 Super Bowl Ratings: The Super Bowl between Indy and New Orleans - not exactly primo TV markets - was the most-watched show in TV history, knocking the M*A*S*H series finale from the top spot. (Fun fact: Never seen more than eight seconds of M*A*S*H. Still, the number of people who watched that episode in 1983 is staggering for a number of factors.) An estimated 106.5 million people watched the Saints beat the Colts (last year's number for Pittsburgh-Arizona: 99 million). The NFL has done a tremendous job creating hype for this game - it is now an 'event' with two weeks of build-up and endless hype about the commercials. The snowstorm in the northeast helped. Next year, the game goes to FOX. [Wash Post] (61) Feb 09
 Feb 09 The Roundup: Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue Day! Also, Sumo Wrestler Quits, Villanova Tops WVUAthletes and Celebrities, College Basketball, Courts, Legal, Former Athletes, Music, NBA, NFL, Strippers, Video 114 Comments »
“Sumo’s enfant terrible Asashoryu, one of the sport’s most successful wrestlers despite a career dogged by scandal and controversy, has quit amid claims that he drunkenly attacked a man outside a Tokyo nightclub.” [Independent] Read the rest of this entry » Feb 09 Lombardi Trophy Rides Shotgun; Kendra Wilkinson’s Post-Super Bowl MeltdownAthletes and Celebrities, Goooooood Morning Sports Hernia, NFL 46 Comments »
Like any other championship game, it’s been an array of emotions since the final seconds ticked away in Super Bowl 44. Read the rest of this entry » Feb 08
Feb 08
NBC: After years of doing nothing online, NBC is finally trying to ramp up its sports dealings on the web. It acquired Pro Football Talk last year and has now created Hardball Talk (baseball, obviously) and Pro Basketball Talk. Considering how far NBC is behind its TV competitors online - Fox Sports and CBS Sports - this mountain will take years to climb. In addition to luring bloggers, we hear that Ira Windeerman of the Sun-Sentinel will be contributing to NBC's basketball site. It'll be interesting to see if more papers are going to let their underpaid writers contribute to online outlets while everyone slugs it out for clicks and eyeballs. [SBJ] (16) Feb 08 Onion Bag: Chelsea Knock Arsenal Out of Premier League Title RaceBeckhamania, Soccer, Video, World Cup 9 Comments »
NBA Ratings: Overall, ratings on TNT are up. Regionally though, some numbers are surprising. Teams like the Lakers (197k), Cavaliers (130k) and Celtics (83k) are drawing good numbers. But what is the deal with nobody watching the Oklahoma City Thunder (12k)? The Bobcats, another team on the rise, is also not a good TV draw in Charlotte (10k - although that number is up significantly from last season). The numbers for all teams can be found here (subscribers only); if you need to know a specific team, ask in the comments and we'll post. [Sports Business Journal] (41) Feb 08
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