Of course, it doesn't take a degree in journalism to see the conflict of interest between ESPN's role in college football and their sizeable financial backing of the Longhorn Network.  Heck, it makes Craig James look like a beacon of virtue (oh hey Poynter, we're still waiting for that Craig James article by the way).  We've covered the news exaustively at AA in the offseason, but now that the college football season has started, we've seen how ESPN has decided to delicately dance around the 10,000 pound elephant in the room.  

First, there was the mysterious appearance of Texas on ESPN's website amongst other top 25 teams when the team wasn't ranked.  Now today, during the Red River Rivalry game, fans saw the definition of a shameless plug from stalwarts Brent Musberger and Kirk Herbstreit.  Naturally, amongst all the talk of how important it was for people in Texas to call their cable operator, there was no mention of ESPN's involvement in the network.  But hey, you get to watch LIVE TEXAS PRACTICES!!  I guess mentioning the force and money behind the Longhorn Network would actually involve transparency and journalistic integrity and all of those silly things ESPN clearly doesn't believe in any more. 

[Video H/T SportsGrid]

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There's a new leader at the top of the Pammies standings for the first time this season.  Your friend and mine Craig James has replaced Pam Ward at the top of the standings with Gary Danielson and Matt Millen close behind.  A lot of great games all throughout the day starts with the Red River Rivalry and ends with Ohio State/Nebraska on ABC.  Oh, wait, that Ohio State game is going to be terrible... and Millen's announcing?  God, it's going to be a long night in Columbus.  Leave us with all the best and most awful quotes you hear throughout this football Saturday and we'll put it to a vote on Monday.

"If Oregon wants to win, they can't take advantage of mistakes." - Craig James (via bjo109)

"Since transferring from Buffalo, Maynard plays in much louder stadiums." - Jesse Palmer (via bjo109) Ya think? 

"Friday nights have a tradition: there's always a one point last second drive." - Jesse Palmer (via bjo109) loves those one point drives.

The Brewers just defeated the Diamondbacks in extras to win their first postseason series since 1982. It was the boisterious Nyjer Morgan who delivered a single into centerfield that scored Carlos Gomez for the walk-off win. TBS' Sam Ryan was in the middle of interviewing Ryan Braun until a dancing Morgan interrupted their interview. Ryan then ditched Braun, and attempted to interview Morgan instead. For those of you who get their jollies from unedited swearing on the air, you'll enjoy this short but sweet interview with Morgan.

For good measure, Morgan even throws in a Ric Flair "WOOOOO" in there as well.

The local radio calls almost always trump the national calls in enthusiasm, and that certainly was the case last night in the finale of the Tigers/Yankees series. In the above clip, that's 97.1 The Ticket in Detroit's Dan Dickerson on the call. Not unexpectedly, his offering is in contrast to the almost melancholy offering we were treated to by the TBS crew. To cement my nerdom in the annals of the internet, I'll throw out that my ringtone on my phone is the Dan Dickerson call of the Magglio Ordonez walk-off HR that sent the Tigers to the World Series in 2006. For 5 years that's been my ringtone, and for 5 years I've ignored my friends and allowed it to play through and go to voicemail.

The series-clinching strikeout capped off a memorable game five full of clutch pitching and insane drama. Personally, I spent much of the game writhing on the floor of my apartment as Tigers pitchers maneuvered around the Yankees 200 million dollar roster. As someone who always takes delight in Yankee schadenfreude, I'm sad that so far I have not been able to locate the John Sterling call.

In the always appropriate and necessary ALDS lockerroom celebration, Victor Martinez poured NON-alcoholic champagne on his seven-year-old son. (video via SB Nation Detroit)

Then, Tom Verducci was doused as he attempted to interview Jose Valverde.

Two more Game 5's today on TBS as Arizona/Milwaukee (5:07 PM) and St. Louis/Philadelphia (8:37 PM) compete to see which fanbases will have to continue to endure that constant "Written in the Stars" song for another series.

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Updates to follow...

Friday, October 7

6 Boise State @ Fresno State (9PM ESPN) Joe Tessitore, Rod Gilmore

Saturday. October 8

1 Oklahoma v. 10 Texas (Noon ABC) Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit, Erin Andrews - Cotton Bowl, Dallas

Minnesota @ Purdue (Noon ESPN) Beth Mowins, Mike Bellotti

Louisville @ North Carolina (Noon ESPN2) Bob Wischusen, Bob Davie

Maryland @ 13 Georgia Tech (Noon ESPNU) Rob Stone, Danny Kanell

Mississippi State @ UAB (Noon FSN) Ron Thulin, J.C. Pearson, Jeremy Bloom

Kentucky @ 14 South Carolina (Noon SEC Net) Dave Neal, Andre Ware, Cara Capuano

Connecticut @ 16 West Virginia (Noon Big East Net) Mike Gleason, John Congemi, Eamon McAnaney

22 Florida State @ Wake Forest (12:30 ACC Net) Steve Martin, Dave Archer, Scott Pryzwansky

Army @ Miami-OH (1PM ONN) Tim Bray, Gino DiGiandomenico

Boston College @ 8 Clemson (3PM ACC Net) Rich Waltz, Keith Jones, Jenn Hildreth

Illinois @ Indiana (2:30 BTN) Eric Collins, Chris Martin

18 Florida @ 2 Louisiana State (3:30 CBS) Verne Lundquist, Gary Danielson, Tracy Wolfson

Air Force @ Notre Dame (3:30 NBC) Tom Hammond, Mike Mayock, Alex Flanagan

Miami @ 17 Virginia Tech (3:30 ABC/ESPN) Mike Patrick, Craig James

Iowa @ Penn State (3:30 ABC/ESPN) Dave Pasch, Urban Meyer, Chris Spielman, Quint Kessenich

Missouri @ 20 Kansas State (3:30 ABC/ESPN3) Carter Blackburn, Brock Huard

Pittsburgh @ Rutgers (3:30 ESPNU) Pam Ward, Dan Hawkins

Arizona @ Oregon State (3:30 FOX College Sports) Steve Physioc, Yogi Roth, Desmond Purnell

Arizona State @ Utah (3:30 FSN) Craig Bolerjack, Joel Klatt, Petros Papadakis

Central Michigan at NC State (3:30 ESPN3) Dave Weekley, Rene Ingoglia

South Alabama at Texas-San Antonio (5:30 Longhorn Network) Andrew Monaco, Ahmad Brooks

15 Auburn at 10 Arkansas (7:00 ESPN) Brad Nessler, Todd Blackledge & Holly Rowe

Georgia @ Tennessee (7PM ESPN2) Mark Jones, Ed Cunningham

Vanderbilt at No. 2 Alabama (7:00 ESPNU) Clay Matvick, Brian Griese, Allison Williams

25 Texas A&M @ Texas Tech (7PM FX) Gus Johnson, Charles Davis, Tim Brewster

East Carolina @ Houston (7PM CBS Sports Net) Dave Ryan, Rich Rodriguez

Marshall @ Central Florida (7PM Bright House) Dave Baumann, Mark Royals

Colorado @ 4 Stanford (7:30 VS) Ted Robinson, Glenn Parker, Akbar Gbaja-Biamilla

Ohio State at No. 14 Nebraska (8:00 ABC) Sean McDonough, Matt Millen, Heather Cox

Syracuse @ Tulane (8PM CST) Sean Kelley, Deuce McAllister, Eric Richey

San Jose State @ Brigham Young (10:15 ESPNU) Adam Amin, David Diaz-Infante

Texas Christian @ San Diego State (10:30 CBS Sports Net) James Bates, Aaron Taylor, Brooke Collins

UCLA @ Washington State (10:30 FSN) Joel Meyers, Brian Baldinger

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Ron Jaworski might have started something after all.  Check out this sports report from Erin Hawksworth on Seahawks Gameday from the Seattle Fox station.  She's obviously very excited about the great mood Seahawks fans are in, maybe a little too excited.  Nothing like seeing a polished TV reporter just plow through dropping an F-bomb like it didn't even happen.  Beast mode.

[h/t Hot Clicks]

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It's Friday, Friday, gettin dow... sorry, I had a relapse for a second.  It's Friday, so it's time for Screengrab Snafus, where we pull together the best and funniest screwups of the week.  Thanks to our pal Jimmy Traina at SI for featuring our roundup of graphical gaffes in Hot Clicks last week.  This week's collection is our biggest one yet thanks to your e-mails and tweets to AA.  To kick us off, Jimmy passed along the following from NFL Network.  With the way Cleveland's defense played against Tennessee last week... perhaps 4,039 tackles isn't out of the question for D'Qwell Jackson.

Onto college football, where Notre Dame is averaging almost 100 points in the first quarter per game this season according to the following ESPN graphic.  Amazing to think they're still an incredibly mediocre football program in spite of those numbers.  Thanks to reader Mike Keeley for the snafu...

UCLA must have seen that snafu and been motivated to really light up the scoreboard against Stanford.  Kegs 'N Eggs had the pic of ESPN's Bottom Line showing a 99-0 lead through six minutes AND they were at the Stanford 1 yard line!  I wonder if the bottom line's scoring system went according to Rick Neuheisel Football for the NES.  CLEAN SNAP TROPHIES FOR EVERYONE!!! 

Reader Jim Jackson noticed this snafu from Sports Illustrated's Truth & Rumors.  Can you spot what's the matter with this picture?  Aside from Theo looking like he just realized he owes John Lackey 45.75 million dollars over the next three years that is...

From Darren Rovell's award winning Twitter account comes this unfortunate typo involving All-Star Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro, which is actually his second appearance in the snafus.  Poor guy.  I think Castro would prefer the "Starling" misspelling of his name than the "Stalin" version.  At least it's better than Hitler Castro...

Grantland's typos are so numerous they have their own running gag on Deadspin.  Matt Gamber sent us the following from Simmonstopia and their feature on the Arizona Diamondbacks.  You would think a smart, intelligent, site like Grantland would at least be wise enough to correctly list a bullpen staff.  Believe it or not, there is no Daniel Rodriguez on the D'Backs roster.  Instead, Grantland is likely looking to list David Hernandez... the same guy listed a few lines down in the article.  Did Mike Francesa write this???

And finally, it was just last week that ESPN has spelled Oklahoma, "Oaklahoma."  Last.  Week.  This week during a tribute to the late Lee Roy Selmon, the worldwide leader tried to spell Oklahoma once again.  They FAILED once again.  This kind of thing would never happen to Texas... (h/t Bubbaprog)

That was your week in screengrab snafus, next time be careful out there!

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That whole Hank Williams Jr. firing was bound to lead into some heated debates.  Whenever you mix political, cultural, and racial differences with a controversial firing and a Hitler reference... things get messy.  Bomani Jones of Around the Horn, syndicated Alabama radio host Paul Finebaum (no stranger to controversy), and writer Dave Zirin (no stranger to taking on fiery political issues) came together for an OTL panel to discuss Hank Jr's demise.  Given the personalities involved, the discussion was always going to become heated.  Bomani Jones' stunned facial expressions only add another layer to the discussion.  Here's the video of the segment from Guyism...

The formula is predictable - grab outspoken people from opposite ends of the political spectrum to bicker with each other.  Bomani Jones tried to add some rational, good points to the argument, but any sense and perspective was drowned out with a lot of yelling.  Here's the thing, I get where each of these guys is coming from.  Unfortunately though, rational discourse is an endangered species these days.

[H/T Guyism]

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The coverage of postseason baseball on TBS has seen some improvements this year.  John Smoltz has been a standout analyst with his ability to predict the future and quote Dumb & Dumber.  Talented play by play men like Brian Anderson and Victor Rojas are getting a chance to shine on the national stage.  Joe Simpson and Bob Brenly are solid analysts as well.  However, there are still some elements of TBS's MLB coverage that leaves viewers with a massive headache.  Their astonishing ability to ram one annoying thing down your throat is truly mystifying.  Now, WRITTEN IN THE STARS can join Frank TV and Dane Cook in MLB postseason infamy.  However, it is the announcing assignment of Dick Stockton that has perhaps drawn the most ire from fans.  Stockton was once a top announcer.  Nobody questions that fact.  However, it's 2011 and not 1986.  Dick Stockton just doesn't have a clue anymore, as noted by scores of observant fans on Twitter.  The good news for me personally is Dick will also be announcing this week's Saints game.  Happy, happy, joy, joy.  As always, these are Real Tweets from Real People...

whygavs  "The Phillies squeeze in a run here. Not with a squeeze, but with a pitch getting away." Dick Stockton, everyone.
TrippingOlney  DICK STOCKTON WOULD LIKE TO TEACH THE WORLD TO SING
dennisdoddcbs  Dick Stockton is the worst play-by-play guy ever. Lazy. Basic. Colorless. MLB/TBS went safe route.
ericsjarinko  #AwfulAnnouncing Dick Stockton "LaRussa gets a birthday present a day late w/ this win." That means he got a loss on his birthday
RoadtoHomePlate  Dick Stockton almost called them the Sillies. Appropriate.
AnthonyAdams33  I feel like I owe it to my country to become a sports broadcaster so that one day the sports world will be free of morons like dick stockton

IronyNOW  It's a shame that Dick Stockton gets more excited about squirrels than anything happening in the baseball game.
phuturephillies  If there is ever an alien invasion, my top 2 choices to commentate the event are Gus Johnson and Dick Stockton
TweetaSkalina  Evidently Dick Stockton cannot count.
CleverBaseblog  Does anyone else think Dick Stockton just always sounds like he has a mouthful of pennies?
jsharp23  Dick Stockton just said Victorino committed an era. Must've been a long play. @AwfulAnnouncing
nbaliva  @awfulannouncing show list of MVPs with Howard, Rollins and Pujols. Stockton says 2 of them are in our game today. #facepalm
AdamStBear@awfulannouncing  You can't take a minute off with Stockton on air. The guy's a goldmine.
TheFanManifesto @awfulannouncing  Stockton should be on the AA Rushmore. Time to right the wrong.

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Today, ESPN officially removed Hank Williams Jr. from their Monday Night Football broadcasts.  Hank Jr. won multiple Emmys for his role in the Monday Night Football open, becoming a signature voice for fans of the broadcast since he began his role in 1991.  But of course, any time you compare the current president to Hitler, bad things are bound to happen to your employment.  Apparently, that little one-game suspension wasn't enough.  First, here's Hank Jr.'s initial apology after he was sat for a game... 

“I have always been very passionate about Politics and Sports and this time it got the Best or Worst of me. The thought of the Leaders of both Parties Jukin and High Fiven on a Golf course, while so many Families are Struggling to get by simply made me Boil over and make a Dumb statement and I am very Sorry if it Offended anyone. I would like to Thank all my supporters. This was Not written by some Publicist.”

-Hank Williams Jr. 

Just this morning, the other shoe dropped and ESPN officially cut ties with the man known as Bocephus with this statement today:

"We have decided to part ways with Hank Williams, Jr. We appreciate his contributions over the past years.  The success of Monday Night Football has always been about the games and that will continue."

-ESPN 

And just to add further to the confusion, according to this tweet from SportsGrid, Hank Williams Jr. says he made the decision to part ways, not ESPN...

Updated: Here's the full Hank Williams Jr. statement to ESPN as read on First Take this morning...

"After reading hundreds of e-mails, I have made MY decision.  By pulling my opening Oct 3rd, You [ESPN] stepped on the Toes of the First Amendment Freedom of Speech, so therefore Me, My Song, and All My Rowdy Friends are OUT OF HERE.  It's been a great run."

Whatever the case may be (and we all know ESPN doesn't exactly have the best history recently with short, terse statements), it looks like Hank Jr. now joins the list of people like Jimmy the Greek, Al Campanis, Ruch Limbaugh and Don Imus as prominent figures who have said stupid things and lost jobs.  Didn't Marge Schott teach us anything about invoking the name of Hitler?  One thing's for sure, Faith Hill needs to watch what she says until the heat dies down.  As for Bocephus, well, I guess he has plenty of time to have his rowdy friends over tonight...

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