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      NFL and Comcast close to an agreement on cable distribution deal

      May 17, 2009 /

      Sports Illustrated’s Peter King is reporting that the NFL is close to a deal with Comcast to begin offering the NFL Network on their cable television package. League officials hope to gain momentum with this current agreement and have it carry over to their upcoming negotiations for a new labor agreement with the players association.

      King also added that the NFL is on the verge of reaching a two-year contract extension with FOX and CBS to continue broadcasting their Sunday game packages. Many feel that NBC will likely follow suit and agree to a similar deal for their Sunday evening game package sometime before the start of the season.

      Here is the breakdown of the potential agreement between the NFL and Comcast:

      NFL Network had been carried on a pay sports tier for Comcast’s 24-million subscribers, and the NFL for years has been arguing its channel should be on the regular digital cable package with the ESPNs and CNNs of the cable TV world. Now that is close to happening. The deal would mean that instead of paying about $7 per month for the channel and other pay-TV sports channels, Comcast subscribers will get NFL Network with its regular digital package — and it will increase the number of TV homes the Network is seen in from about 35 million to close to 50 million. More importantly, it could well pave the way for the NFL to make deals with other cable companies similarly chapped at the league’s demand for huge rights fees for a sports channel with only 24 hours of NFL regular-season game programming per year.

      Many in the league office feared that without a wider distribution of the NFL Network, the owners would have moved to cease operations of the channel. They were getting frustrated with the lack of movement in their five-year battle against Comcast on the network’s distribution rights.

      The NFL will return to the negotiating table later this spring, as talks between the league and the NFL players association will begin on coming to a new collection bargaining agreement.

      NFL, Television

      “Kobe: Doin’ Work” debuts on ESPN

      May 17, 2009 /

      Anyone catch Spike Lee’s “documentary” about Kobe Bryant last night? Why am I putting the word “documentary” in quotes? Well, this wasn’t so much a documentary as it was a carefully constructed way to paint Kobe in the best possible light.

      That’s not to say that it wasn’t informative. The format is this — Spike Lee had roughly 30 cameras on Kobe during a Lakers/Spurs game last year, and even gained access to the locker room for the pregame, halftime and postgame activities. Then, after a game against the Knicks, Kobe sat down with Lee and laid down a commentary track where he described everything that was going on.

      Lee utilizes a ton of camera angles — and even inserts photographs here and there — to break up the monotony of watching a year-old NBA game. The camera is almost always focused on Kobe, but occasionally there are shots of other people in his life (Pau Gasol, his daughters, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, etc.).

      Kobe does a good job of describing what he’s thinking during the course of a game and explaining why he did what he did. This is all well and good, but based on how positive he was being towards his teammates, it’s clear that he filtered and censored himself for this project. In fact, I’m guessing that once his teammates heard that he’d be mic’d and filmed for the entire game, they were happy to have a night off from the real Kobe.

      Do fans know exactly how Kobe deals with his teammates and the officials? No, but we can put two and two together. (Guess what, it equals four.) I know that every time I watch a Laker game, Kobe bitches out one of his teammates at least two or three times, and that’s just when the camera catches him doing it. He is constantly working the refs, and oftentimes acts like a frustrated kindergartner when he doesn’t get his way. Not once did Lee catch him waving his hand at an official in dismissal of his call and/or opinion on a play, which is something that Kobe does an average of five times a game, by my count.

      Part of his good mood probably had something to do with the fact that the Lakers blew out the Spurs that night — it would have been a hell of a lot more interesting to see the Lakers lose in a tight one. Let’s see what happens when Kobe and his teammates have to deal with so much adversity that he forgets that he’s being filmed. Then we might get a glimpse into what he’s really like.

      But it’s not Lee’s fault — he can’t control how the game plays out. In the end, “Kobe: Doin’ Work” is what it is. An authorized all-access pass that “reveals” the carefully constructed public persona of Kobe Bryant that we’ve been spoon fed since his debacle in Colorado several years ago. The basketball action and strategy are top notch, but even after listening to Bryant speak for an hour and a half, I didn’t feel like I knew him any better, and while it’s not all that surprising, it’s still disappointing.

      ESPN is running “Kobe: Doin’ Work” again this week. Check your local listings.

      NBA, NBA Finals, Television

      Ducks’ GM hits woman with chair

      May 16, 2009 /

      The title makes the story sound worse than it really is:

      Detroit police say a woman was accidentally hit by a chair swung by Ducks general manager Bob Murray after Anaheim’s loss to the Red Wings in Game 7 of their Western Conference semifinal series.

      Sgt. Alan Quinn said on Saturday that the woman was struck while in the press box Thursday night at Joe Louis Arena, and Murray apologized. Quinn says police took a report and the woman declined to seek charges.

      The incident was first reported on Friday by WJBK-TV in Detroit.

      The Ducks said Saturday that Murray denies throwing a chair. On Friday, he told the Los Angeles Times that it was a “complete accident.”

      With the 4-3 win, the Wings advanced to play the Chicago Blackhawks in the conference finals that start Sunday in Detroit.

      This story just confirms that being Detroit makes people do bad things…

      NHL

      Manny apologizes to Dodgers, Torre calls it “uncomfortable”

      May 16, 2009 /

      Manny Ramirez officially apologized to his Dodger teammates for the first time since being suspended 50 games for testing positive for a performance enhancing-drug.

      “It was uncomfortable. He was a little anxious,” Torre said of Ramirez, who according to players and coaches went around the room greeting teammates with a handshake or a hug. “I sensed an uneasiness that I hadn’t seen before from Manny.”

      Although Torre refused to discuss specifics of what took place behind closed doors in a fourth-floor conference room at the Trump International Beach Resort in Sunny Isles Beach, he said Ramirez — who has a house in South Florida — was contrite and apologetic about his suspension, which will keep him on the sidelines until at least July 3.

      “He’s remorseful. And embarrassed,” Torre said. “He just wanted to let the team know how sorry he is for that and for the fact that he’s not there for them.”

      And while his teammates accepted the apology, many said it wasn’t necessary.

      “Nobody needed it or expected it,” said third baseman Casey Blake, who considered Ramirez’s apology “heartfelt.”

      “He made a mistake and stood up to it and we all understand that. We just greeted him, shook his hand and said ‘what’s up?’ “

      Although some of his teammates said the apology was unnecessary (and maybe it was), it probably didn’t hurt. Manny is human and he made a mistake. That doesn’t mean all should be forgiven, but I think it would have been worse had he crawled in a hole until the suspension was over and then acted as if nothing happened when he returned. I don’t see a downside to Manny doing this.

      MLB

      Rachel Alexandra wins 134th Preakness

      May 16, 2009 /

      Rachel Alexandra became the first filly to win the Preakness Stakes in 85 years, beating out Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird, who made a late charge from last place but finished second.

      Calvin Borel became the first jockey to win the first two legs of the Triple Crown on different horses. He rode Mine That Bird to victory in the Kentucky Derby, but switched horses so he could ride Rachael Alexandra, who was an 8/5 favorite coming into the Preakness.

      Borel said after the race that the 3-year old filly struggled with the surface, but was quick to note that Rachael Alexandra was the greatest horse he’s ever been on in his life.

      Owners from different horses knew the threat Rachael Alexandra was coming into the Preakness, because some contemplated entering more horses in order to keep her out from the 13-horse field. One of those owners was Mine That Bird’s Mark Allen, who thought about entering colt Indy Express to take up a spot in effort to keep Rachael Alexandra out, but eventually said that he wouldn’t.

      Rachael Alexandra has now eight of her last 10 races and it’ll be interesting to see if she runs in the Belmont Stakes on June 6, which is third and final leg of the Triple Crown.

      A $2 bet on Rachael Alexandra paid $5.60 and her final margin of victory over Mine That Bird was a length. Musket Man, who had 10/1 odds to win, finished third. (Musket Man finished third at the Kentucky Derby, too.)

      General Sports

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