With any lockout, there is bound to be backlash against the sport and fans vowing never to watch another game.  With the frustration of intense negotiations and infuriating tactics used in the NBA Lockout, the Association didn't do their fans any favor.  The "millionaires vs billionaires" tag was an all too easy label for the negotiations and the apocalyptic language used by both sides endeared little support until the lockout was finally ended a few weeks ago.  But then David Stern doubled down on his role as the villanious kingmaker of professional sports by pulling the competitive balance strings and deciding where Chris Paul was going to play basketball this year.  All in all, you couldn't blame NBA fans if they were turned away from the beginning of the season on Christmas Day.

However, in what can be nothing but encouraging news for the Association, ratings were up in four of the five Christmas Day games yesterday.  The following numbers for each broadcast window come via the excellent Sports Media Watch...

12 ET: Knicks v Celtics - 4.1 rating, up 52% vs last year
2:30 ET: Heat v Mavericks - 5.6 rating, up 6% vs last year
5 ET: Bulls v Lakers - 6.4 rating, down 12% vs last year
8 ET: Thunder v Magic - 1.9 rating, up 36% vs last year
10:30 ET: Clippers v Warriors - 2.3 rating, up 77% vs last year

Those are all great numbers for the league considering the only game down from last year (Bulls v Lakers) was the third highest rating for a regular season game on ABC.  Only Heat/Lakers last year on Christmas Day and the 2004 Shaq v Kobe matchup gained higher ratings.  More great news for the NBA are the increased numbers on ESPN in primetime considering they were going up against Sunday Night Football, albeit not a very compelling Bears-Packers blowout.  Chris Paul's debut with the Clippers pulled in impressive numbers in the nightcap almost doubling last year's rating.

Like the NFL Lockout, it doesn't seem that the NBA Lockout caused any tangible amount of fans to turn away from the product because the season wasn't lost.  In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if ratings were up throughout the course of the season with the compacted 66 game schedule and all the high profile teams and superstars that will be must see television.  In spite of all their best efforts to prevent it, the league is still trending upwards... which is why the lockout was so frustrating in the first place.  If we have more exciting finishes like this Derrick Rose game winner against the Lakers yesterday, those numbers will continue to improve.

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Given the results of this Saturday's games, there was little doubt associated with what may be the Week 17 NFL flex game.  In fact, the league announced it would be Giants-Cowboys Part II on Sunday Night Football even before the end of Week 16.  Even though these two teams met on Sunday Night Football less than a month ago in Week 14, it's the only "win or go home" game on the Week 17 schedule, so the move makes sense.  According to JP at the 506, it's the first time since 1990 that a division rivalry sees both their games played in primetime in the same season.  Here's the announcement from the league on the details of the Week 17 flexes for SNF and the late afternoon Sunday games:

The Week 17 Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants game on Sunday, January 1 will be played at 8:20 PM ET on NBC, the Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns games will move to 4:15 PM ET on CBS and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Atlanta Falcons game will move to 4:15 PM ET on FOX, the NFL announced today. Game times for the Chicago Bears-Minnesota Vikings and Carolina Panthers-New Orleans Saints afternoon games on FOX will be announced following results of the Week 16 Sunday and Monday night games.

Bengals-Ravens may have been the other consideration, but the NFL decided to play the AFC North games at the same time on Sunday so as to not give any of the teams a competitive advantage.  Instead, it'll be 8-7 Dallas at 8-7 New York in a primetime matchup that will draw big ratings and uncontrollable excitement from the east coast bias crowd... and much schadenfreude from the rest of the country.  How much fun will it be to see one of these seasons blow up in likely hilarious circumstances on national television?  I for one can't wait.  If the Week 14 encounter was any indication of how this regular season ending game may turn out, get yo popcorn ready.   

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The NBA season got underway with a quintupleheader on TNT, ABC, and ESPN yesterday on Christmas Day.  The Knicks beat the Celtics in an early classic, the Heat sent a statement to the league by running the defending champion Mavericks off the floor, Chicago shocked the Lakers with a dramatic comeback, Oklahoma City easily handled Orlando, and the Lob City Era began as well.

But the highlight of the day may have come at the very beginning of the 12+ hours of NBA action with this video package from TNT.  It's simply one of the best I've ever seen, if not the best video montage in sports.  At the very least, this is on the elite One Shining Moment level.  The short intro seemlessly combines old and new with current players appearing alongside the best in NBA history as one famous scene from NBA history leads to another.  It's nearly two minutes of a basketball utopia that can hopefully, finally, close the door on the ugliness of the NBA Lockout.

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Merry Christmas Eve!  The full NFL slate shifts to Saturday this week with Christmas Day falling on a Sunday.  There's no night game either, so all the action takes place at 1 and 4 ET today.  Packers/Bears happens Sunday night and Saints/Falcons finishes the week on Monday Night.  You can check the comments below in the SOS open thread and our Twitter timeline for all submissions.  You can also tweet us by using the hashtag #SOSAA to send in quotes.  Then, we'll be back on Tuesdays with 15-20 nominees and you'll vote on our Top 10 for the week.  SOS winners will be announced Thursdays with updated standings.  Below you can find the links to last week's Top 10 and up to the second standings along with this week's NFL announcing schedule with broadcast maps.  Enjoy your holiday weekend!

Week 15 Dickies Winners & Standings

Week 16 NFL Announcing Schedule 

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After retiring from the NBA this summer, Shaquille O’Neal joined up with the gang at TNT, adding another former player to the Inside the NBA staff. But now, there’s a rumor circulating that Shaq is looking to wrestle at this coming year’s WrestleMania. His rumored opponent is The Big Show, who WWE bills as “the largest athlete in professional sports." 

Athletes getting into the ring is nothing new. Remember Dennis Rodman’s multiple WCW appearances? Karl Malone being brought in to counter Rodman? NFL legend Kevin Greene facing the very same Big Show, then known as The Giant? And hell, even Shaq himself got into the act a couple of years ago! But Shaq isn’t an athlete anymore, he’s an announcer. Announcers really don’t have that aura about them that athletes do. 

I was able to think of one announcer that got involved with wrestling, though in a decidedly non-physical aspect: Milwaukee Brewers play by play man Bob Uecker, who was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2010. It’ll be interesting to see if TNT even plugs O’Neal’s appearances with the company (if they happen), due to WWE’s relationship with Viacom. TNT used to be the home of WCW Monday Nitro, which was taken off the air more than a decade ago when WWE bought out WCW. Wrestling hasn’t made an appearance on Turner stations since, and I really don’t know what the company would do if O’Neal decided to get involved.

It would be pretty cool to see the Inside the NBA crew interact with some of the WWE elite, though. Again, this is highly implausible, but imagine the Big Show or other WWE wrestlers invading the Inside the NBA set, and dressing Ernie Johnson down on a level that Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley just wish they could. And hell, think about Barkley and Smith showing up on WWE Raw or Smackdown to support their co-worker.

I’d love to see a crossover between the two flagship shows, but I think it’s extremely unlikely to happen. But it would be a nice way to shake things up for fans of both programs. Neither the NBA or WWE really need to leech off of each other, but I’m sure fans of both products would love the crossover.

The NBA is back this Holiday weekend, so enjoy the following nationally televised games or fire up your overpriced NBA League Pass. Also, marvel in the fact that Breen (and JVG) will appear to be in two places at once on Christmas Day.  And at least spread a little more holiday cheer than the newest members of the New Orleans Hornets.

Sunday, December 25

Boston Celtics @ New York Knicks (TNT Noon) Marv Albert, Steve Kerr
Miami Heat @ Dallas Mavericks (ABC 2:30PM) Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy
Chicago Bulls @ Los Angeles Lakers (ABC 5PM) Mike Tirico, Hubie Brown
Orlando Magic @ Oklahoma City Thunder (ESPN 8PM) Dave Pasch, Doris Burke
Los Angeles Clippers @ Golden State Warriors (ESPN 10:30PM) Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy, Chris Mullin

Monday, December 26

Houston Rockets @ Orlando Magic (NBA TV 7PM) Local Broadcast
Los Angeles Lakers @ Sacramento Kings (NBA TV 10PM) Local Broadcast

Tuesday, December 27

Boston Celtics @ Miami Heat (TNT 8PM) Marv Albert, Mike Fratello, Steve Kerr
Utah Jazz @ Los Angeles Lakers (TNT 10:30PM) Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller

Wednesday, December 28

Boston Celtics @ New Orleans Hornets (NBA TV 7PM) Local Broadcast
New York Knicks @ Golden State Warriors (NBA TV 10PM) Local Broadcast

Thursday, December 29

Dallas Mavericks @ Oklahoma City Thunder (TNT 8PM) Marv Albert, Mike Fratello, Steve Kerr
New York Knicks @ Los Angeles Lakers (TNT 10:30PM) Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller

Friday, December 30

Phoenix Suns @ New Orleans Hornets (NBA TV 8PM) Local Broadcast
Chicago Bulls @ Los Angeles Clippers (NBA TV 10:30PM) Local Broadcast

Saturday, December 31

Utah Jazz @ San Antonio Spurs (NBA TV 8:30PM) Local Broadcast

Sunday, January 1, 2012 - New Years Day

Boston Celtics @ Washington Wizards (NBA TV 6PM) Local Broadcast

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Yesterday we ran through the first half of our sports media wish list for 2012, so be sure to mosey over that way if so inclined. Below is the second half of what we're hoping to see in 2012.

The Return Of Hard Knocks

We were pretty diligent in covering how the lockout was impeding HBO and NFL Films from procuring a team to participate in the wildly popular all access show. While many were just happy to have the NFL labor issues resolved, it was deflating not to have Hard Knocks building up anticipation for the upcoming season.

Looking back at past seasons, there have been times I've thought, "That's one of the best hours of television I've ever watched." Here is one of many memorable clips from over the years...

While it's likely we'll see Hard Knocks return after a one year hiatus, the bottom line is that an NFL team needs to sign off on giving that access and being subjected to additional exposure and scrutiny. It's a big decision and one with a lot of risk involved. 

Given how awesome and unique Hard Knocks is, we're definitely saving a wish for its return. Off the top of my head the Broncos and Lions seem like some worthy candidates for next year.

A very interesting week in the Dickies vote as three new faces make their debut in the weekly winners.  I'm as amazed as you are that this is Deion Sanders' first quote of the NFL season to make the list.  Curt Menefee and Rodney Harrison make their first appearance as well while none of the top four in the standings garnered points this week.  The envelope, please...

10) "Patriots secondary. Much improved. Didn't blow any coverages, no miscommunications, big balls...big thrown balls over their head...much improved day." - Rodney Harrison (via DevsFan30)

9) "The Ravens score a meaningless touchdown ... Well except to some friendly degenerates we know." - Al Michaels (via joelb811) obviously referring to his own betting habits.

8) "Joe Flacco is as mobile as any QB playing the game right now" - Cris Collinsworth (via several)

7) "The ball is out of bounds. Let's see who touched it last." - Marv Albert. Is this basketball? (via bmitchelf)

6) "I think Michael Vick is starting to come" - Chris Berman on NFL Sunday Countdown (via nro1111)

5) "LOOK AT THIS CLOWN!!" - Thom Brennaman (via Packey) [VIDEO]

4) ‎"It's chilly today in New York. But it is November -- I guess it should be." - Joe Buck (via sys)

3) "Caleb Hanie working his magic as he always does." - Curt Menefee (via natedog2827)

2) "They'll go for it here on first down." - Joe Buck (via sctvman)

1) "Who gets in your butt?" - Deion Sanders to Tony Romo (via thedudeinatl)

Week 15 Top 5 -

1) Dick Stockton 87 pts

2) Brian Billick 55 pts

3) Phil Simms 53.5 pts

4) Jon Gruden 47 pts

5) Chris Berman 39 pts

Others receiving votes -Mike Tirico 28 pts, Joe Buck 27 pts, Al Michaels 15.5, Cris Collinsworth 14 pts, Dave Lapham 14 pts, Jim Mora 14 pts,  Dan Dierdorf 13 pts, Rich Gannon 12 pts, Terry Bradshaw 10 pts, Scott Hanson 10 pts, Jim Nantz 10, Deion Sanders 10, Dan Fouts 8.5 pts, Bob Griese 8.5 pts, Troy Aikman 8 pts, Curt Menefee 8 pts, Thom Brennaman 8 pts, Dan Patrick 7 pts, Marv Albert 7 pts, Mike Mayock 6 pts, Daryl Johnston 5 pts, Marcellus Wiley 5 pts, Tim Ryan 5 pts,  Bob Costas 4 pts, Warren Moon 3 pts, Keyshawn Johnson 3 pts, Chad Pennington 2 pts, Tony Siragusa 1 pt, Ron Jaworski 1 pt, Rodney Harrison 1 pt.

You can check out the Week 16 NFL announcing schedule here.

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Joe Buck has joined Twitter and it was a pretty eventful first day for @buck with just above 15,000 followers and 22 tweets. I am guessing by the time you read this, both those numbers will be a lot higher.

What struck me is that unlike other media personalities who slowly ramp up their usage and usually use their account in a very vanilla way, Buck surprisingly came out of the gate with a fury you wouldn't expect from the often beleaguered Fox announcer.

The first thing that caught my eye was Buck's twitter bio and picture shown below.

No fluffy bio or professional photo of Buck in a suit and wearing makeup. Instead we get more or less an unshaven cell phone picture of Buck and a bio that punches back at year of vocal criticism (a lot of which comes from us at times).

Buck's 22 tweets are also pretty saucy. A tweet about Artie Lange, poking fun of Albert Pujols media overkill, admitting his hair is going grey, and poking fun of how people consider his announcing style can be a bit dry...

While this probably won't sway the many who dislike Buck as Fox's front man, it definitely humanizes a guy who has long been considered a bore in terms of offering up emotion and personality in his work.

For quite a while, Buck has been the pinata he references in his bio and he's never really had an outlet to dish it back out. Whether it's us, Justin Timberlake, or Artie Lange, you have to have some level of sympathy for a guy who gets it from all angles. He's been the lead guy for Fox forever and often bemoaned by fans and media pundits alike. It's probably healthy for him to have an avenue to connect with fans and have a back channel where he can be a bit more casual and personal in what he says.

Upon seeing Buck's account I thought of Nicolas Cage's character in The Weather Man. Cage's character is a media personality transitioning from local to national prominence that nobody seems to like. In fact, people throw food and drinks at him with some level of regularity. He lives in the shadow of his famous father and being an independent movie, obviously he's emotionally dead inside and suffering a midlife crisis before having an epiphany that he needs to LIVE a bit.

Below is the trailer, and by no means in this endorsement of Nicolas Cage... who probably should join Twitter too.

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Last week, we shared with you our annual list of the Top 10 Announcing Gaffes of the year.  This year, we thought it was only right to give a shout to our favorite clips and the best announcing moments of 2011.  It was tough to whittle our list down to only ten, but these are the very best of the best in the year that was at Awful Announcing.  The Top Ten features announcers from high schools to the minors to the pros and from America to Spain, England, and Italy.  We hope you enjoy this list of classic clips as much as we do.  Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

10) Cricket Smash

Welsh cricket announcer Edward Bevan gets quite the scare as this smashing cricket hit smashes the window of the commentary box.  The audio of Bevan bravely commentating his own life flashing before his eyes and the glass breaking is quite extraordinary.

9) "TouchDOOOWWWWn!!"

This still unnamed Georgia high school football announcer was one of our favorite finds of the year for the simple way that he exuberantly screamed the word "touchdown" like the finest evangelist. (See, you can make religious jokes about football without mentioning Tim Tebow... oops)