Cynopsis: Sports
10/05/12

Good morning. It’s Friday, October 5, 2012, and this is your first early morning Sports briefing. 

Tonight marks the beginning of the new MLB postseason with the first-ever, single-elimination Wild Card presented by Budweiser, featuring a doubleheader with the Braves/Cardinals at 5p and the Orioles/Rangers at 8:30p. TBS announced broadcast pairings for the games, sending Brian Anderson to handle play-by-play commentary for Cardinals/Braves with analysts Ron Darling, Joe Simpson and reporter Tom Verducci. Meanwhile, Ernie Johnson will call Orioles/Rangers with analysts John Smoltz and Cal Ripken, Jr. and reporter Craig Sager. Matt Winer is on deck to host the MLB On-Deck presented by Dodge Dart pregame show with analysts Dennis Eckersley and David Wells at 4:30p.

Saturday’s pairings will then feature Don Orsillo, Buck Martinez and Jaime Maggio for Oakland/Detroit at 6p, followed by Anderson, Darling, Simpson and Verducci for the NLDS game featuring Cincinnati/San Francico at 9:30p.

To mark the occasion, Cynopsis Sports spoke with Hall of Famer and TBS analyst Cal Ripken, Jr. about the new playoff format, the resurgence of the Orioles and the future of baseball fans.

Ripken on the decision to don a microphone: Turner talked me into the whole concept of coming in to an analyst role. I remember when they came to me, I really didn’t have a whole lot of interest in doing that but they were trying to accomplish a pre- and post-game show that was similar to what they were doing with the NBA. I’ve enjoyed my experiences in the booth and am looking forward to the new experience of working with Ernie out on the road and being with one of my favorite guys to talk about baseball with in John Smoltz.

On the new MLB rights deal: It’s obvious that baseball is in demand. I think it’s great in how baseball is portrayed, in how it’s presented by the media. I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to examine the game from being an analyst in the studio to getting the chance to be in the broadcast booth. I think the game is still very popular and it is being presented in great ways and the new wild card format will only help bring fans in.

On changes to the playoffs: Look at how great it was last year in the last day of the season which everybody was so crazy and giddy about the tiebreaker and which teams were going to get in. I was in a hotel room in Atlanta and all by myself because we were preparing for these potential tiebreaker games and I was thinking ‘How great is this?’ I knew when the wild card and one game elimination concept was put out there, it really valued the importance of winning the division. In the past, when we were at the end of the season, games often didn’t mean anything. Now they mean a lot. It’s exciting to see them play this way all the way down the stretch. A lot more teams had the chance in September so fans stayed engaged.

On the mood in Baltimore with the end of the playoff drought: It has really been phenomenal. It seemed like in August, everyone was hanging back a little bit wondering if this team was for real. I think Baltimore fans were hesitant to not get too caught up in the Orioles. But when they went off in August and September, the Oriole fan base is back in numbers and to see the atmosphere reminds me of the ’97 atmosphere. This particular Orioles team with Buck Showalter is a very exciting team to watch. The pride, joy and interest are all there.

On his work through Ripken Baseball and developing a new generation of fans: We’ve operated in the business sense with the youth, we have tournament and camps. If you are just looking at that part of your life, it feels like baseball is alive and well. Those who are playing baseball are playing a lot of it. They bring an honest part of the competition and the fun that comes out. Needless to say, the grassroots of baseball is alive and well.

On the Air

The faceoff just got real. The NHL officially scratched the first two weeks of regular season games this season due to the lockout. That equates to a total of 82 contests (as well as preseason matches) cancelled through Oct. 24 while the hockey league looks for a new CBA. NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly issued the following statement concerning the cancellation, stating, “We were extremely disappointed to have to make today’s announcement. The game deserves better, the fans deserve better and the people who derive income from their connection to the NHL deserve better.” He adds, “This is not about ‘winning’ or ‘losing’ a negotiation. This is about finding a solution that preserves the long-term health and stability of the League and the game.”

ESPN Radio lined up its announcers for the coming playoffs, which marks its 15th consecutive season as the exclusive national home of the Major League Baseball postseason. The pair of Dan Shulman and Orel Hershiser will call the AL Wild Card tonight, as well as the Yankees ALDS series, the ALCS and the World Series. Jon Sciambi & Chris Singleton will handle the NL Wild Card, the Nationals NLDS series and the NLCS. Dave O’Brien and Aaron Boone call the Tigers/Athletics ALDS series. The Giants/Reds NLDS games will feature Gary Cohen and Rick Sutcliff for the first two games, and Chris Berman and Sutcliff for the remainder of the series.

CBS Sports Network revealed its lineup for the channel’s 10th season of college basketball programming, locking in 172 games this season. Coverage is set to include the Paradise Jam, which tips-off the Network’s schedule on Friday, Nov. 16 with Connecticut, Wake Forest and New Mexico, as well the Global Sports Classic, starting Nov. 23 with Iowa State, Cincinnati, Oregon and UNLV. The channel will offer action from 16 conferences including the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Big East, SEC, Pac-12, Atlantic 10, Mountain West, Conference USA, Patriot League, Colonial Athletic Association and Ivy League. Doug Gottlieb joins CBS Sports Network’s college basketball coverage, along with returning analysts Pete Gillen and Steve Lappas, who will be joined by play-by-play announcers Dave Ryan and Tom McCarthy.

The return of ESPN’s 30 for 30 series saw Broke, which kicked off season two, ranking as the highest-rated documentary yet for the brand, according to Nielsen, delivering a 1.9 HH coverage rating and 2.7 million viewers. This marks the second highest-rated and most viewed documentary ever on ESPN. 30 for 30 continues October 9 with 9.79* about the infamous Ben Johnson/Carl Lewis 100m final at the 1988 Seoul Games airing at 8p.

NBC will air 90-minutes of live coverage of the America’s Cup World Series on Sunday at 4:30p from San Francisco. Sunday’s broadcast will feature the match racing final and fleet racing final. In addition, Comcast SportsNet California will offer six hours of live race coverage of the America’s Cup World Series, beginning today through Saturday. The race in San Francisco marks the second leg of the 2012-2013 America’s Cup World Series. Veteran announcer Todd Harris will serve as the play-by-play commentator for the NBC broadcast as well as all CSN California telecasts and be joined by Gary Jobson.

NBA TV’s six-part original series Open Court makes its return on Tuesday, Oct. 9, at 11p, featuring studio host Ernie Johnson, along with Charles Barkley, Reggie Miller, Steve Kerr, Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith, Chris Webber and Steve Smith. Following the Oct. 9 premiere, NBA TV’s Open Court will be televised weekly every Tuesday at 11p through Oct. 23. The Oct. 30 episode will air at 5 p.m., with additional episodes airing later in the season. Click here for a preview http://vimeo.com/50708261.

MLB Network continued to score with end of the season contests, as Tuesday’s coverage of the Red Sox/Yankees ranked as its most watched program ever, while the channel’s telecast of Oakland/Texas drew an average audience of 284,000 viewers to rank as the most watched weekday game on MLBN since a July 4th holiday matchup this year featuring the Yankees/Rays. MLB Network’s first-ever exclusive Postseason telecasts will be this Sunday, October 7 and Wednesday, October 10.

The Red Sox/Yankees finale to the season handed YES with an average of 733,000 total viewers in the New York DMA, matching the network’s September 1, 2011 Red Sox/Yankees telecast as the most-viewed program on YES in over two years. YES recorded last night’s numbers despite the Presidential Debate being carried on more than 15 networks in the New York DMA.

As we wrap up the MLB regular season, the AP reports that the league’s average attendance rose 1.8% this year to marks the highest level since 2008. Overall, the 30 teams averaged 30,895 fans per game. Philadelphia led MLB for the second straight year at 3.57 million, while the Yankees topped the AL at 3.54 million.

SNY announced its on-air talent roster and its game schedule for the UConn women’s basketball season, naming Meghan Culmo and Kara Wolters as analysts. Meghan will serve as the network’s game analyst and Kara as the studio analyst for pre-game, half-time and post-game shows. Andrew Catalon will handle play-by-play and SNY reporter/anchor Kerith Burke will serve as the sideline reporter. Gary Apple, who hosts SNY’s Big East basketball studio shows, will anchor the network’s studio coverage alongside Kara Wolters.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

Sponsorship & Promotion

The post-season college football game formerly known as the TicketCity Bowl has been rebranded and will now be dubbed The Heart of Dallas Bowl, which will be held at Cotton Bowl Stadium on Jan. 1, 2013. The game will be presented by PlainsCapital Bank and shown on ESPNU at noon. Matchups over the next two years are scheduled to include a Big 12/Big Ten contest this season, and a Big Ten/CUSA game in 2014. Heart of Dallas marks a new nonprofit organization designed to “inspire Dallas millennials to become the next generation of influences and philanthropists.”

KPMG LLP, official hat sponsor of Phil Mickelson, announced that the famed golfer will attempt a $1 million KPMG Chip4Charity shot at halftime of the MNF game on Oct. 15, featuring the Chargers/Broncos. At stake for the 100-yard shot could be as much as $1 million for First Book, a non-profit organization which provides new books for children in need. For the stunt, Mickelson will be located in one end zone and aim for a target in the other end zone, which will have a green worth $50,000/20,000 books as well as three rings ranging from $100,000/40,000 books for the outer most ring, to $1 million/400,000 books for the bulls eye center ring.

Digital Fields

The new Cablevision and The Walt Disney Company distribution agreement for Cablevision TV customers will include the launch several new services from the MSO, including the full suite of authenticated WatchESPN products (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNU, ESPN Goal Line and ESPN Buzzer Beater) as well as the launch of ESPN3.

The USA Today Sports Media Group is entering a partnership with digital sports media company PERFORM that is designed to deliver content to more than 100 of Gannett’s local media organizations and the owned and operated sites within USA TODAY Sports Digital Properties via PERFORM’s ePlayer sports video on demand broadcast platform. As part of this agreement, PERFORM and USA Today Sports Media Group will produce new and original collegiate sports programming for distribution and create a branded channel within ePlayer which will allow it to stream the sports video content it is currently producing.

New Era, the official on-field cap for MLB, unveiled the launch of RivalsLive.com, “the newest destination for hardcore and casual fans alike to demonstrate their team pride and celebrate one of the most heated aspects of baseball  the rivalry.” The live online show will be driven by the tweets and hashtag voting of viewers and hosted daily on the site. The online series debuts during the Division Playoff Series on Sunday October 7th, at 2p. Comedic duo Matt Lusk and Kurt Ela will host the show.

The Main Event

Check out the first-ever wild card games on TBS, with Braves/Cardinals at 5p and the Orioles/Rangers at 8:30p.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

ON THIS DAY in 1982: First-ever NJ Devils game.

Answer to Our Last Sports Trivia Question: What athlete played Thunderlips in the movie Rocky III? Hulk Hogan. Kudos: Marc Wollis-NBC Sports Group/NY; Greg Conner-Outdoor Channel/NY; Eve Carmel-Marathon Ventures Media Sales/NY; Gabe Alfaya-XL Worldwide/NY; Jon Clateman-Clato Prods. Inc./Port Washington; Matthew Meachem-Tribune Media Services/Queensbury; Adam Zimmerman-CSE/Atlanta; Rob Garner-Clear Channel Media & Entertainment/Greensboro; Kevin Sullivan-TNA Impact Wrestling/Nashville; Bill Robertson-Tunheim Partners/Minneapolis; Barrett Davie-InStadium/Chicago; John Kukla-KDFW FOX 4/Dallas; Judie Henninger-Valentine Productions Inc/Santa Monica; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA.

In The Know: Only two batters have won MLB’s Triple Crown more than once. Name one. (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone. Unofficial rules: Only the second four correct answers from each time zone will be mentioned; and once you’ve been mentioned in any of the Cynopsis editions, you can’t be mentioned again that calendar week.)

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

Later — Chris
Chris Pursell for Cynopsis | Sports
10.05.12

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