In case you watched an NFL game on Fox yesterday, you probably saw one of the 4,573 advertisements for the Fox broadcast debut of the Ultimate Fighting Championship this coming Saturday night.  There has always been speculation on what exactly Fox would do with the UFC telecast.  Would they bring in Gus Johnson with his (somewhat criticized) MMA experience at CBS to call the fight?  Would they peg Joe Buck to announce the fight scene seeing as how Joe Buck announces everything else at Fox?  (I think he hosts American Idol too... although I have such a hard time telling him and Seacrest apart.)

Instead, UFC's resident announcers Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan will be calling the Cain Velasquez vs Junior Dos Santos heavyweight title fight according to USA Today, but Fox will at least have one of their network stalwarts on the coverage...

UFC will do most of the introducing, since it maintains control of the fight coverage and will use announcers Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan, who call its pay-per-view fights. But Fox will control the pre- and post-fight shows, where it will use Curt Menefee as host and fighter Brock Lesnar— who might eventually fight the Nov. 12 winner — and UFC President Dana White as analysts. Or, maybe, head cheerleader?

I really wish Fox would have gone with Chris Rose instead of Curt Menefee as the studio host just to see the awkward dynamic between himself, Brock Lesnar, and Dana White.  That would have been worth watching alone.  It's also worth noting that Velasquez vs Dos Santos is the only scheduled fight to appear on Fox with the undercard being streamed on FoxSports.com.  Here I was hoping we might see Floyd Mayweather vs Larry Merchant on the broadcast.  Oh, well.  Fox hasn't had much success in recent years experimenting with new sports, and you know MMA purists will be paying very close attention to how Fox treats the telecast.  (See the BCS on Fox and their intellectually insulting Champions League Final coverage.  I wonder if Michael Strahan can explain for us the difference between boxing and MMA...)  

Dana White as studio analyst will also bring an interesting dynamic.  It's like a cross between having Roger Goodell on The NFL Today and Vince McMahon doing commentary for the WWF back in the day.  What Fox loses in any sense of objectivity they do gain in outspokenness and expertise.  Normally, putting the UFC president on the pre/post shows would be scoffed at as a slap in the face of journalism on the Craig James Level.  However, White is such a wild card that he has the potential to say anything, positively or negatively.  Fox is obviously going to try to be selling the fight, Dana White, and UFC as a whole hard throughout the night to make their venture into MMA a success.

Will you be watching, and what are your hopes for Fox's coverage?

[USA Today]

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Generally speaking, the firing of a pro level coach or manager in any of the major sports is a big deal. Why was he fired? Who is the replacement? Who pulled the trigger? How are the players reacting? Generally stuff that sports fans want to be clued in on.

But if you're the NHL and it's a fall Sunday, which we've talked about is jam packed with content, this is the type of coverage you may receive in regards to an early season coaching change.

Note: The volume is low on this video so adjust accordingly.

There is something that I can't put my finger on about this video that I love. Maybe it's that Levy and Cohn are both big hockey fans and have to close out the show by sneaking this tidbit in there. Cohn's playful "Bye!" doubles as a message to Payne and to viewers. It's almost as if she feels a bit guilty closing out the show on that note.

I am sure hockey fans are a bit underwhelmed by the lack of coverage. Truth be told, it's not something that really irks me at all, I just love the brevity and casualness of it. It's almost like in high school on your way out the door going to a party, trying to mention you flunked a trigonometry midterm. 

In case you'd like to know more about the move, head on over to Puck Daddy who will take care of you.  Bye!

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With LSU-Alabama now in the rearview mirror, the real college football championship that everyone cares about can take centerstage - the Pammies!  With the huge CBS primetime game, both Gary Danielson and Verne Lundquist feature prominently in today's list.  Kirk Herbstreit also earns 1000 unofficial bonus points for placing the KIRK HERBSTREIT EARTHQUAKE FACE on the Mount Rushmore of epic all-time sports faces.

As a reminder as to how the Pammy vote works, each week we'll nominate 15-20 quotes for you to pick the best 10.  The winning quote of the week will earn that person 10 points all the way down to 1 point for 10th.  Remember, you can vote for your favorite five quotes.  Here are your Week 10 nominees...

1) "Jimbo Fisher knows how to get QBs ready for the NFL; when he was at LSU, he had JaMarcus Russell 1st Overall" - Jesse Palmer (via AlexFromBuffalo) Yup, that's a positive reference about JaMarcus Russell's NFL career.

2) "Worley may have pulled out too soon." - Tim Couch (via sctvman)

3) "You can throw or run here, those are your options" - Gary Danielson (via sctvman)

4) "This is probably exactly what the Wisconsin coaching staff wanted to see today. After those two heartbreaking defeats, you come back and you just explode all over somebody." - Mike Patrick (via DevsFan30)

5) Regarding the earthquake that took place in Oklahoma at 2:12 AM...

Kirk Herbsteit: "Did you feel anything?"
Brent Musburger: "It might have been last call" (via Chris Schenkel)

6) "Floyd getting the last word... for now." - Mark Jones (via Dascenzo)

7) "Redshirt freshman Ronald McCombs well over 100 yards on that last drive." - Pam Ward (via sctvman)

8) "Never bet against the cocks" - Brian Wilson (via djstevem)

9) "Intercepted! Wait... no... caught by LSU!" - Verne Lundquist (via GB330033) saying LSU intercepted their own pass.

10) "Stick it up in there hard and with power!" - Chris Spielman (via DomoBENesis)

11) Rece Davis: "What would you tell kids to do in that situation?"
Craig James: "Don't watch SportsCenter" (via sctvman)

12) "  And   gets   bent   over   backwards!" - Pam Ward (via DevsCuse44)

13) "The quarterback has to win with the throw." - Andre Ware (via deadgeneration4)

14) "We've had 3 touchdowns in 6 minutes" - Rod Gilmore (via BoBips2188) with the score 7-7.

15) "Who had 6-6 for a final?" - Verne Lundquist (via Dascenzo) No one. They have invented overtime.

16) "You live your life like a field goal into the wind." - Matt Millen (via cptmintz)

17) "Wonder where the beef is, here it comes." - Matt Millen (via TheSportsHernia)

Vote For Your Week 10 Pammy Nominees! (vote for up to five)

The winners will come Wednesday morning so make sure you vote early and often and check back for the full Week 11 announcing sked later this week!

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Homo. 

Not exactly groundbreaking news but when an on air personality (Charlie Casserly) accidentally mutters the latter, than yes of course that's newsworthy. At least here it is.

ht @Tiksuperstation

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We've seen Brian Wilson do a lot of weirdly awesome things.  Whether it's in interviews, commercials, or even pregame introductions at the All Star Game, Brian Wilson always brings his eccentric fastball.  Wilson, who played collegiately at LSU, was asked to be the special guest picker on ESPN's College Gameday before the LSU-Bama game and clearly came dressed for the occasion.  Whether you're still a fan of Wilson's gimmick or not, you have to give him credit for this - he's played the role of unbalanced yet sympathetic nutjob for much, much longer than Charlie Sheen was able to.  So, when he was asked for his pick on a game involving the Razorbacks and the Gamecocks, well, you can probably guess how that went... (h/t SportsGrid)

"You got the Backs vs the Cocks... never bet against the Cocks.  I'm going with South Carolina." - Brian Wilson

[Video via SportsGrid, pic via Hardball Talk]

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Time to celebrate because Joe Buck is back in the booth with Troy Aikman!  Will the feel-good nature of his World Series call last beyond a week, or will he make a late run at the Straight Outta Stockton crowd?  Pats-Giants, Jets-Bills, Chargers-Packers, and Bucs-Saints dot a pretty good afternoon of Sunday action ahead of Ravens-Steelers tonight.  Dickies leader Phil Simms is with Jim Nantz in Buffalo while Dick himself will be calling the Saints game... that means an afternoon of fun for yours truly!

We'll try and update the thread as best as we can on Sundays, but you can check the comments below 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 this week's NFL announcing schedule with broadcast maps.

Week 8 Dickies Winners & Standings

Week 9 NFL Announcing Schedule 

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Let's start us off with one crossover quote putting the pregame hype for LSU-Alabama into perspective... "No matter what you hear or see, the Bama/LSU game will be decided on the field." - Eddie George (via bumper2322)

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After LSU out Finkle'd Alabama 9-6, Herbstreit was interviewed by Chris Fowler immediately after he had announced the NBA Jam inspired OK State win over Kansas State. It already was a peculiar interview as the two games were happening simultaneously and Herbstreit and Musberger were in Stillwater and obviously were not able to closely follow the SEC game. What made the interview exponentially stranger was the fact that Stillwater was being shook by an earthquake as he was live on the air. Check out the video below. At about 5 seconds in you can tell something wild/hilarious is going on.

I've never personally been in an earthquake, but I can imagine it is an especially harrowing experience. What I am absolutely floored by is the fact that Herbstreit doesn't even interrupt Fowler while this is going on. He has those couple of seconds of absolute pure terror but then remarkably refocuses and regains his calm as if everything is fine. After briefly explaining the situation to Fowler, he then has him ask his question again about a game he never actually watched.

[Picture via SB Nation]

They just so happen to be playing a game of football Saturday night in Alabama this week that you may have heard a little something about.  There are actually other games this week too, and another full week of the Pammies!

Week 10 Announcing Schedule 

"it's caught!!!!!!!!!!!! incomplete." - Dave Lamont (via bjo109) 

Rece Davis: "What would you tell kids to do in that situation?"
Craig James: "Don't watch SportsCenter" (via sctvman) 

"Miami next up on their dance card, a week from Saturday." - Rece Davis (via sctvman) 

"And Jack Nicklaus' grandson is on the green in one! Or at least in the red zone." - Rece Davis (via Rob Laser)

"Jimbo Fisher knows how to get QBs ready for the NFL; when he was at LSU, he had JaMarcus Russell 1st Overall" - Jesse Palmer (via AlexFromBuffalo)

"We've had 3 touchdowns in 6 minutes" - Rod Gilmore (via BoBips2188) with the score 7-7.

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Friday was the 9th anniversary of 'Around The Horn,' so show host Tony Reali celebrated by stepping inside Henry Hill's character and paying tribute to Goodfellas' Copacabana scene to enter the set of the 'Horn':

 "This has been inside me since I started working on television 10 years ago," Reali, who started working on 'Pardon the Interruption' in 2001, told Moviefone over email. "The most perfect scene from the most perfect movie; I had no shot at being happy until I did it. The result was emotional, spiritual and transformative. A necessary evacuation. Like the food poisoning I got from the sushi at the Pittsburgh airport."

Atta boy, Reali. I got respect for this kid:

Saturday night the world will stop spinning on its axis for about three and a half hours and Gary Danielson will be the most listened-to man in the Western hemisphere when Alabama hosts LSU in Tuscaloosa.  Maybe that's not the best way to begin talking about the media hype surrounding the game.  Oh well...

The country will be fixated on the #1 vs #2 SECmageddon game between the Tigers and the Tide Saturday night on CBS.  This game is already being labeled as the next "Game of the Century" (hey, it's only been five years since our last one in 2006 - OSU vs Michigan).  The 1 vs 2 storyline combined with the domination of the SEC* and the 24/7 media cycle has made this the most hyped regular season college football game in recent memory.  With the sheer volume of sports venues, this is without doubt the most talked about regular season college football game of all-time.  

*Will Alabama fans chant S-E-C even if LSU wins on Saturday?  Something worth pondering...

Anticipating the importance of the game, CBS made a hugely complicated network television trade to put the game in primetime.  ESPN has also taken the rare step of taking their flagship show, College Gameday, to Tuscaloosa for a non-ESPN game.  The mothership is also pouring a surprising amount of hours into promoting the game considering LSU-Alabama isn't on the "family of networks."  Jimmy Traina of SI humorously noticed this as well...

But alas, the other side of the coin with the 24/7 attention given to LSU-Bama is that some people are already getting weary before Saturday even arrives as things get ridiculous - Gameday is evidently doing an entire segment on Les Miles' hat.  Is the Alabama-LSU hype justified or is it too much?  Can the game possibly live up to the hype?  I got a chance to talk to Bruce Feldman of CBS yesterday for Bloguin's national college football site, Crystal Ball Run about the game as a whole and the hype surrounding Bama/LSU specifically.  I asked Bruce if this was the biggest college game of the BCS era.  His response made a great point...

"I want to tell you that it's the biggest regular-season game of the BCS era. Is it really? Maybe. I can justify it and say, since we have Twitter and more social media and more, well, media, it'll be the most hyped regular-season college football game. What's added to that is the fact that the SEC has won the previous five BCS titles. That last part means the SEC has by far the most cache of any of the power conferences has ever had setting up one of these. The only reason why I hedged a little bit is because we live in a world of hyperbole where everything is the best this or worst that, and the latest thing, which is so fresh in our minds, always is the biggest or best and we're in a rush to anoint things as such."

Even five years ago, the hyperbole in the 24/7 sports media cycle was nowhere near what it is today.  So what separates hyperbole from true intrigue and excitement surrounding a game?  All the tweets, debates, and live hours of SportsCenter weren't there to endlessly discuss one topic just a few years ago.  Networks, websites, media companies, and blogs weren't all fighting for the same space the way they are today.  Is it too much for LSU-Alabama or is it just a product of the enormity of the game and the present situation in sports?  It's a careful balance to consider as we look forward to a highly anticipated game.  As a college football fan it will be an incredible night, but there's also a hesitant hope that the game actually lives up to half of its monumental billing.

Thank God though for LSU and Alabama, because at least it's pushed Tebow to the second most talked about story in sports this week.

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