Steve Yzerman Becomes One of Those “VERSUS is Biased Because The Flyers and VERSUS Are Owned by Comcast” People

From Eric Erlandsson of Tampa Bay Online:

The move led to plenty of reaction around the league and led to criticism of the Lightning’s style of play. The harshest critics came during the intermission of the game, which was broadcast nationally in the United States on Versus, from studio analysts Keith Jones and Mike Milbury who called Tampa Bay’s style of play “embarrassing’’.

Tampa Bay general manager Steve Yzerman questions the motives of the criticism coming from the Versus analysts.

“Versus is owned by Comcast, Comcast owns the Flyers, Keith Jones is a broadcaster with the Flyers and is hardly impartial,’’ Yzerman said. “I think that anybody that looks at that objectively should be saying, “Did Tampa do the right thing or Did Philadelphia do the right thing’’ and you can make an argument both ways.’’

CBS Sports Net Has BC-Notre Dame Friday Night

CBS Sports Network’s college hockey coverage continues on Friday, Nov. 18 (7:30 PM, ET) as *No. 3-ranked Boston College visits No. 4-ranked Notre Dame. Play-by-play announcer Matt McConnell and analyst Dave Starman call the game, with Shireen Saski reporting.

The Network provides live pre-game coverage from Notre Dame’s brand new Compton Family Ice Arena to preview the night’s action and discuss college hockey news from around the country.

During the game, fans can join the conversation on Twitter using the hash tag #CBSHockey. This week’s Twitter Question of the Week is: Which schools need new buildings to keep up in college hockey?

For more information, including a full programming schedule and how to get CBS Sports Network, go to www.cbssportsnetwork.com.

Some Notes to Prepare You For NBC Thankgsiving Showdown

NEW YORK (Nov. 17, 2011) — Two tradition-laden franchises skate into

the spotlight on a traditional U.S. sports day — Thanksgiving Friday –

when the Boston Bruins host the Detroit Red Wings in the 2011 Discover NHL

Thanksgiving Showdown™, broadcast live on NBC and TSN on Friday, November

25 at 1 p.m., ET.

 

This broadcast launches NBC’s coverage of the NHL for the season,

making it the earliest NHL regular season broadcast on national U.S.

network television in more than 20 years.

 

The Bruins’ ‘Spoked B’ and the Red Wings’ ‘Winged Wheel’ have been

iconic symbols for decades. The Bruins are the NHL’s oldest U.S.-based

club, having made their debut in 1924-25. The Red Wings are next, having

entered the League in 1926-27 with the Chicago Blackhawks and New York

Rangers.

 

The 2011 Discover NHL Thanksgiving Showdown™ will be the only

Boston-Detroit regular-season meeting in 2011-12 and the 579th all-time in

a series that turns 85 tomorrow. On Nov. 18, 1926, the Bruins beat the

Cougars, the original Detroit team nickname, 2-0 in their inaugural

encounter, played in Windsor, Ontario, where Detroit played its home games

that season. The all-time series is very close — 248 victories for the Red

Wings, 235 for the Bruins and 95 ties. The Bruins have scored 1,741 goals,

the Red Wings 1,732.

 

In postseason play, the Bruins and Red Wings rank 1-2 in Stanley Cups

won by U.S.-based franchises (Detroit 11, Boston six). They have faced off

seven times in a Stanley Cup Playoff series, most recently in 1957, with

the Bruins holding a 4-3 advantage. They have met in the Stanley Cup Final

twice, both in a three-year span during World War II (1941 and 1943).

 

The game also continues the Bruins’ custom of hosting a “Black

Friday” matinee — a tradition that began in 1990.

 

Beyond history and tradition, this match-up features a compelling

collection of stars and storylines:

 

* Nicklas Lidstrom, the 41-year-old Red Wings captain playing in his 20th

NHL season, is the reigning Norris Trophy winner as the League’s top

defenseman. He has captured the award seven times; the only player who has

won it more is Bruins legend Bobby Orr (eight). On Friday, Lidstrom became

the first player in NHL history to play in 900 regular-season wins with one

team. Should he appear in each of Detroit’s games before Thanksgiving,

Lidstrom will play in his 1,515th career NHL game at Boston, passing Red

Wings legend Steve Yzerman (1,514) into 13th place on the League’s all-time

list.

 

* Boston’s Tim Thomas captured the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top

regular-season goaltender, the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the Stanley Cup

Playoffs and the Stanley Cup in 2010-11, becoming the first player to win

all three in the same season since Bernie Parent of the Philadelphia Flyers

in 1974-75. Thomas, a native of Flint, Mich., also captured the Vezina

Trophy in 2008-09.

 

* Red Wings center Pavel Datsyuk won the Lady Byng Trophy for skill and

sportsmanship for four consecutive seasons (2006 through 2009), matching

the longest streak by any player since the trophy’s inception in 1925.

Datsyuk also captured the Frank Selke Trophy as the League’s top defensive

forward three consecutive times (2008 through 2010).

 

* Bruins defenseman and captain Zdeno Chara won the Norris Trophy in

2008-09 and has been voted among the three finalists for the award in three

of the past four seasons.

 

* Red Wings left wing Henrik Zetterberg captured the Conn Smythe Trophy

during Detroit’s most recent Stanley Cup triumph in 2008. Zetterberg is one

just six NHL players to tally at least 68 points in each of the past six

seasons (Zetterberg, Daniel and Henrik Sedin, Joe Thornton, Eric Staal,

Alex Ovechkin).

 

* 19-year-old sophomore center Tyler Seguin leads the Bruins with 20 points

(11 goals, nine assists) in 16 games. He and Carolina’s Jeff Skinner are

the only teenagers to top their club in scoring. The second overall pick in

the 2010 NHL Draft leads the NHL in plus-minus (+15) and is tied for third

place overall in game-winning goals (three). His 11 goals match the total

he recorded in 74 games during his rookie season of 2010-11.

 

* The Red Wings have qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for 20

consecutive seasons, the longest active streak among the four major pro

sports, and have posted 100-or-more points for an NHL-record 11 consecutive

campaigns.

 

* Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard ranks among the top five NHL

goaltenders in goals-against average (third, 1.69), wins (T-fifth, eight),

save percentage (third, .935) and shutouts (T-first, three). The only other

goaltender among the top five in each category is Jonathan Quick of the Los

Angeles Kings.

 

* After closing the month of October at the bottom of the Eastern

Conference with a 3-7-0 record, the defending Stanley Cup champion Bruins

have reeled off six consecutive wins, outscoring the opposition 34-13

during the streak.

 

NHL to Celebrate Fall Fun with Cee-Lo on Thanksgiving Float

NEW YORK (November 17, 2011) – Footage of the NHL® and Discover

“Frozen Fall Fun” float in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is available.

The float, which features a fall hockey theme, will make its Macy’s

Thanksgiving Day Parade debut one day before the 2011 Discover NHL

Thanksgiving Showdown™ game between the Detroit Red Wings and Boston Bruins

on NBC at 1pm ET.

 

The NHL and Discover Frozen Fall Fun float is among the new fleet of

floats unveiled at Macy’s Parade Studio. The float will ramp up coverage

for the Bruins-Red Wings Game on NBC on Thanksgiving Friday.

 

The NHL and Discover Frozen Fall Fun float is 36 feet long by 20 feet

wide and features a fall hockey theme, a synthetic ice rink and a

12-foot-tall turkey that serves as a hockey goal. Grammy®-Award winning

artist Cee-Lo Green will give a live performance on the float in the Macy’s

Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thursday, Nov. 24 at 9 a.m. on NBC.

Oh, For Christ’s Sake: Cablevision Files Another Appeal in MSG HD Fight with Verizon

From Deadline:

One of cable’s most irksome long running battles isn’t over yet: Cablevision is appealing an FCC order that requires MSG — which the cable operator controls — to offer HD feeds of its two New York regional sports channels to Verizon FiOS and AT&T U-verse. That announcement followed a statement from Verizon today saying that it had “a home-team win in overtime” and promising to offer HD versions of MSG and MSG+ in December to FiOS TV customers in all service packages except FiOS TV Local. The HD feeds are a big deal to fans of the New York Knicks, New York Rangers, New York Islanders, the Buffalo Sabres and the New Jersey Devils.

The NHL Brings Home Sports Marketing Awards

NEW YORK, NY (November 16, 2011) — The National Hockey League (NHL)

won a hat trick of awards at last night’s annual PromaxBDA Sports Media

Marketing Awards for its History Will Be Made™ Campaign and Bridgestone NHL

Winter Classic® Social Media Campaign.

History Will Be Made™, the 2011 Stanley Cup® Playoffs campaign took

home gold in both the Best TV/Video Campaign and Best Overall Integrated

Marketing Campaign categories. The 2011 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic

Social Media Campaign also received gold for Best Social Media Campaign.

The Sports Media Marketing Awards presented awards in more than 25

categories honoring the most outstanding sports marketing and promotion

work from cable and broadcast to video games, leagues and teams. The jury

panel included Turner Broadcasting Systems President of Sales David Levy,

Sports Illustrated Creative Director Christopher Herick, Madison Square

Garden Sports President Scott O’Neil, LA Kings President Luc Robitaille,

CMO of Fox Sports Media Group Eric Markgraf, NFL CMO Mark Waller, TD Garden

& Boston Bruins SVP of Sales & Marketing Amy Latimer, Chairman & CEO

Wasserman Media Casey Wasserman, and other industry influencers.

The National Hockey League beat out other finalists including NFL and

Nascar in the respective categories. In accepting the awards, Brian

Jennings, NHL Executive Vice President of Marketing said, “We are so proud

to be honored and recognized by such a distinguished panel of judges. We

continue to reach new heights with creativity for our fans that brings this

exciting game to life and engages our fans through a number of different

touchpoints. We’d also like to recognize our Clubs and partners who

continue to inspire the work we do as it reminds us what an awesome

responsibility it is to serve our game.”

During the 2011 Stanley Cup® Playoffs, the History Will Be Made

campaign celebrated some of the greatest moments in Playoffs history –

while motivating fans to tune-in as new history-making moments are made

this year. The integrated campaign was executed across all touchpoints of

both the NHL and its US broadcasters, NBC and Versus, including local

team-specific creative, a new spot each day featuring the best moment from

the previous night, POS materials in retailers across the US and Canada,

and a dynamic digital platform (History vs History) where fans could vote

on 64 of the greatest moments in Stanley Cup Playoffs history in a

head-to-head bracket until only one moment was declared the greatest (Bobby

Orr’s 1970 Stanley Cup-winning goal). A few creative examples include Mess

, 49 Years, and Easter Epic.

The 2011 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic® Social Media Campaign was a

unique, never-done-before activation between a League and a broadcast

partner, which was created to bolster awareness of the 2011 Bridgestone NHL

Winter Classic, increase viewership and sustain tune-in throughout the

game. In the weeks leading up to the game, fans were encouraged to “Watch

and Win” by registering at NHL’s Facebook page. The application requested

users to submit a profile photo that would be selected during the live NBC

broadcast. By watching for their photo and showing they paid attention to

the game, entrants had the chance of winning one of three major prizes

including a 2011 Honda CR-Z, a VIP trip for four to Universal Studios, and

a VIP trip for four to the 2011 NHL® All-Star Game. Ratings of the NBC

broadcast increased by 22% vs 2010; over 11K submissions were recorded,

driving a total of 42k new Facebook fans. Facebook drove 4.6 million earned

media impressions, making the NHL Winter Classic a top trending topic on

Twitter on Jan. 1st.

Additional League partner recognitions included Titanium award

winners VERSUS (Best Use Of An Athlete – History Will Be Made ‘Wish’) and

HBO (Best Directing – 24/7 Trailer Penguins-Capitals Road To The Winter

Classic). In addition, the Chicago Blackhawks took home gold for Best

Long-Form Promo – Joey the Junior Reporter and Best Stunt, Environmental or

Experiential Installation – Stanley Cup Statues. The Philadelphia Flyers

won for Best in-game experience and EA Sports for Best Use of Original

Music Or Sound Design – NHL 11: The Moment.

The awards were presented during a ceremony at the Millennium

Broadway Hotel in New York City. The ceremony was hosted by actor, writer

and comedian Norm Macdonald.

Bruins Ratings Up 46% After Big Numbers Tuesday

Tuesday night’s Bruins-Devils game earned a season best 5.3 HH Rating on NESN, the 3rd highest regular season rating in network history. The previous best HH rating this season was on Monday, November 7 when NESN garnered a 5.2 HH rating for a game against the Islanders. NESN’s season average is now at 3.9 HH rating, which is up 46% over last year after the same number of games.

The next Bruins game on NESN is this Thursday, November 17 when they host the Columbus Blue Jackets at TD Garden. Live coverage begins at 6 PM with Big Bad Bruins LIVE presented by DCU.

And Now, A Brief Complaint About Canucks/Blackhawks Not Being on National Television Tonight

This is the second time the Canucks and Blackhawks have played this season, and neither game has been nationally televised. In the United States or Canada! How is that possible? This is one of the hottest rivalries on earth, and both VERSUS and TSN are already televising early games! At least their last two games will be on TSN in March, whereas VERSUS/NBCSN won’t air one game from the rivalry. Just seems kind of a bad call to me. Also, Kings/Ducks would’ve been a pretty good television game tonight. Oh well.

This has been a brief complaint about Canucks/Blackhawks not being on national television tonight.

VERSUS To Air ‘Battle 4 Atlantis’ Basketball Tourney

VERSUS’ college football presence is pretty solid, with games or studio programming airing every Saturday and Monday from September through December. However, VERSUS’ college basketball stake has always been limited to assorted Mountain West regular season games and the men’s and women’ tournament championship games. However, over Thanksgiving weekend, VERSUS is getting involved with a pre-season tournament that features a couple of big-name schools.

The network, along with HDNet, will air the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. This is a new tournament contested in the Bahamas from November 24th through the 26th. The participants are UConn, Florida State, Utah, UMass, Harvard, UNC-Asheville, UCF and College of Charleston. The television schedule follows:

November 24
2:00 p.m. ET UCF vs. College of Charleston (VERSUS)
4:30 p.m. ET UMass vs. Florida State (VERSUS)
7:00 p.m. ET UConn vs. UNC Asheville (HDNet)
9:30 p.m. ET Harvard vs. Utah (HDNet)

November 25
2:00 p.m. ET Semi-finals (VERSUS)
4:30 p.m. ET Semi-finals (VERSUS)

November 26
2:00 p.m. ET 3rd-place game (VERSUS)
4:30 p.m. ET Championship (VERSUS)

(Source: Blogging the Bracket)

NBC Sports to Bring Action Sports to VERSUS

From Tripp Mickle of Sports Business Daily:

Four months after reclaiming complete ownership of the Dew Tour, NBC Sports is moving action sports programming from Fox’s Speed and Fuel TV channels to Versus.

The first programming making that move comes from the AMA Pro Motocross Series, which the Dew Tour’s parent company, the Alliance of Action Sports (Alli), manages in partnership with the company MX Sports.

The move follows NBC Sports’ return to full ownership of the Dew Tour.

The series received 24 hours of programming on Fuel TV and 21 hours of race coverage on Speed this year. The 21 hours of programming on Speed will move next year to Versus, which will be renamed NBC Sports Network, and the 24 hours of programming on Fuel TV will air on allisports.com.

Versus will air 11 hours of motocross programming live, and NBC will continue to air three hours of live motocross as it has the past three years.