does Ebersol expect to use Madden on the NBC pregame show in any kind of capacity.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
CBS Sports heads into its 50th year of NFL coverage
NEW YORK -- Highlighted by Super Bowl XLIV on Feb. 7, 2010 from Miami, the CBS Television Network marks its golden 50th year of coverage of the NFL by broadcasting a total of 106 games during its 17 weeks of regular-season coverage of the NFL’s American Football Conference. The regular-season schedule is followed by a full post-season slate including an AFC Wild Card playoff game on January 10, 2010, two divisional playoff games on January 16 and January 17, the AFC Championship Game on January 24 and Super Bowl XLIV.
CBS Sports’ coverage of Super Bowl XLIV marks the 17th time the Network will broadcast the Super Bowl with the last being in 2007 when the Indianapolis Colts defeated the Chicago Bears in Miami, Fla.
► ALL THE WORLD’S A STAGE
In Week 7, THE NFL ON CBS for the second straight year travels across the Atlantic Ocean to cover the New England-Tampa Bay (10/25) game live from Wembley Stadium in London, England.
► AFC DIVISIONAL RIVALRIES
Along with near-weekly divisional battles in the AFC North between Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Cleveland and Cincinnati, other AFC games highlighted include interdivision rivalries in the South including Tennessee-Indianapolis (12/6); in the East including Miami-New England (11/8); and in the West including San Diego-Denver (11/22).
► THANKSGIVING DAY GAME
Thanksgiving Day (11/26) will feature the Oakland Raiders at Dallas Cowboys.
► OPENING KICK-OFF
THE NFL ON CBS kicks off Week 1 with singleheader coverage on Sunday, Sept. 13 (Noon-4 p.m., ET) beginning with THE NFL TODAY, the Network’s pre-game studio show.
The day’s NFL action is highlighted by Jacksonville visiting Indianapolis and Kansas City taking on Baltimore. Other regional action that day on THE NFL ON CBS includes Miami-Atlanta, Denver-Cincinnati and the New York Jets-Houston games, live on the CBS Television Network.
► PRESEASON
CBS Sports’ NFL pre-season schedule begins Friday, Aug. 28 (8 p.m., ET) live in prime time with the New England Patriots taking on the Washington Redskins. The Network’s second pre-season game sees the San Diego Chargers visiting the Atlanta Falcons live in prime time on Saturday, Aug. 29 (8 p.m., ET) on the CBS Television Network.
Jim Nantz and Phil Simms are the lead announce team for the Network’s coverage of the NFL.
THE NFL TODAY, CBS Sports’ NFL pre-game, halftime and post-game studio show, begins on Sunday, Sept. 13 (Noon-1 p.m., ET) with host James Brown, along with analysts Dan Marino, Boomer Esiason, Shannon Sharpe and Bill Cowher.
Sean McManus is President, CBS News and Sports and serves as the executive producer of CBS Sports’ coverage of the NFL. Harold Bryant is Vice President, Production, CBS Sports.
► SUPER BOWL CHAMPION PITTSBURGH AND INDIANAPOLIS SLATED FOR NINE APPEARANCES; WHILE NEW ENGLAND AND AFC DIVISION CHAMPIONS MIAMI, TENNESSEE AND SAN DIEGO TO MAKE 10
The Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers and perennial AFC power Indianapolis Colts will appear nine times each on THE NFL ON CBS, while the New England Patriots, along with AFC East Champion Miami Dolphins, AFC South Champion Tennessee Titans, and AFC West Champion San Diego Chargers will make 10 appearances each; the Baltimore Ravens will be seen 11 times on CBS; the Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos and New York Jets will appear 12 times each; the Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars and Oakland Raiders 13 times each; and the Cincinnati Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs 14 times each.
► NINE CBS DOUBLEHEADER WEEKENDS
THE NFL ON CBS’s 2009 broadcast schedule, which includes nine doubleheader weekends, features several of last year’s powerhouse teams in the AFC and key AFC-NFC match-ups including San Diego-Dallas (12/13); Pittsburgh-Chicago (9/20); San Diego-New York Giants (11/8); AFC Championship rematch Baltimore-Pittsburgh (12/27); New England-Denver (10/11); Tennessee-New England (10/18); Denver-Philadelphia (12/27); Kansas City-Philadelphia (9/27); Cincinnati-Green Bay (9/20); Denver-Indianapolis (12/13); Cleveland-Chicago (11/1); Houston-Arizona (10/11); Baltimore-New England (10/4); Indianapolis-Baltimore (11/22); Pittsburgh-Miami (1/3/10); New York Jets-New Orleans (10/4); Oakland-New York Giants (10/11); Baltimore-Minnesota (10/18); Cleveland-Pittsburgh (10/18); Kansas City-Washington (10/18); Denver-Washington (11/15); Jacksonville-San Francisco (11/29) and New York Jets-Indianapolis (12/27). (Over) THE NFL ON CBS Schedule…2
CBS Sports’ coverage of Super Bowl XLIV marks the 17th time the Network will broadcast the Super Bowl with the last being in 2007 when the Indianapolis Colts defeated the Chicago Bears in Miami, Fla.
► ALL THE WORLD’S A STAGE
In Week 7, THE NFL ON CBS for the second straight year travels across the Atlantic Ocean to cover the New England-Tampa Bay (10/25) game live from Wembley Stadium in London, England.
► AFC DIVISIONAL RIVALRIES
Along with near-weekly divisional battles in the AFC North between Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Cleveland and Cincinnati, other AFC games highlighted include interdivision rivalries in the South including Tennessee-Indianapolis (12/6); in the East including Miami-New England (11/8); and in the West including San Diego-Denver (11/22).
► THANKSGIVING DAY GAME
Thanksgiving Day (11/26) will feature the Oakland Raiders at Dallas Cowboys.
► OPENING KICK-OFF
THE NFL ON CBS kicks off Week 1 with singleheader coverage on Sunday, Sept. 13 (Noon-4 p.m., ET) beginning with THE NFL TODAY, the Network’s pre-game studio show.
The day’s NFL action is highlighted by Jacksonville visiting Indianapolis and Kansas City taking on Baltimore. Other regional action that day on THE NFL ON CBS includes Miami-Atlanta, Denver-Cincinnati and the New York Jets-Houston games, live on the CBS Television Network.
► PRESEASON
CBS Sports’ NFL pre-season schedule begins Friday, Aug. 28 (8 p.m., ET) live in prime time with the New England Patriots taking on the Washington Redskins. The Network’s second pre-season game sees the San Diego Chargers visiting the Atlanta Falcons live in prime time on Saturday, Aug. 29 (8 p.m., ET) on the CBS Television Network.
Jim Nantz and Phil Simms are the lead announce team for the Network’s coverage of the NFL.
THE NFL TODAY, CBS Sports’ NFL pre-game, halftime and post-game studio show, begins on Sunday, Sept. 13 (Noon-1 p.m., ET) with host James Brown, along with analysts Dan Marino, Boomer Esiason, Shannon Sharpe and Bill Cowher.
Sean McManus is President, CBS News and Sports and serves as the executive producer of CBS Sports’ coverage of the NFL. Harold Bryant is Vice President, Production, CBS Sports.
► SUPER BOWL CHAMPION PITTSBURGH AND INDIANAPOLIS SLATED FOR NINE APPEARANCES; WHILE NEW ENGLAND AND AFC DIVISION CHAMPIONS MIAMI, TENNESSEE AND SAN DIEGO TO MAKE 10
The Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers and perennial AFC power Indianapolis Colts will appear nine times each on THE NFL ON CBS, while the New England Patriots, along with AFC East Champion Miami Dolphins, AFC South Champion Tennessee Titans, and AFC West Champion San Diego Chargers will make 10 appearances each; the Baltimore Ravens will be seen 11 times on CBS; the Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos and New York Jets will appear 12 times each; the Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars and Oakland Raiders 13 times each; and the Cincinnati Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs 14 times each.
► NINE CBS DOUBLEHEADER WEEKENDS
THE NFL ON CBS’s 2009 broadcast schedule, which includes nine doubleheader weekends, features several of last year’s powerhouse teams in the AFC and key AFC-NFC match-ups including San Diego-Dallas (12/13); Pittsburgh-Chicago (9/20); San Diego-New York Giants (11/8); AFC Championship rematch Baltimore-Pittsburgh (12/27); New England-Denver (10/11); Tennessee-New England (10/18); Denver-Philadelphia (12/27); Kansas City-Philadelphia (9/27); Cincinnati-Green Bay (9/20); Denver-Indianapolis (12/13); Cleveland-Chicago (11/1); Houston-Arizona (10/11); Baltimore-New England (10/4); Indianapolis-Baltimore (11/22); Pittsburgh-Miami (1/3/10); New York Jets-New Orleans (10/4); Oakland-New York Giants (10/11); Baltimore-Minnesota (10/18); Cleveland-Pittsburgh (10/18); Kansas City-Washington (10/18); Denver-Washington (11/15); Jacksonville-San Francisco (11/29) and New York Jets-Indianapolis (12/27). (Over) THE NFL ON CBS Schedule…2
Thursday, April 9, 2009
San Diego vs. Los Angeles
Billingsley (1-0) entered the fifth seemingly in control with a 2-0 lead. He had allowed only two singles and thrown 65 pitches, 43 for strikes. He then experienced a bit of wildness, walking the first three batters he faced to load the bases with no outs in the inning.
Jody Gerut drove in a run with a fielder's choice and David Eckstein had a sacrifice fly, but Gerut was doubled up 8-3-4 attempting to go to second on Eckstein's ball.
"Overall, I felt good," Billingsley said. "I settled in until the fifth where I couldn't seem to locate or find my rhythm. I was able to get out of it with limited damage, only two runs. That was huge, and it doesn't get much better than James cutting it off and getting them in a rundown. That was a huge play right there."
SAN DIEGO -- Manny Ramirez was already looking forward to the Los Angeles Dodgers' next game after collecting his first three RBI of the season Wednesday night.
"What we did today means nothing tomorrow, and you've got to move on," he said following the Dodgers' 5-2 victory against the San Diego Padres. "What's done is done."
Ramirez helped finish San Diego, driving in a run with a first-inning groundout and hitting a tiebreaking two-run double in the seventh.
Chad Billingsley worked six solid innings for Los Angeles and three relievers combined to finish the three-hitter. Jonathan Broxton struck out two during a scoreless ninth, earning his second save.
Ramirez's big hit in the seventh came after an unusual mix-up with the Padres. Cla Meredith thought he had been summoned from the bullpen to face the dreadlocked slugger after Edward Mujica (0-1) had given up back-to-back singles to Rafael Furcal and Orlando Hudson with one out.
Meredith got close to second base before manager Bud Black, who had come out to the mound to talk to Mujica, waved him back to the bullpen.
"When I went to the mound, I might have motioned to the infielders, who came in," Black said. "I think Cla [Meredith] saw that and thought that was the sign for him. He was on call, but at that point, I decided to leave Edward in. He was throwing the ball well and had given up those two light hits. And he hadn't given up a run."
Meredith surrendered a home run to Ramirez the only time he faced him last season.
Mujica threw a called strike past the Los Angeles star, who drove the next pitch into right-center to put Los Angeles ahead 4-2. James Loney tacked on an RBI single off Meredith later in the inning.
"Manny hit that ball hard," Dodgers manager Joe Torre said. "We needed that. We had the lead and an opportunity to score a run or two after that and couldn't do it. Chad got wild in that fifth inning. You look up there and see they only had two or three hits, so we felt like we needed to win this game. That was an important base hit for us, and James's following it, too."
Casey Blake hit a solo home run in the second inning for Los Angeles.
San Diego's Walter Silva pitched five effective innings in his major league debut. The 32-year-old right-hander allowed two runs and five hits, walked four and struck out one.
Jody Gerut drove in a run with a fielder's choice and David Eckstein had a sacrifice fly, but Gerut was doubled up 8-3-4 attempting to go to second on Eckstein's ball.
"Overall, I felt good," Billingsley said. "I settled in until the fifth where I couldn't seem to locate or find my rhythm. I was able to get out of it with limited damage, only two runs. That was huge, and it doesn't get much better than James cutting it off and getting them in a rundown. That was a huge play right there."
SAN DIEGO -- Manny Ramirez was already looking forward to the Los Angeles Dodgers' next game after collecting his first three RBI of the season Wednesday night.
"What we did today means nothing tomorrow, and you've got to move on," he said following the Dodgers' 5-2 victory against the San Diego Padres. "What's done is done."
Ramirez helped finish San Diego, driving in a run with a first-inning groundout and hitting a tiebreaking two-run double in the seventh.
Chad Billingsley worked six solid innings for Los Angeles and three relievers combined to finish the three-hitter. Jonathan Broxton struck out two during a scoreless ninth, earning his second save.
Ramirez's big hit in the seventh came after an unusual mix-up with the Padres. Cla Meredith thought he had been summoned from the bullpen to face the dreadlocked slugger after Edward Mujica (0-1) had given up back-to-back singles to Rafael Furcal and Orlando Hudson with one out.
Meredith got close to second base before manager Bud Black, who had come out to the mound to talk to Mujica, waved him back to the bullpen.
"When I went to the mound, I might have motioned to the infielders, who came in," Black said. "I think Cla [Meredith] saw that and thought that was the sign for him. He was on call, but at that point, I decided to leave Edward in. He was throwing the ball well and had given up those two light hits. And he hadn't given up a run."
Meredith surrendered a home run to Ramirez the only time he faced him last season.
Mujica threw a called strike past the Los Angeles star, who drove the next pitch into right-center to put Los Angeles ahead 4-2. James Loney tacked on an RBI single off Meredith later in the inning.
"Manny hit that ball hard," Dodgers manager Joe Torre said. "We needed that. We had the lead and an opportunity to score a run or two after that and couldn't do it. Chad got wild in that fifth inning. You look up there and see they only had two or three hits, so we felt like we needed to win this game. That was an important base hit for us, and James's following it, too."
Casey Blake hit a solo home run in the second inning for Los Angeles.
San Diego's Walter Silva pitched five effective innings in his major league debut. The 32-year-old right-hander allowed two runs and five hits, walked four and struck out one.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Sports briefs
Player charged with DUI manslaughter
MIAMI -- Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte Stallworth was charged Wednesday with killing a pedestrian last month while driving drunk after a night out at a swank South Beach nightspot.
An arrest warrant charging Stallworth, 28, with DUI manslaughter was filed in the March 14 accident that killed 59-year-old Mario Reyes. If convicted, Stallworth would face up to 15 years in prison.
Stallworth's blood-alcohol level after the crash was .126, well above Florida's legal limit of .08, according to results of a blood test. Stallworth will also be charged with DUI, which carries a possible six-month sentence plus fines and community service for first offenders.
Stallworth, who is expected to surrender in court Thursday, released a statement last month saying he was "grief-stricken" over the accident. Prosecutors said they will ask that he be released on $200,000 bail.
MIAMI -- Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte Stallworth was charged Wednesday with killing a pedestrian last month while driving drunk after a night out at a swank South Beach nightspot.
An arrest warrant charging Stallworth, 28, with DUI manslaughter was filed in the March 14 accident that killed 59-year-old Mario Reyes. If convicted, Stallworth would face up to 15 years in prison.
Stallworth's blood-alcohol level after the crash was .126, well above Florida's legal limit of .08, according to results of a blood test. Stallworth will also be charged with DUI, which carries a possible six-month sentence plus fines and community service for first offenders.
Stallworth, who is expected to surrender in court Thursday, released a statement last month saying he was "grief-stricken" over the accident. Prosecutors said they will ask that he be released on $200,000 bail.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Gumbel sues producer
CBS Sports broadcaster Greg Gumbel claims in a lawsuit a television producer tricked him into hosting a series of Internet infomercials. The lawsuit, filed in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., says Paul Douglas Scott, owner of Encore Television Group Inc., told Gumbel he would be announcing introductions for educational programming. Instead, Gumbel says, his introductions were used in infomercials for time-shares, magnet therapy, and other products.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Werner Ladder Co. Again Teams Up with the NCAA(R) and CBS Sports to be the Official Ladder of the NCAA(R) Basketball Championships
NCAA, features the post game net-cutting ceremonies for Divisions I, II and III men's and women's basketball championships, with Werner ladders that will be used by the winning teams in the post game net-cutting ceremonies for Divisions I, II and III men's and women's basketball championships.
These specially-sized 9 ft. fiberglass stepladders, are designed to give easy access to the net and feature a HolsterTop(TM: 67.03, 3.59, 5.66%) that has a built-in magnetic strip to safely secure screws, nails, or in this case, the scissors used to cut down the nets.
Following the championship games, the winning institutions will keep one ladder for permanent display on campus, and the other ladder will be auctioned off to a charity of the winning coach's choice at the start of next season. Proceeds from last year's Werner Ladder charity auction will go to Bill and Cindy Self's Assists Foundation for the 2007-08 University of Kansas Jayhawks championship ladder. The Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund(TM: 67.03, 3.59, 5.66%) will benefit from the auction of the 2007-08 University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers championship ladder.
This year, the ladders will make several appearances in Detroit, including NCAA Hoop City(R: 27.89, -0.48, -1.69%) refreshed by Coca-Cola(R: 27.89, -0.48, -1.69%), at the Werner Ladder Hang Time Challenge. There, fans can climb a Werner Ladder to see how long they can hang on a basketball rim, and compete against other fans to win prizes, including their own NCAA replica ladder. The display runs from April 3-6 at the Cobo Center.
"Werner Ladder is extremely proud to be a part of the celebration honoring these teams who have worked so hard all year both on and off the court," said Chris Filardi, Vice President, Commercial Marketing, Werner Ladder.
In support of the partnership, Werner Ladder is proud to donate $1,000 to the general scholarship fund of each school that reaches the NCAA Men's and Women's Final Fours(R: 27.89, -0.48, -1.69%).
Werner Ladder's participation is made possible through a relationship with Lowe's, an Official Corporate Partner of the NCAA. Werner ladders are available at Lowe's, and at most professional, hardware and paint retailers nationwide.
For additional information about Werner Ladder, go to www.wernerladder.com.
ABOUT WERNER LADDER COMPANY: Werner Co. is the world's leading manufacturer and distributor of ladders, climbing equipment, and ladder accessories. Backed by over 60 years of product innovation, Werner leads the industry with its commitment to the design and manufacture of quality products that meet or exceed applicable Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA: undefined, undefined, undefined%) and American National Standards Institute (ANSI: undefined, undefined, undefined%) codes and standards for strength and structural integrity. Werner is headquartered in Greenville, Pa.
About the NCAA(R: 27.89, -0.48, -1.69%): The NCAA(R: 27.89, -0.48, -1.69%) is a membership-led nonprofit association of colleges and universities committed to supporting academic and athletics opportunities for more than 400,000 student-athletes at more than 1,000 member colleges and universities. Each year, more than 54,000 student-athletes compete in NCAA(R: 27.89, -0.48, -1.69%) championships in Divisions I, II and III sports. Visit www.NCAA.org and www.NCAA.com for more details about the Association, its goals and members and corporate partnerships that help support programs for student-athletes. The NCAA is proud to have the following elite companies as official Corporate Champions -- AT&T, Coca-Cola and Pontiac --and the following elite companies as official Corporate Partners -- Enterprise, The Hartford, Hershey's, Lowe's, Sheraton and State Farm.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Villanova, Scottie Reynolds get no love from CBS after clinching Final Four
Villanova's Scottie Reynolds reacted quickly Saturday night, dashing to a Final Four berth and sending Pittsburgh home in the process. Unfortunately, CBS Sports brainiacs were not thinking on the fly.
They marred a superior telecast by leaving Boston before providing the necessary punctuation mark to what went down. After the most scintillating game of a boring tournament, the network owed it to viewers to show an interview with Reynolds and Wildcats coach Jay Wright.
Instead, oblivious to this magic moment, Verne Lundquist - who captured the drama with a spectacular night of play-by-play - threw it back to Greg Gumbel in CBS' hoops studio and there was a break for three commercials.
Gumbel set the stage for what we thought would be a return to Boston for an interview, informing viewers they had just seen "one of the great tournament games of all time."
But there would be no "let's go back to Boston." Instead, the few minutes were used to flog Sunday's tournament matchups and upcoming Saturday night shows. Programming so critical it couldn't be further delayed to air a Villanova interview.
One that would have been good for CBS' business, too. This edition of the tournament has produced few thrills. Finally, in prime time, Villanova had provided a legitimate one. A memorable highlight that, if your business is generating ratings, could have been immediately exploited by going one-on-one with Reynolds and Wright after the game.
RAF TRACK: Bill Raftery, working with Lundquist Saturday night, sensed what was unfolding and buried his bag of shtick. He resisted the temptation to 1) make himself bigger then the game and 2) remind us - over and over - what a classic confrontation we were witnessing.
In the first half, Lundquist tried goading Raftery into one of his signature calls. Raf did not take the bait. The analyst really came up big after Reynolds' winning runner with 0.5 seconds left in regulation.
There are no shortage of college basketball analysts (fill in the blanks) who would have taken the spotlight away from Reynolds and turned it on themselves, offering an over-the-top reaction. Raftery didn't.
His first instinct was to report. He immediately wondered how much time would be put back on the clock. Then, Raftery explained the one desperate option Pitt had: "A catch and a dribble is the most you can do."
Raftery and Lundquist turned in a performance equal to the competition they described. In a game with so many obvious "onions" moments, Raftery didn't break out the call until after the tilt ended.
Most players really play well, they can even play in NBA and match the talent of NBA players like Kobe Bryant which have big impact and widely known for his intellegence in basketball sports.
Monday, March 30, 2009
CBS Sports’ Ratings Rise For 2009 NCAA Basketball Regional Semi-Finals
by Bill Gorman
CBS SPORTS’ RATINGS RISE FOR COVERAGE OF REGIONAL SEMI-FINALS OF 2009 NCAA MEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
Tournament-to-Date Average Ratings in Metered Markets Up 8%
CBS Sports’ exclusive live coverage of the 2009 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Regional Semi-Finals from the Boston and Glendale regions on Thursday, March 26 (7:00 PM-12:15 AM, ET) earned an average overnight household rating/share of 6.8/12, up +13% compared to last year’s Regional Semi-Finals Thursday night rating/share of 6.0/11 in the metered markets.
CBS Sports’ overall average overnight household rating/share for the Tournament-to-Date is a5.6/12, up +8% compared to last year’s 5.2/11 in the metered markets.
CBS Sports’ first broadcast window of the night (7:00-9:45 PM, ET) featuring Pittsburgh’s win over Xavier and Connecticut’s victory over Purdue earned an average overnight household rating/share of6.2/11, up +3% from last year’s 6.0/11 (North Carolina-Washington State and Xavier-West Virginia, OT).
The second broadcast window of the night (9:45 PM-12:15 AM, ET), which saw Villanova knock off Duke and Missouri beat Memphis, earned an average overnight household rating/share of 7.4/13, up +25%compared to last year’s 5.9/11 (Louisville-Tennessee and UCLA-Western Kentucky). This year’s 7.4/13 tied with 2005’s 7.4/12 and 2004’s 7.4/13 as the second highest rating in this game window since an 8.9/16 in 1993.
CBS SPORTS’ RATINGS RISE FOR COVERAGE OF REGIONAL SEMI-FINALS OF 2009 NCAA MEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
Tournament-to-Date Average Ratings in Metered Markets Up 8%
CBS Sports’ exclusive live coverage of the 2009 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Regional Semi-Finals from the Boston and Glendale regions on Thursday, March 26 (7:00 PM-12:15 AM, ET) earned an average overnight household rating/share of 6.8/12, up +13% compared to last year’s Regional Semi-Finals Thursday night rating/share of 6.0/11 in the metered markets.
CBS Sports’ overall average overnight household rating/share for the Tournament-to-Date is a5.6/12, up +8% compared to last year’s 5.2/11 in the metered markets.
CBS Sports’ first broadcast window of the night (7:00-9:45 PM, ET) featuring Pittsburgh’s win over Xavier and Connecticut’s victory over Purdue earned an average overnight household rating/share of6.2/11, up +3% from last year’s 6.0/11 (North Carolina-Washington State and Xavier-West Virginia, OT).
The second broadcast window of the night (9:45 PM-12:15 AM, ET), which saw Villanova knock off Duke and Missouri beat Memphis, earned an average overnight household rating/share of 7.4/13, up +25%compared to last year’s 5.9/11 (Louisville-Tennessee and UCLA-Western Kentucky). This year’s 7.4/13 tied with 2005’s 7.4/12 and 2004’s 7.4/13 as the second highest rating in this game window since an 8.9/16 in 1993.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Coach Pearl to be a CBS College Sports March Madness Analyst
(CBS) -- CBS College Sports Network’s coverage of the 2009 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship continues with comprehensive programming surrounding all the regional tournament action Thursday, March 26 – Sunday, March 29.
The Network features top college coaches in-studio including Tennessee’s Bruce Pearl (3/26), Michigan’s John Beilein (3/26, 3/27), Seton Hall’s Bobby Gonzalez (3/26-3/29), Virginia Tech’s Seth Greenberg (3/26-3/29) and Cleveland State’s Gary Waters (3/28, 3/29).
Coverage begins on Thursday, March 26 (5:00-6:00 PM, ET) with NCAA MARCH MADNESS CENTRAL POWERED BY PONTIAC, bringing viewers exclusive in-progress game highlights, live look-ins, press conferences from every team at every site and expert analysis. Immediately following CBS Sports’ live game action, CBS College Sports Network airs the official highlight show of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, NCAA MARCH MADNESS HIGHLIGHTS POWERED BY PONTIAC.
Adam Zucker, Tracy Wolfson and Tom Hart anchor the studio programming and are joined by CBS College Sports Network analyst Steve Lappas. Below is a full programming schedule.
Thursday, March 26
5:00 – 6:00 PM / 8:00 – 8:30 PM / 10:30 PM – 12:30 AM - NCAA March Madness Central Powered by Pontiac
12:30 – 1:30 AM - NCAA March Madness Highlights Powered by Pontiac
Friday, March 27
7:00 PM – 12:30 AM - NCAA March Madness Central Powered by Pontiac
12:30 – 1:30 AM - NCAA March Madness Highlights Powered by Pontiac
Saturday, March 28
2:30 – 3:00 PM - NCAA March Madness Pregame Show Presented by State Farm
4:30 – 9:00 PM - NCAA March Madness Central Powered by Pontiac
9:00 – 9:30 PM - NCAA March Madness Highlights Powered by Pontiac
Sunday, March 29
2:00 – 7:00 PM - NCAA March Madness Central Powered by Pontiac
7:00 – 7:30 PM - NCAA March Madness Highlights Powered by Pontiac
You can see an excerpt of Coach Pearl's appearance on CBS on Volunteer TV News & Sports Overtime, along with Volunteertv.com.
Story source: http://www.volunteertv.com/sports/headlines/41849212.html
The Network features top college coaches in-studio including Tennessee’s Bruce Pearl (3/26), Michigan’s John Beilein (3/26, 3/27), Seton Hall’s Bobby Gonzalez (3/26-3/29), Virginia Tech’s Seth Greenberg (3/26-3/29) and Cleveland State’s Gary Waters (3/28, 3/29).
Coverage begins on Thursday, March 26 (5:00-6:00 PM, ET) with NCAA MARCH MADNESS CENTRAL POWERED BY PONTIAC, bringing viewers exclusive in-progress game highlights, live look-ins, press conferences from every team at every site and expert analysis. Immediately following CBS Sports’ live game action, CBS College Sports Network airs the official highlight show of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, NCAA MARCH MADNESS HIGHLIGHTS POWERED BY PONTIAC.
Adam Zucker, Tracy Wolfson and Tom Hart anchor the studio programming and are joined by CBS College Sports Network analyst Steve Lappas. Below is a full programming schedule.
Thursday, March 26
5:00 – 6:00 PM / 8:00 – 8:30 PM / 10:30 PM – 12:30 AM - NCAA March Madness Central Powered by Pontiac
12:30 – 1:30 AM - NCAA March Madness Highlights Powered by Pontiac
Friday, March 27
7:00 PM – 12:30 AM - NCAA March Madness Central Powered by Pontiac
12:30 – 1:30 AM - NCAA March Madness Highlights Powered by Pontiac
Saturday, March 28
2:30 – 3:00 PM - NCAA March Madness Pregame Show Presented by State Farm
4:30 – 9:00 PM - NCAA March Madness Central Powered by Pontiac
9:00 – 9:30 PM - NCAA March Madness Highlights Powered by Pontiac
Sunday, March 29
2:00 – 7:00 PM - NCAA March Madness Central Powered by Pontiac
7:00 – 7:30 PM - NCAA March Madness Highlights Powered by Pontiac
You can see an excerpt of Coach Pearl's appearance on CBS on Volunteer TV News & Sports Overtime, along with Volunteertv.com.
Story source: http://www.volunteertv.com/sports/headlines/41849212.html
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
NCAA(R) March Madness(R) on Demand Traffic Up 60% After First Four Days of Tournament
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., March 23, 2009 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ ----CBSSports.com, in partnership with CBS Sports and the NCAA, today released traffic figures for NCAA March Madness on Demand (ncaa.com/mmod) for the first four days of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship. In total, there were 5.6 million unique visitors to the NCAA March Madness on Demand video player, a 60% increase over 2008 figures. Additionally, there have been 6.5 million total hours of video and audio consumed thus far, a 71% increase over 2008 figures.
The continued success of NCAA March Madness on Demand builds on the growth of the broadcast of the tournament on the CBS Television Network. CBS Sports' coverage of the first and second rounds of the 2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is up +6% from 2008.
NCAA March Madness on Demand traffic figures through Sunday, March 22
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., March 23, 2009 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ ----CBSSports.com, in partnership with CBS Sports and the NCAA, today released traffic figures for NCAA March Madness on Demand (ncaa.com/mmod) for the first four days of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship. In total, there were 5.6 million unique visitors to the NCAA March Madness on Demand video player, a 60% increase over 2008 figures. Additionally, there have been 6.5 million total hours of video and audio consumed thus far, a 71% increase over 2008 figures.
The continued success of NCAA March Madness on Demand builds on the growth of the broadcast of the tournament on the CBS Television Network. CBS Sports' coverage of the first and second rounds of the 2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is up +6% from 2008.
NCAA March Madness on Demand traffic figures through Sunday, March 22
-- 5.6 million unique visitors to the NCAA March Madness on Demand video
player (2008 figure was 3.5 million - 60% growth)
-- 6.5 million total hours of live streaming video and audio consumed
(2008 figure was 3.8 million - 71% growth)
-- 2.5 million clicks of the "Boss Button" (2008 figure was 2.5
million for entire tournament)
-- The March 19 first round game between Cal. St. Northridge and Memphis is
the most watched game thus far in the 2009 tournament.
"We could not be more pleased by the numbers being generated by NCAA March Madness on Demand," said Sean McManus, President, CBS Sports and CBS News. "Fans continue to embrace the new technologies and viewing options offered by CBS Sports. As ratings for the Network are also up 6%, the Network's NCAA bundled rights agreement has proven to be an early star in this year's championship."
"With CBS Interactive properties now reaching 15 million people a day, the internal marketing and promotion behind NCAA March Madness on Demand has reached new heights this year and is a driving factor in the product growth for this year's tournament," said Jason Kint, Senior Vice President and General Manager, CBSSports.com. "The fact that CBS Interactive produces the official athletics web sites for 43 of the 65 teams that made the tournament and 14 of the schools in the NCAA Sweet 16(R: 26.48, 0, 0%) has also served as a great promotional vehicle for NCAA March Madness on Demand."
"I believe we're all in agreement that March Madness on Demand continues to evolve as one of the most powerful and innovative platforms for basketball fans to follow the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship," said Greg Shaheen, NCAA, senior vice president for basketball and business strategies. "To see the numbers steadily increase reinforces the broad interest in the championship and the convenience MMOD offers fans in accessing every game of the NCAA Tournament."
CBS Interactive, a top 10 Internet Property worldwide, tapped into the power of its network to help drive awareness and excitement for this year's tournament both from a content integration and promotional perspective. From TV.com featuring select historical games from the Men's Final Four(R: 26.48, 0, 0%) (TV.com/ncaabb/), to leading technology and consumer electronics site CNET.com explaining all the ways that technology allows fans to follow the action away from the TV, to GameSpot, a leading video game web site, using video game simulation to help predict the outcome of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship, the entire CBS Interactive network has promoted and marketed the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship and NCAA March Madness on Demand like never before. In addition, a comprehensive promotional campaign was developed to drive record level attendance for March Madness on Demand, including a unique All Access program that ran across CBS interactive properties.
This year's marketing program extended across CBS platforms. Promotions on CBS Television, Radio stations, Outernet and affiliates as well as the CBS Audience Network helped fuel awareness of NCAA March Madness on Demand on air and online. From promotions during The Early Show, 60 Minutes, CSI: Miami to a CBS Outdoor billboard in Times Square, the strength of CBS across all forms of media to reach consumers clearly played a pivotal role in the growth of NCAA March Madness on Demand.
The NCAA March Madness on Demand Developer Platform also continues to help drive awareness by bringing games to where the fans are. Located at ncaa.com/mmod/developer, the NCAA March Madness on Demand Developer Platform allows developers to choose from five different options to integrate live video from the 2009 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship via the NCAA March Madness on Demand video player. Partners include major sports and media websites such as ESPN.com, Yahoo! Sports, and USAToday.com; and leading social sites such as Facebook.
NCAA March Madness on Demand (MMOD: undefined, undefined, undefined%) is the Emmy award-winning video player that provides live streaming video and audio of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship. Since its inception in 2003, MMOD traditionally provided live video of the first 56 games, starting with the first round, of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship as they were broadcast by CBS Sports, with local broadcasts being subject to blackouts. Beginning in 2008, MMOD started showing all 63 games from the first round of the tournament through the semifinal and final games of the Men's Final Four(R: 26.48, 0, 0%), making it the only major sporting event that is broadcast live and in its entirety for free on the Internet. NCAA March Madness on Demand is available internationally as well.
In addition to video being available on Windows Media and Flash, this year NCAA March Madness on Demand users have the option to download the Microsoft Silverlight high-definition quality video player for an enhanced stream.
Both the standard video player and the high-definition quality option are offered free of charge by presenting sponsors and NCAA Corporate Champions AT&T, Coca-Cola, and Pontiac.
About CBS Interactive
CBS Interactive, a division of CBS Corporation, is the best online content network for information and entertainment. With more than 180 million people visiting its properties each month, it is the 8th largest Web property globally. Its portfolio of leading brands, which include CNET, CBS.com, CBSSports.com, GameSpot, TV.com, BNET and Last.fm, span popular categories like technology, entertainment, sports, news and business.
About the NCAA
The NCAA is a membership-led nonprofit association of colleges and universities committed to supporting academic and athletics opportunities for more than 400,000 student-athletes at more than 1,000 member colleges and universities. Each year, more than 54,000 student-athletes compete in NCAA championships in Divisions I, II and III sports. Visit www.NCAA.org and www.NCAA.com for more details about the Association, its goals and members and corporate partnerships that help support programs for student-athletes. The NCAA is proud to have the following elite companies as official Corporate Champions - AT&T, Coca-Cola and Pontiac - and the following elite companies as official Corporate Partners - Enterprise, Hershey's, The Hartford, Lowe's, Sheraton and State Farm.
NCAA, Final Four, Sweet 16, and March Madness are trademarks owned or licensed by the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
SOURCE CBSSports.com
http://www.CBSSports.com
As of Thursday, 03-19-2009 23:59, the latest Comtex SmarTrend� Alert,
an automated pattern recognition system, indicated an UPTREND on
11-28-2008 for CBS @ $6.48.
For more information on SmarTrend, contact your market data
provider or go to www.mysmartrend.com
Story source: http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/industries/finance/ncaar-march-madnessr-demand-traffic--days-tournament/
The continued success of NCAA March Madness on Demand builds on the growth of the broadcast of the tournament on the CBS Television Network. CBS Sports' coverage of the first and second rounds of the 2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is up +6% from 2008.
NCAA March Madness on Demand traffic figures through Sunday, March 22
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., March 23, 2009 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ ----CBSSports.com, in partnership with CBS Sports and the NCAA, today released traffic figures for NCAA March Madness on Demand (ncaa.com/mmod) for the first four days of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship. In total, there were 5.6 million unique visitors to the NCAA March Madness on Demand video player, a 60% increase over 2008 figures. Additionally, there have been 6.5 million total hours of video and audio consumed thus far, a 71% increase over 2008 figures.
The continued success of NCAA March Madness on Demand builds on the growth of the broadcast of the tournament on the CBS Television Network. CBS Sports' coverage of the first and second rounds of the 2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is up +6% from 2008.
NCAA March Madness on Demand traffic figures through Sunday, March 22
-- 5.6 million unique visitors to the NCAA March Madness on Demand video
player (2008 figure was 3.5 million - 60% growth)
-- 6.5 million total hours of live streaming video and audio consumed
(2008 figure was 3.8 million - 71% growth)
-- 2.5 million clicks of the "Boss Button" (2008 figure was 2.5
million for entire tournament)
-- The March 19 first round game between Cal. St. Northridge and Memphis is
the most watched game thus far in the 2009 tournament.
"We could not be more pleased by the numbers being generated by NCAA March Madness on Demand," said Sean McManus, President, CBS Sports and CBS News. "Fans continue to embrace the new technologies and viewing options offered by CBS Sports. As ratings for the Network are also up 6%, the Network's NCAA bundled rights agreement has proven to be an early star in this year's championship."
"With CBS Interactive properties now reaching 15 million people a day, the internal marketing and promotion behind NCAA March Madness on Demand has reached new heights this year and is a driving factor in the product growth for this year's tournament," said Jason Kint, Senior Vice President and General Manager, CBSSports.com. "The fact that CBS Interactive produces the official athletics web sites for 43 of the 65 teams that made the tournament and 14 of the schools in the NCAA Sweet 16(R: 26.48, 0, 0%) has also served as a great promotional vehicle for NCAA March Madness on Demand."
"I believe we're all in agreement that March Madness on Demand continues to evolve as one of the most powerful and innovative platforms for basketball fans to follow the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship," said Greg Shaheen, NCAA, senior vice president for basketball and business strategies. "To see the numbers steadily increase reinforces the broad interest in the championship and the convenience MMOD offers fans in accessing every game of the NCAA Tournament."
CBS Interactive, a top 10 Internet Property worldwide, tapped into the power of its network to help drive awareness and excitement for this year's tournament both from a content integration and promotional perspective. From TV.com featuring select historical games from the Men's Final Four(R: 26.48, 0, 0%) (TV.com/ncaabb/), to leading technology and consumer electronics site CNET.com explaining all the ways that technology allows fans to follow the action away from the TV, to GameSpot, a leading video game web site, using video game simulation to help predict the outcome of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship, the entire CBS Interactive network has promoted and marketed the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship and NCAA March Madness on Demand like never before. In addition, a comprehensive promotional campaign was developed to drive record level attendance for March Madness on Demand, including a unique All Access program that ran across CBS interactive properties.
This year's marketing program extended across CBS platforms. Promotions on CBS Television, Radio stations, Outernet and affiliates as well as the CBS Audience Network helped fuel awareness of NCAA March Madness on Demand on air and online. From promotions during The Early Show, 60 Minutes, CSI: Miami to a CBS Outdoor billboard in Times Square, the strength of CBS across all forms of media to reach consumers clearly played a pivotal role in the growth of NCAA March Madness on Demand.
The NCAA March Madness on Demand Developer Platform also continues to help drive awareness by bringing games to where the fans are. Located at ncaa.com/mmod/developer, the NCAA March Madness on Demand Developer Platform allows developers to choose from five different options to integrate live video from the 2009 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship via the NCAA March Madness on Demand video player. Partners include major sports and media websites such as ESPN.com, Yahoo! Sports, and USAToday.com; and leading social sites such as Facebook.
NCAA March Madness on Demand (MMOD: undefined, undefined, undefined%) is the Emmy award-winning video player that provides live streaming video and audio of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship. Since its inception in 2003, MMOD traditionally provided live video of the first 56 games, starting with the first round, of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship as they were broadcast by CBS Sports, with local broadcasts being subject to blackouts. Beginning in 2008, MMOD started showing all 63 games from the first round of the tournament through the semifinal and final games of the Men's Final Four(R: 26.48, 0, 0%), making it the only major sporting event that is broadcast live and in its entirety for free on the Internet. NCAA March Madness on Demand is available internationally as well.
In addition to video being available on Windows Media and Flash, this year NCAA March Madness on Demand users have the option to download the Microsoft Silverlight high-definition quality video player for an enhanced stream.
Both the standard video player and the high-definition quality option are offered free of charge by presenting sponsors and NCAA Corporate Champions AT&T, Coca-Cola, and Pontiac.
About CBS Interactive
CBS Interactive, a division of CBS Corporation, is the best online content network for information and entertainment. With more than 180 million people visiting its properties each month, it is the 8th largest Web property globally. Its portfolio of leading brands, which include CNET, CBS.com, CBSSports.com, GameSpot, TV.com, BNET and Last.fm, span popular categories like technology, entertainment, sports, news and business.
About the NCAA
The NCAA is a membership-led nonprofit association of colleges and universities committed to supporting academic and athletics opportunities for more than 400,000 student-athletes at more than 1,000 member colleges and universities. Each year, more than 54,000 student-athletes compete in NCAA championships in Divisions I, II and III sports. Visit www.NCAA.org and www.NCAA.com for more details about the Association, its goals and members and corporate partnerships that help support programs for student-athletes. The NCAA is proud to have the following elite companies as official Corporate Champions - AT&T, Coca-Cola and Pontiac - and the following elite companies as official Corporate Partners - Enterprise, Hershey's, The Hartford, Lowe's, Sheraton and State Farm.
NCAA, Final Four, Sweet 16, and March Madness are trademarks owned or licensed by the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
SOURCE CBSSports.com
http://www.CBSSports.com
As of Thursday, 03-19-2009 23:59, the latest Comtex SmarTrend� Alert,
an automated pattern recognition system, indicated an UPTREND on
11-28-2008 for CBS @ $6.48.
For more information on SmarTrend, contact your market data
provider or go to www.mysmartrend.com
Story source: http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/industries/finance/ncaar-march-madnessr-demand-traffic--days-tournament/
Monday, March 23, 2009
CBS to air Hasbrouck story early this afternoon
by Mark McGuire
Thursday, March 19, 2009
CBS, tournament intertwined — for now
by:Tim Lemke
There are some things about the NCAA tournament that never change. Fans always can count on first-round upsets, buzzer-beaters and Cinderellas playing into the second week. There are office pools and workers playing hooky.
And then there's CBS.
Since 1982, the network has televised at least some portion of the tournament, essentially showing the event in its entirety since 1991. Its current contract with the NCAA runs through 2013, making the tournament one of just a handful of sporting events to have had the same broadcast home for more than two decades.
"The fan who watches us now views us as an integrated whole," said Mike Aresco, senior vice president of programming for CBS Sports. "It's got a fabric, and as Winston Churchill might say, 'It has a theme.' This has a theme, and people really enjoy that story line. And I think the NCAA has agreed with us over the years."
Indeed, CBS and the NCAA tournament are very much interconnected, with the network repeatedly signing long, lucrative deals to keep the television rights to the three-week event. The current deal, which began in 2003, stretches for 11 years and is valued at $6 billion - about $545 million annually. The NCAA could opt out of the deal after 2010, but there is no indication it plans to do so.
"We've managed to hold on to most of our properties for real long," CBS Sports president Sean McManus said. "With a brief interlude with the NFL, that's managed to go on for decades, the PGA Tour, the PGA Championships, SEC football... we're in the business of long-term relationships, and we've done good deals for ourselves for ourselves and our partners. We're so intertwined that it would be very disconcerting for another network to broadcast the tournament."
There are rumblings, however, that CBS could face stiff competition when it seeks to renew its deal with the NCAA after 2013. Network officials said they have had no formal talks about an extension but expect to sit down with the NCAA within the next year. Sources in the sports broadcast industry said the network likely will need to prepare itself for competition from ESPN, which also has shown a willingness to bid aggressively for major sports properties.
In November, the cable network outbid Fox for future rights to college football's Bowl Championship Series, which includes four major bowl games and a title game. Industry experts said the BCS deal demonstrated ESPN's financial edge because, as a cable network, it receives carriage fees as well as advertising.
Associated Press CBS' Jim Nantz (left) and Clark Kellogg
ESPN officials declined to comment on whether it would pursue rights for the NCAA tournament.
"ESPN gives such a great look because of the multidimension of their platform," said John Rowady, president of rEvolution, a sports marketing agency in Chicago. "Clearly, with the streamlining of the ESPN brand and their ability to do things is a massive, massive portal that CBS straight up as a network doesn't have to fund some of the financial models of these guarantees."
But Rowady pointed out that CBS typically has dominated sports television in both March and April because the tournament precedes the network's coverage of golf's Masters tournament. It is a combination CBS would be loath to lose.
"It's one of the cornerstones of their business, and it's what they're about," Rowady said. "So I think they're going to be a very tough incumbent to beat."
Aresco said CBS is confident it will be able to stand up to any competing bids for the tournament, including ESPN's.
"I don't want to sound the least bit arrogant, but I do think there is a place for broadcast with an event of this magnitude and this duration," he said. "Remember, the BCS is four games. And the rights fee, while it's healthy, it's not like the rights fee for the tournament. And our guys can sell it far better than any other cable entity can sell it."
There are some things about the NCAA tournament that never change. Fans always can count on first-round upsets, buzzer-beaters and Cinderellas playing into the second week. There are office pools and workers playing hooky.
And then there's CBS.
Since 1982, the network has televised at least some portion of the tournament, essentially showing the event in its entirety since 1991. Its current contract with the NCAA runs through 2013, making the tournament one of just a handful of sporting events to have had the same broadcast home for more than two decades.
"The fan who watches us now views us as an integrated whole," said Mike Aresco, senior vice president of programming for CBS Sports. "It's got a fabric, and as Winston Churchill might say, 'It has a theme.' This has a theme, and people really enjoy that story line. And I think the NCAA has agreed with us over the years."
Indeed, CBS and the NCAA tournament are very much interconnected, with the network repeatedly signing long, lucrative deals to keep the television rights to the three-week event. The current deal, which began in 2003, stretches for 11 years and is valued at $6 billion - about $545 million annually. The NCAA could opt out of the deal after 2010, but there is no indication it plans to do so.
"We've managed to hold on to most of our properties for real long," CBS Sports president Sean McManus said. "With a brief interlude with the NFL, that's managed to go on for decades, the PGA Tour, the PGA Championships, SEC football... we're in the business of long-term relationships, and we've done good deals for ourselves for ourselves and our partners. We're so intertwined that it would be very disconcerting for another network to broadcast the tournament."
There are rumblings, however, that CBS could face stiff competition when it seeks to renew its deal with the NCAA after 2013. Network officials said they have had no formal talks about an extension but expect to sit down with the NCAA within the next year. Sources in the sports broadcast industry said the network likely will need to prepare itself for competition from ESPN, which also has shown a willingness to bid aggressively for major sports properties.
In November, the cable network outbid Fox for future rights to college football's Bowl Championship Series, which includes four major bowl games and a title game. Industry experts said the BCS deal demonstrated ESPN's financial edge because, as a cable network, it receives carriage fees as well as advertising.
Associated Press CBS' Jim Nantz (left) and Clark Kellogg
ESPN officials declined to comment on whether it would pursue rights for the NCAA tournament.
"ESPN gives such a great look because of the multidimension of their platform," said John Rowady, president of rEvolution, a sports marketing agency in Chicago. "Clearly, with the streamlining of the ESPN brand and their ability to do things is a massive, massive portal that CBS straight up as a network doesn't have to fund some of the financial models of these guarantees."
But Rowady pointed out that CBS typically has dominated sports television in both March and April because the tournament precedes the network's coverage of golf's Masters tournament. It is a combination CBS would be loath to lose.
"It's one of the cornerstones of their business, and it's what they're about," Rowady said. "So I think they're going to be a very tough incumbent to beat."
Aresco said CBS is confident it will be able to stand up to any competing bids for the tournament, including ESPN's.
"I don't want to sound the least bit arrogant, but I do think there is a place for broadcast with an event of this magnitude and this duration," he said. "Remember, the BCS is four games. And the rights fee, while it's healthy, it's not like the rights fee for the tournament. And our guys can sell it far better than any other cable entity can sell it."
Sunday, March 15, 2009
CBS Sports gets a March Madness iPhone app
On Thursday, CBS Sports Mobile released a March Madness On Demand application for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Tracking the NCAA's college basketball tournament, March Madness, CBS Sports' iPhone app will stream videos of the games live over Wi-Fi, and will stream audio commentary if you've got a 3G or EDGE connection.
In addition to video or audio streaming, the March Madness On Demand app will show updated scores of ongoing games, news stories, bracket information, team stats, preview segments, and video recaps of past games in a screen dedicated to highlights.
The app's video and audio streams will cover every game aired live between March 19 and April 6--including the NCAA Sweet 16, Elite 8, Final Four, and National Championship games. CBS Sports NCAA March Madness On Demand is available for $4.99 through the iTunes App Store.
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