Game 1 of 2009 NLCS Ratings Up for TBS
The Biz of Baseball :: Business of Sports Network — Coming off a strong League Division Series (LDS) that led to record-breaking ratings for TBS, the network began its exclusive coverage of the National League Championship Series (NLCS) with nearly 7 millions viewers for Game #1 between the Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers.  Game #1 scored a 4.3 U.S. household rating, up 5% over TBS’s coverage of Game #1 of the 2008 ALCS (Boston Red Sox/Tampa Bay Rays).  In ...

Friday's LCS Umpires, By Location on Field
The Biz of Baseball :: Business of Sports Network — With J.A. Happ walking Andre Either in a baseball loaded jam, Russell Martin crossed the plate to give the Dodgers a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the 8th. It was all the Dodgers would need to sucure the win and ties the NLCS at 1-1. There were no controversial calls, as was also the case in Game 1 of the NLCS, a far cry from what occurred in the LDS when ...

Why Your ALCS (and World Series) Weekday Games Start at 7:57 p.m. ET
The Biz of Baseball :: Business of Sports Network — If the start time for your ALCS weekday games seem odd (7:57), it's all part of MLB and FOX's plan to get as many East Coast fans seeing games If you’ve gone to many an MLB game, the time is nearly seared into your brain: 7:05 p.m. That time is most often when night games start, where baseball balances trying to give ...

Ratings For First Three Games of '09 LCS Highest Since '06
The Biz of Baseball :: Business of Sports Network — With three games over two days, MLB, FOX, and TBS is seeing a U.S. household rating average of 4.2, the best two-day average in three years since FOX and TBS began sharing the League Championship Series (this year, FOX airs the ALCS while TBS broadcasts the NLCS). Last night, 12.8 million viewers combined to watch the Dodgers 2-1 victory over the Phillies on TBS, while the Yankees had a 4-1 victory over the Angels in the nightcap on FOX. ...

Sept. Call-Ups Having An Impact in the MLB Postseason
The Biz of Baseball :: Business of Sports Network — I always think of Bull Durham when I think September call-ups. Crash Davis’s famous “The Show” speech. Davis says: “Yeah, I was in the show once, for 21 days. The greatest 21 days of my life. You know, you never handle your own luggage in The Show, somebody else carries your bags. You hit white balls for batting practice. The ballparks are like cathedrals, the hotels all have room service and the women have long legs and brains.” These days, September call-ups aren’t as wide-eyed as Davis’s character. In fact, many of them are playing in the ultimate show, the MLB Playoffs. Perhaps the most famous September call-up success story was in 2002, when the Angels called upon Francisco Rodriguez as a set ...

MLB Sees Average Viewership for LCS Up 20%
The Biz of Baseball :: Business of Sports Network — MLB, and its broadcast partners FOX and TBS continue to benefit from large markets and strong brand recognition nationally, with average viewership up nationally 20 percent over the same period last year. Currently, TBS and FOX are averaging 7.49 million viewers per game compared to four games over last year’s LCS. Last night’s dramatic 13-inning ALCS Game 2 that saw the Yankees win 4-3 over the Angels drew 9.38 million viewers, an increase of 87 percent compared to last year’s Game 2 of the NLCS between the Phillies and Dodgers in which the Phillies won 8-5 at Citizens Bank Park. Showing the Yankees bring in viewers nationally, the ratings for Saturday’s ALCS Game 2 saw the most viewers for a ...

Yankees Open Up Stadium to Allow Fans to Watch TV Broadcast of ALCS Game 3
The Biz of Baseball :: Business of Sports Network — The New York Yankees announced today that they will open the Stadium Field Level and Great Hall to the public to watch the broadcast of the American League Championship Series (ALCS) Game 3 from Anaheim on Monday, October 19. The decision to open the Stadium was made after consultation with Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. Turnstiles between Gates 4 and 6 will open at 3:30 p.m. for the 4:13 p.m. Game. Fans can watch the Game in the Great Hall or in the opened sections of the Field Level. "We wanted to provide a place for our fans to come together to cheer for our team even if the game itself is taking place across the country," said Hal Steinbrenner, Yankees Managing General Partner. "This is a way of ...

Roger Goodell's Comments on Retired Players Likely To Further Drive Wedge Between NFLPA and Retired Players
The Biz of Football :: Part of the Business of Sports Network — During NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s annual NFL owners meeting news conference, Goodell spoke in support of newly appointed NFL Alumni Executive Director George Martin. One of the more interesting questions (as you will see his Q&A below) is the question about the potential work stoppage. Goodell says a work stoppage wouldn’t affect the retired players. This has been a point of major dispute between the NFL Players Association and retired players. NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith said a stoppage, even an uncapped season would affect retired player benefits. Goodell then wrote a letter to retired players advocates saying Smith’s statements had “no basis.” Here is Goodell’s opening remarks and ...

NLCS Game 3 Viewership Up Nearly 12% From Last Year
The Biz of Baseball :: Business of Sports Network — The game was ugly, an 11-0 thrashing of the Los Angeles Dodgers by the Philadelphia Phillies on a Sunday night, no less, but ratings continue to be strong for the 2009 postseason. TBS had 5.035 million viewers for Game 3 of the NLCS from Citizens Bank Park, that’s up 11.9 percent from 4.499 million viewers for last year’s comparable Rays/Red Sox ALCS Game 3 in 2008, a game that aired at 4:00 p.m. ET. Ratings have been stronger than last year, with marquee teams such as the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, Angels, and Phillies in the mix. Source: Nielsen Media Research ...

Dewey Beats Truman? MLB.com Runs Graphic Showing Dodgers Win Game 4 of NLCS
The Biz of Baseball :: Business of Sports Network — On par with Dewey Beats Truman? No, but none the less, it shows what happens when getting news out now, collides with a game that’s often times, a case of unpredictablity. Case in point, this screengrab, courtesy of “DarkNemisis618” on Twitter. Game 4 of the NLCS was a hard fought battle coming right down to the wire. The Dodgers looked like they had it won. The problem was, Jimmy Rollins winds up hitting a two-out, two-run double off Dodger closer Jonathan Broxton to give the Phillies a 5-4 win in dramatic fashion. In case you didn’t already know it, the Phillies are now up, 3-1 in the NLCS with the Dodgers facing elimination on Weds. (8:07 p.m. ET on TBS). ...

Snatching the Memories: The Tale of Ryan Howard's 200th Home Run Ball
The Biz of Baseball :: Business of Sports Network — 12-year-old Jennifer Valdivia holding Ryan Howard's 200th career home run (WSVN) Jennifer Valdivia will never forget her first professional baseball game. On July 16th, the 12-year old was in the right-field stands of Land Shark Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida with her 17-year old brother and her grandfather, watching a ...

Columns Griping About Postseason Schedule Due to Chilly Weather Miss the Mark
The Biz of Baseball :: Business of Sports Network — Somewhere, the NFL must be smirking; that postman’s anthem playing in the background. You know, “Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet…” It’s not MLB they’re smirking at, but at the parade of curmudgeonly written columns lambasting baseball for their postseason schedule. A prime example is from Chicago Sun-Times columnist, Carol Slezak (MLB has put fans in a cold snoreage), who starts her column today with, “Leave it to Major League Baseball to strip the joy out of the playoffs. The postseason should be a celebration, but it has become a mockery. There is no good reason for the playoffs to stretch into November. There is no justification for playing games in 30- or 40-degree weather, with wind chill indexes ...

Dodgers Sign GM Ned Colletti to Long-Term Contract
The Biz of Baseball :: Business of Sports Network — THIS IS BREAKING NEWS... The Los Angeles Dodgers today announced that they have agreed to a long-term contract extension for General Manager Ned Colletti. Dodger Owner Frank McCourt made the announcement. Financial terms were not released. “One of our core promises to our fans is championship caliber baseball, year in and year out,” said McCourt. “Ned has been instrumental in our going a long way towards fulfilling that promise. I couldn’t be happier for him, both personally and professionally. The stability and continuity that extending his contract provides will further help us achieve the goal of being a consistent winner and I’m thrilled that he will continue to lead our ...

MLB Sees Overall Ratings Up 13% for 2009 Postseason
The Biz of Baseball :: Business of Sports Network — When throwing in the AL Central tiebreaker game, League Division Series, and the games played thus far in the League Championship Series, MLB is seeing viewership up 13 percent from last year. As for the two dramatic games on Monday -- the 11-inning Yankees-Angels ALCS game, and the come from behind win by the Phillies in the 9th with 2 outs in the NLCS -- the ratings shook out as follows: Game 3 of the ALCS on FOX drew a 6.0 overnight Nielsen rating, the "best overnight for a weekday afternoon LCS game since Cardinals-Astros NLCS Game Six earned an 8.6 rating on Fox in '04," according to the SportsBusiness Daily. OnTBS, the Dodgers-Phillies NLCS Game 4 earned a 4.4 overnight rating up against Monday ...

Upcoming Interview: MLB Network’s Victor Rojas
The Biz of Baseball :: Business of Sports Network — In our continuation of interviews with those that work in the business of baseball, The Biz of Baseball announces an upcoming interview with MLB Network on-air personality, Victor Rojas. Rojas, the son of famed MLBer Cookie Rojas, joined MLB Network just before its launch on January 1 as a studio host following five years with the Texas Rangers broadcast team and an accomplished career as a Minor League player and General Manager, and a baseball analyst. Rojas spent the past five seasons as a member of the Texas Rangers television and radio broadcast teams, providing both play by play as well as analysis. During the 2003 season, Rojas did radio play-by-play and analysis for Arizona ...

Who Will Be the Mystery Interview?
The Biz of Baseball :: Business of Sports Network — The Biz of Baseball will be publishing a special celebrity interview shortly. The interview will be running as early as Friday and no later than Monday. Who will it be? Check back often to see. ...

NFL on CBS Sees Ratings Up 6% Compared to Last Season
The Biz of Football :: Part of the Business of Sports Network — After six weeks of the NFL season, ratings for THE NFL ON CBS are up 6% from last year with an average overnight household rating/share of 11.8/24 versus an 11.1/22 in 2008. THE NFL ON CBS's doubleheader action on Sunday, Oct. 18 scored ratings increases for its regional (1:00 PM, ET) and national (4:15 PM, ET) coverage games. Despite New England's 59-0 rout over Tennessee, the national window, highlighted by Buffalo's overtime win over the N.Y. Jets, earned an average overnight household rating/share of 14.9/28, up 1% compared to a 14.7.6/28 in ...

Donald Fehr to Receive $11 Million Compensation Package As He Leaves MLBPA
The Biz of Baseball :: Business of Sports Network — Donald Fehr, head of the Major League Baseball Players Association since 1983, will apparently ride of into the sunset with the equivalent of a Golden Parachute. Fehr announced on June 22 that he would step down from his post sometime before the end of March next year, although an official date has yet to be determined.  As reported by ESPN.com, according to a memo sent to the players last month, Fehr will receive a package worth $11 million when he finally takes his leave. While the sum came as a surprise to some, including a number of players according to Curits Granderson, a member of one of the two union committees that reviewed the compensation package and recommended it to the union membership ...

Mets Made $48 Million in Profits Through Bernie Madoff
The Biz of Baseball :: Business of Sports Network — The reports of the losses suffered by the New York Mets at the hands of Bernie Madoff and his Ponzi scheme may be exaggerated. Matthew Futterman and Amir Efrati first reported in The Wall Street Journal that a partnership connected to the team netted almost $48 million from it dealings with Madoff. The information was included in documents filed with the bankruptcy court in the Madoff case (Securities Investor Protection Corp. v. Bernard L.Madoff Investment Securities LLC, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York, No. 08-01789). The information counters speculation that the Wilpon family, owners of the Mets, suffered losses in their dealings with the swindler that would significantly ...

Ozfest: Ozzie Guillen to Cover World Series for FOX
The Biz of Baseball :: Business of Sports Network — Ozzie Guillen has been called many things. Honest, outspoken, intense, insightful, entertaining, amusing, controversial, passionate and a World Champion, but never boring. Now you can add major network television analyst to that list as the Chicago White Sox manager joins FOX Sports as a pregame and postgame analyst for the network’s coverage of the 2009 Fall Classic. The announcement was made today by Ed Goren, President and Executive Producer of FOX Sports. In addition to his role on FOX Sports, Guillen will also provide exclusive analysis and content for FOXSports.com and appear on FOX Sports En Español World Series coverage. Guillen will join host Chris Rose and fellow analysts Mark Grace and Eric Karros ...

Overturned Call? NHL Players Vote to Investigate Paul Kelly Firing
The Biz of Hockey :: The Business of Sports Network — Less than two months ago, the NHL Players Association fired executive director Paul Kelly. The union said its executive board (made up of one player from each team) had voted “overwhelmingly” to oust Kelly. The SportsBusiness Daily reported Wednesday that the players association is now calling for an investigation into Kelly’s firing. The call to action has been spearheaded by NHL legend Chris Chelios, who finally received enough votes to call for an investigation Wednesday. According to the NHLPA constitution, there has to be a minimum of 25 votes cast and at least 20 for the issue to pass. When the vote took place Sunday, there weren’t enough votes, but, the constitution gives players who did not vote 72 hours to ...

Gov. Schwarzenegger Approves Bill for NFL Stadium in Los Angeles Area
The Biz of Football :: Part of the Business of Sports Network — Los Angeles Jaguars? Los Angeles Bills? Los Angeles Vikings? It may feel strange to say them, but one of those names could be in use soon. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said Monday he will sign an environmental exemption bill which allows the city to build a new football stadium, potentially for the NFL. The bill was written with the goal of negating a lawsuit filed by Citizens for Community Preservation. The suit argued that building the stadium went against environmental laws. Instead of fighting or mediating the suit as they had done with a prior lawsuit filed by the city of Walnut, California lawmakers passed an exemption. After passing the exemption, all they needed was Schwarzenegger’s ...

Bears Sign Jay Cutler to Two-Year Extension
The Biz of Football :: Part of the Business of Sports Network — Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler signed a two-year contract extension through the 2013 season this past Tuesday. The new deal includes nearly $30 million in new money and about $20 million guaranteed. The extension couldn’t have come at a better time for both Cutler and the Bears. At the end of 2013, Cutler would only be 30-years-old. If Cutler continues to play at a high-level, he would have a good chance at getting another long-term contract with the Bears. The Bears negotiated the deal exceptionally well. By giving Cutler an extension now, the Bears can fill some space in their salary cap this season, giving them more room in the future to get weapons to put around Cutler. On top of that, the ...

Contents Under Pressure: The Los Angeles Dodgers
The Biz of Baseball :: Business of Sports Network — Tune in, folks. You’re witnessing the beginnings of a complete implosion of one of baseball’s most storied franchises. The center of the collapse unfolding is not centered on bad contracts, or controversial comments, ala Marge Schott or Al Campanis. No, the collapse of the Los Angeles Dodgers will boil down to a case of two powerful individuals whose marriage is headed for a nasty divorce. Frank and Jamie McCourt made their separation public on the eve of the Dodgers beginning the NLCS, but the reality was that there had been open heated arguments in the halls of the Dodgers front office long before then. The tension was described by one front office employee as “walking on eggshells.” As I ...

With Record-Tying 12th One-Run Game, MLB Postseason Ratings Up 18%
The Biz of Baseball :: Business of Sports Network — With last night's 7-6 victory by the Angels over the Yankees in Game 5 of the ALCS, MLB continues to see high ratings for the 2009 postseason. Thursday night's game on FOX had the highest television ratings thus far in the postseason posting a 7.6 household rating, up 49 percent conpared to the comparable NLCS Game 5 shown on FOX last year. The game garnered an average of approximately 10.34 million viewers in the 18-49 adult demo during the primetime portion of the game. Overall, MLB's ratings are up 18 percent from last year (including the AL Central tiebreaker game between the Tigers and Twins). Part of the reason for the ratings increase is due to the number of games decided by a single run. Last ...

NHLPA Votes to Form Review Committee on Paul Kelly Firing
The Biz of Hockey :: The Business of Sports Network — THIS IS BREAKING NEWS... The National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) Executive Board has voted 25-5 passing a resolution to have Rob Blake, Chris Chelios, Nicklas Lidstrom and Mark Recchi form a committee to review NHLPA operations and submit its recommendations to the Executive Board of the NHLPA. ...

Dolphins Name Jim Rushton Senior VP of Corporate Partnerships and Integrated Media
The Biz of Football :: Part of the Business of Sports Network — The Miami Dolphins have announced that Jim Rushton has been named Senior Vice President of Corporate Partnerships and Integrated Media. In this capacity, he will oversee the revenue and corresponding support services for all Dolphins sponsorship assets including Land Shark Stadium, miamidolphins.com, Dolphins Mobile Vision, the game day Club and Suite portable Kangaroo TV unit, and Stadium Vision, the game day in stadium television network. Rushton will also be responsible for the team’s broadcasting partnerships, including the Dolphins Radio Network. He will report directly to Dolphins CEO Mike Dee who made the announcement. Rushton joins the Dolphins from Entercom Communications where he has spent the past 16 ...

2009 ALCS Game 6 All About Momentum
The Biz of Baseball :: Business of Sports Network — Momentum can be a fickle.  It’s intangible.  It’s mysterious.  And sometimes, it shows up at the strangest times.  You’d never think a manager headed back to his home ball park leading 3-2 would be dodging questions about momentum; and you’d never think a manager going on the road down 3-2 would be so thrilled to talk about it, but in the case of the Yankees vs. Angels series, they are. In Friday’s conference call, Angels manager Mike Scioscia called momentum important. “There’s momentum you can carry as you win some good games against good teams,” he said.  “We’re going to definitely have to carry that into Game 6.” After the Angels gripping 7-6 victory in Game 5, one would expect the mystical force to be ...

VERSUS Network President Takes Battle with DirecTV to the Airwaves
The Biz of Hockey :: The Business of Sports Network — The battle between DirecTV and VERSUScontinues, even as ratings for the NHL are up on the network President of the Versus network Jamie Davis said on the NHL Live radio show that ratings are up 30 percent. But, Davis wasn’t on the show to talk about a ratings boost, he was on to talk about a dispute between ...

GAME 6 OF ALCS POSTPONED DUE TO RAIN, RESCHEDULED FOR SUNDAY
The Biz of Baseball :: Business of Sports Network — THIS IS BREAKING NEWS... Game Six of the 2009 American League Championship Series between the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium in New York has been postponed due to inclement weather. Game Six of the ALCS has been rescheduled for Sunday at 8:20 p.m. (ET) / 5:20 p.m. (PT) and will be televised by FOX Sports. If a Game Seven is necessary, then it will be played on Monday at 7:57 p.m. (ET) / 4:57 p.m. (PT). Those fans with tickets for Game Six will now be able to use them only on Sunday. Those fans with tickets for Game Seven will be able to use them form Monday’s game if a Game Seven is played. FOX Sports and ESPN Radio will provide complete ...

"Experienced" Umpires for World Series Simply Window Dressing
The Biz of Baseball :: Business of Sports Network — Bud Selig prides himself as being a man of tradtion. Time for him to become a man of the present on MLB's umpiring woes. You have to give it to Major League Baseball. When “tradition” bumps into “reality”, you can always count on spin to make you feel better. There were no bad calls by the umpires on Saturday, a ...

Report: Mark McGwire the New Hitting Coach for the Cardinals
The Biz of Baseball :: Business of Sports Network — Twitter can be a fantastic tool for breaking news, and this may be one of those cases. Brian McRae posted the following on Twitter, and then pulled it shortly after, but not before several re-tweeted the news: My dad is out as Cards hitting coach (Hal McRae).....McGwire is in! (as in Mark)-fire it up boys/girls ESPNewsService is backing the rumor on Twitter. The only tweet left standing by Brian McRae simply reads, "Good 5yr. run with the Redbirds," yet another reference to his father Hal's tenure with the Cardinals. No word out at this point from the Cardinals, but ...

Welcome Bacta: Indians Name Manny Acta New Manager
The Biz of Baseball :: Business of Sports Network — The Cleveland Indians and Executive Vice President and General Manager MARK SHAPIRO today named MANNY ACTA the 40th Manager in Franchise History.  He is signed thru 2012 with a club option for 2013. Acta, who will turn 41 on January 11, has been a coach or manager at the Major League level each of the last eight seasons since 2002.  He most recently served as the Manager of the Washington Nationals for two and one half seasons after being named to the post on November 14, 2006, becoming just the 2nd manager in Nationals franchise history while succeeding Frank Robinson. During his time with the Nationals he compiled a record of 158-252 (.385).  During his ...

MLB ANALYST STEVE PHILLIPS FIRED BY ESPN
The Biz of Baseball :: Business of Sports Network — THIS IS BREAKING NEWS... ESPN baseball analyst Steve Phillips, who was recently suspended for one-week after being embroiled in an affair with 22 year-old Brooke Hundley, a production assistant at ESPN, has been fired by the Worldwide Leader. The news of Phillips’ firing came by way of ESPN PR rep Mike Soltys via Twitter. “Steve Phillips is no longer working for ESPN. His ability to be an effective rep of ESPN has been significantly & irreparably damaged,” said Soltys. More news as it becomes available ...