I wrote oodles of posts about the NFL's ratings in January games (both of the playoff and Pro Bowl variety), but the overall viewership of the playoff games were actually slightly down from a year ago.

The game-by-game numbers for the league are surprising as revealed by Sports Media Watch. This year's playoffs featured not only the most-viewed game in the wild card round of all-time (Steelers-Broncos, highlighted by Tebowmania), but also the most-viewed divisional game (Giants-Packers), the second most-viewed championship game (Giants-49ers), and the most viewed Super Bowl (Giants-Patriots). But it was the other games that dragged the overall numbers down, with two wild card games (Bengals-Texans and Falcons-Giants) drawing lower numbers than any wild card game last year. The Bengals-Texans game was actually the lowest viewed wild card game since the Falcons and Cardinals played in the 2008 playoffs.

Another potentially alarming number is that the Packers-Eagles wild card game from last year got more views than three of the four divisional games this year. There obviously isn't any major cause for panic here because the NFL is still sports' ratings behemoth, but these numbers are interesting considering the amount of games that saw record viewership. It's also worth noting that the Texans played in both the lowest rated wild card game and the lowest rated divisional game of the year. You would have thought that a team that had never reached the playoffs before this season would bring in some more eyeballs, but apparently not. The NFL shouldn't worry too much though, overall playoff ratings have grown by over 9 million viewers per game since 2003.

[h/t:Sports Media Watch]

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Regional action kicks off a tripleheader on Sunday between NBC and NBCSN this week with 10 games airing nationwide...

Monday February 13

San Jose Sharks @ Washington Capitals (NBCSN 7:30PM) Mike Emrick, Pierre McGuire

Tuesday February 14

Anaheim Ducks @ Minnesota Wild (NBCSN 7:30PM) John Forslund, Brian Englboom

Wednesday February 15

Boston Bruins @ Montreal Canadiens (NBCSN 7:30PM) Mike Emrick, Eddie Olczyk, Pierre McGuire

Thursday February 16

Chicago Blackhawks @ New York Rangers (NHL Net 7PM) Local Broadcast

Friday February 17

Nashville Predators at Detroit Red Wings (NHL Net 7:30PM) Local Broadcast

Saturday February 18

Pittsburgh Penguins @ Philadelphia Flyers (NHL Net 1PM) Local Broadcast

Washington Capitals @ Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL Net 7PM) Local Broadcast

Sunday February 19

San Jose Sharks @ Detroit Red Wings (NBC 12:30PM) TBD - *Regional

St. Louis Blues @ Chicago Blackhawks (NBC 12:30PM) TBD - *Regional

Pittsburgh Penguins @ Buffalo Sabres (NBC 12:30PM) TBD - *Regional

Boston Bruins @ Minnesota Wild (NBC 3PM) Mike Emrick, Eddie Olczyk, Pierre McGuire

New Jersey Devils @ Montreal Canadiens (NBCSN 6PM) John Forslund, Andy Brickley

H/T Sammy, Steve Lepore!

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As we moved past the Super Bowl on the sports calendar, there was only one question on my mind.

What or who could we find to replace Tim Tebow?

After all, Tebowmania swept the nation for months stretching from the late Autumn and into the Winter.  It was all Tim Tebow all the time.  We had magazines, superheroes, hour long television specials, the Tebowization of First Take and seemingly EVERYTHING ON ESPN, and even the national news media soaking it all in.  Do I need to remind you that SportsNation brought on Hulk Hogan to cut a 1980s style promo on Tim Tebow?  Come to think of it, it's amazing we all emerged alive.

Tebowmania was a unique set of circumstances though.  Here was a once in a generation athlete on a once in a lifetime streak of unbelievable wins that managed to captivate not just sports fans, but seemingly the entire universe.  Everyone you knew had some sort of opinion on Tim Tebow.  It could have been his funky release, his evangelical Christian values, how much credit he deserved for the Broncos success, whether or not John Elway and his coaching staff supported him (the most pointless of all Tebowmania related storylines) or even Tebowing.  It was a nationwide obsession like we've rarely ever seen before in sports.  But alas, when Tebow's season ended, so thankfully did Tebowmania (for the time being at least).  Nobody in their right mind could talk Tim Tebow 24/7/365, after all.  If Skip Bayless has moved on from Tebowmania, you know it's safe.

A funny thing happened though... as soon as the nation got out of rehab for its Tebowmania addiction, another craze has swept the sports world.  It is simply known as Linsanity.  

New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin has developed into the story of the NBA season.  By now you likely know the details of how Lin instantly went from anonymous D-Leaguer to putting 38 on Kobe and the Lakers in the World's Most Famous Arena and leading the Knicks on a five game winning streak.  He's not just the biggest NBA story at the moment though, he's the biggest story in sports.  His heritage, his background, the city in which he plays in, and the shock to his success all play a role in Linsanity.

In a way, this is the present and future of how sports are covered.  We go from season to season in search of one person or one story to apply a clever hashtag to and treat as the most important thing that's ever happened in the history of forever.  It is becoming the nature of the beast in covering sports.  Our culture demands it.

So naturally, the temptation to compare the two biggest phenomena in sports in the last six months is too big to ignore.  Tebowmania vs Linsanity.  Linsanity vs Tebowmania.  Which is bigger?  Whose story is more unreal?  Why are Lin and Tebow wasting their talents in sports and not dedicating themselves to stopping terrorism and ending global warming?  

Go ahead and search "Jeremy Lin" and "Tim Tebow" together on Twitter and behold the seemingly inseperable bond that holds them together.  There was even the predictable "Tebow inspires Lin" story that made the rounds.  I'm pretty sure if the two of them were ever photographed in the same place at the same time, the universe would spontaneously combust in some sort of Reverse Big Bang.

Lin and Tebow do have some similarities.  They are both significant role models in a sports world that has seen them become an endangered species.  They are both outspoken about their faith (see this article in the New York Times for instance).  They are both incredibly compelling athletes.  But the truth is that Lin and Tebow's stories are actually quite different.  Jeremy Lin is simply not another Tim Tebow.  Here's why...

Another busy slate of games in the Association this week on TNT, ESPN, and NBATV...

Monday February 13

Minnesota Timberwolves @ Orlando Magic (NBA TV 7PM) Local Broadcast

Phoenix Suns @ Golden State Warriors (NBA TV 10PM) Local Broadcast 

Tuesday February 14

Miami Heat @ Indiana Pacers (NBA TV 7PM) Ernie Johnson, Chris Webber, Greg Anthony

Washington Wizards @ Portland Trail Blazers (NBA TV 10PM) Local Broadcast

Wednesday February 15

Memphis Grizzlies @ New Jersey Nets (NBA TV 7:30PM) Local Broadcast

Portland Trailblazers @ Golden State Warriors (ESPN 10PM) Dave Pasch, Jon Barry

Thursday February 16

Boston Celtics @ Chicago Bulls (TNT 8PM) Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller

Los Angeles Clippers @ Portland Trail Blazers (TNT 10:30PM) Marv Albert, Steve Kerr

Friday February 17

Dallas Mavericks @ Philadelphia 76ers (ESPN 8PM) Mike Tirico, Hubie Brown

Phoenix Suns @ Los Angeles Lakers (ESPN 10:30PM) Mark Jones, Jon Barry

Saturday February 18

Atlanta Hawks @ Portland Trail Blazers (NBA TV 10PM) Local Broadcast

Sunday February 19

Dallas Mavericks @ New York Knicks (ABC 1PM) Mike Tirico, Hubie Brown

Orlando Magic @ Miami Heat (ABC 3:30PM) Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy

Denver Nuggets @ Oklahoma City Thunder (ESPN 8PM) Dave Pasch, Chris Mullin

H/T Sammy!

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Pitchers and catchers are preparing to report for Spring Training, which means baseball players flooding the friendly weather conditions of Florida and Arizona before the season begins.  But before departing for Spring Training, Rangers pitcher Derek Holland got the opportunity to give the local forecast with WFAA in Dallas. 

Holland's excitement about the weather is admirable.  Who doesn't get juiced to talk some cumulonimbus clouds and decreasing atmospheric pressure!  His forecast consists mostly of shouting "WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT?!  JUST LOOK AT THAT!" in pure, unadulterated joy.  He also puts his hood up to signify the cold sweeping through the area.  Nice visual imagery.  When things don't go so well with the weather clicker though, Holland goes to Plan B and breaks out his notable Haray Caray impersonation (Witchita Falls how ya doin?).  He then continues shouting "WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT?!  JUST LOOK AT THAT!" over any and everything during this weather report.  If only there was a way to translate this kind of excitement to more baseball telecasts...

(via It's Always Sunny In Detroit)

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Update:  Whitlock has issued an apology after the Asian American Journalist Association called for one. Credit to Whitlock for not ignoring the controversy he created although we still don't know what corporate politics, pr backlack, and pressure was potentially exerted to get this apology or if Whitlock was truly remorseful enough to backpedal. 

Linsanity is a damn good story. You know the basics by now.

Jeremy Lin, a Bay Area product, California player of the year, and state champion, is not offered an athletic scholarship by a single program out of high school. He takes his game across the country to Harvard where he thrives for four straight years setting school and Ivy League records. He graduates with a degree in Economics with a 3.1 GPA.

Undrafted, Lin finds a home with his local team, the Warriors. He scores 76 points all of last season, a total he's surpassed in just his last three games.

He's waived by the Warriors before this season and not too long after, waived by the Rockets. The Knicks send him a lifeline but shortly thereafter send him down to the D-League where he impresses scoring a triple double. With a bevy of injuries that include Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire, and Baron Davis, Lin gets his shot. A month and a half after being without an employer, and a couple weeks removed from being in the D-League, he delivers with four massive games and four wins in a row.

Small sample size be damned, Lin's four game average as a starter is 28.5 points per game and 8 assists. Did I mention the fact his four starts were all wins and they were without Melo and Stoudemire?

The media's reaction to "Linsanity" has been one of mainly disbelief and support. Coming off the heels of Tebowmania, an endless cycle of analysis, debate, late game heroics, and flurries of horrific play, Linsanity has been a story of a different nature.

He's not a Heisman winner or a first round draft pick who has had his merits debated endlessly for months. Linsanity is built purely upon the fact that he's a true underdog and phenomenon. He's an undrafted Asian-American perimeter player who hails from an Ivy League School and scored 38 points on national television against Kobe and the Lakers.

The clock hasn't struck midnight yet and four games in, Linsanity is in full force. Fans and the media are eating up the story. Unlike Tebow, where the level of play was front and center for endless debate, Lin's explosion on the NBA scene has been something that can't be ignored, discounted, twisted, or even disliked. That is of course unless you are Jason Whitlock...

A new "golf lifestyle" channel is coming to a cable system near you according to the Hollywood Reporter, and one of the founders of the network is none other than Dirty Harry himself, Clint Eastwood.

The network, called Back9 Network, is scheduled to launch later in the spring. Eastwood's role with the network will include meeting with the company's management each quarter to go over programming choices, as well as talent for the network. Eastwood owns the Telama Golf Club in Carmel, California, and is one of a few investors in Pebble Beach, one of the most famous courses in the world.

Eastwood has reportedly already viewed the pilots that the network has already produced, and been interviewed by LPGA tour golfer (and model) Anna Rawson for a show called You're So Money. 

Some of the other pilots that the show has produced already include Extreme Golf (which is apparently a reality-style show with celebrities golfing in bizarre locations), Lucky Me With Jackie Flynn (which features a comedian I've never heard of visiting fancy golf courses...I guess the gimmick of the show is that Flynn is a blue collar comic and there will be ZANY ANTICS as he goes to a high-class course), and Hole Lotta Love, a reality show where a guy or gal plays golf with prospective mates and eliminates them by each hole.

One would think a startup golf channel faces an uphill battle in the marketplace thanks to the presence of the GOLF CHANNEL. Also, this programming sounds completely terrible. When I watch golf, and the Golf Channel for that matter, I watch it to escape from the oodles of horrendous reality shows and gimmicks that populate television everywhere. When I'm watching golf, I want to relax, not wonder why in the hell Frank eliminated Jenna from their dating contest after she bogeyed the third hole. 

[h/t: Hollywood Reporter]

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latest AA podcast), Reggie Miller, and Chris Webber is an absolute classic. The three acted like a trio of friends sitting in the living room watching a game when Westbrook slammed it home, and that kind of reaction is awesome when a moment like that happens.

About Webber's commentary last night as a whole, we approve, and think that he helped make Miller a lot more tolerable throughout the broadcast. He's almost a polar opposite of Shaq, who doesn't seem to add much insight and isn't very well-spoken, but is a big name and makes people laugh. Webber is by far the most underrated of TNT's stable of NBA announcers.  What's everyone's take on C-Web in the booth?

[h/t: SBNation]

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The Dan Patrick Show won our award for best sports show of 2011 as voted on by our readers, but it almost came to a tragic end on Thursday.  With Dan Patrick taking the week after the Super Bowl off due to a knee operation, the show has had guest hosts in Patrick's seat throughout the week to join the Danettes.  On Thursday and Friday, Bonnie Bernstein served in the guest host role.  Watch as she almost burns the studio down after laying a piece of paper on a burning candle.  Even though there's no sound to the clip, you can see Bernstein's hilarious reaction that surely would have got past ESPN's censors. 

So it was Bonnie Bernstein that started the fire!  Of course!  

Seriously though, before her last two guest hosting stints on Dan Patrick's radio show, I had no idea where Bonnie Bernstein went.  I actually thought she was still with ESPN and had merely gotten lost in the galaxy of reporters at the network, but she left Bristol in the last couple years.  I always thought she was one of the top sideline reporters in the industry, so I was surprised to discover that.  She's been really enjoyable to listen to subbing for Dan Patrick, so maybe it won't be too long before a major network picks her up again in some capacity... as long as they keep her safely away from candles.

(via HiMyNameIsSeton)

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ESPN’s tagline is the “Worldwide Leader in Sports” but this week, the network has come under fire as a Tweeter exposed a little known issue in the “contact us” page on ESPN’s website that specifically asked if someone wanted to complain about a female commentator on their website.

Now, the first question you probably would ask yourself is “well did they have a complaint tab about disliking male commentators” option? And the answer to that is somewhat. Because, as you see below, ESPN has the options laid out as to “Compliment” or “Complain” and then featured another drop down box to included the words “Commentator/Announcer”

So why the need for a “Commentator- dislike female commentator” option on the drop down menu in the first place?  It's one thing to dislike a female commentator, it's another to do so solely on the basis of her gender.

Turns out, this option has been available for over 10 years on the ESPN site but was only recently brought to light when @msois saw the option, took a screen shot of it, and sent it to ESPN female anchors to ask if they knew the option existed.

To ESPN’s credit, they almost immediately removed the option as soon as the story was brought to their attention stating:

“We apologize for the mistake on the viewer response form template. We’ve been an industry leader for more than 30 years and are extremely proud of the leadership role we continue to play in providing high-profile opportunities and assignments for female commentators — from SportsCenter anchors to play-by-play announcers, analysts, reporters and more. We appreciate that this matter was brought to our attention and it was addressed and deleted immediately.”

Upon first hearing about the story, to be honest, I wasn’t shocked. Being a female in a male dominated field like sports comes with some excess baggage and you frankly know what you are going to get.

You will either be the pin up sports girl who reads from a cuecard or you can be the girl with the looks and knowledge and just take a little grief here and there from your male sports counterparts. But it’s the Linda Cohns and Robin Roberts of the world that paved the way and dealt with real sexism as to why this option on ESPN’s website even existed in the first place. The blame lies in all of us, both internally at ESPN and externally that this stayed on the website for so long.

Sure, it’s sexist in this day and age to see something like this, but give credit where credit is due - ESPN immediately removed the option as soon at it was brought to their attention and you can bet that every single item is being closely examined as we speak for more instances like this.

Which is exactly how we all get better as a society. Become aware, address it and move on. Bravo to ESPN for handling this brief PR nightmare as professionally as they could and immediately addressing and apologizing for the decade old issue. Hopefully in the future, female commentators will only be judged solely on their announcing ability.

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