TVSquad

Are you like me and you really enjoy the two weeks of U.S. Open coverage that USA Network has every year at this time? Well, don't get too used to it, because after tonight's match (Roddick vs. Djokovic!), the USA Network will no longer carry the annual tournament.

This probably isn't a shock to regular tennis fans, but USA's contract for the U.S. Open is up this year, after 25 years of carrying the two week tournament. Of course, TV fans don't have to worry, because ESPN and The Tennis Channel that will start airing the tournament next summer. I just hope that most of the coverage is on ESPN and ESPN2 because, well, I don't have The Tennis Channel.

For nearly 20 years, NFL football fans could feast on Sunday games and then flip on ESPN for a complete wrap up on NFL Prime Time hosted primarily by Chris "Boomer" Berman and Tom Jackson. It was a staple. Then in 2005, ESPN dropped the show.

Now, it's coming back (sort of) and in addition to Boomer and Jackson, John Saunders will be rejoining them, re-creating the original troika from 1987. The essence of NFL Prime Time will be found in the 7 p.m. ET edition of SportsCenter each Sunday during football season. Essentially, they'll be doing what they did on NFL Prime Time, and in doing so, they'll be taking aim at NBC's Football Night in America, that network's lead in show for the Sunday Night Football game.

This should be really interesting because the NBC pre-game show is like Thanksgiving dinner -- loaded with stuffing. They have stars galore, including the recently added, former ESPN stalwart, Dan Patrick.

If you watch ESPN's daily round table sport talk show, Around the Horn, you know that Jay Mariotti is a columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times. Or I should say, he was a columnist. Right after the Beijing Olympics, Mariotti returned to the show and all the other reporters -- and host Tony Reali -- kept zinging Jay about not being with the Chicago Sun-Times anymore. At no point did they explain that Mariotti was not fired from his post, he quit.

Then I discovered that a fellow Sun-Times employee, and former TV star himself (At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper), film critic Roger Ebert, was ticked off with Mariotti. Specifically, Ebert reviewed the way Jay chose to walk away from his job. Ebert pointed out that Mariotti had screwed his editors at the Sun-Times by signing a new contract, going to China on their dime (which was actually thousands of dollars), then left the job with a cold e-mail that said simply, "I quit."

I guess Mariotti felt like the newspaper could dump him with an equally cold, "You're fired," but common courtesy suggests that he should have given two-week notice. Or maybe that kind of courtesy is as outmoded a concept as saying thank you for service or holding the door for someone else?

This is an interesting notion -- ESPN is looking to launch a late night TV show. The sports network has reportedly approached three prominent sports journalists to anchor the show, but not one of them has shown any interest. The names are Dan LeBatard, Miami Herald columnist and local sports radio host; Colin Cowherd, ESPN national radio voice; and Jason Whitlock, Kansas City Star sports writer.

While I believe that ESPN has real interest in a late night sports show -- maybe a talk format about sports and entertainment -- I have real questions about the validity of the names floated in this report, especially with regard to Whitlock.

Jason was once a regular fill-in on Pardon The Interruption. He is very smart and funny and opinionated. Apparently he was too opinionated for some at the Disney-owned network. When he refused to pull his punches in his criticism, he was dropped by ESPN. Are we to think that now ESPN has asked him to not only come back, but possibly host a show for them?

Have you seen the annoying new ad campaign for the ESPN SportsCenter relaunch? If you watch even a half-hour of ESPN programming -- or like me, Around the Horn and Pardon the Interruption -- you can't miss these commercials.

There's a young, 20-something guy named Steve running around with a bulky, scoreboard-like digital clock with a strap that hangs around his neck like he's a peanut vendor at a baseball game.

The ads show him going through his day -- working out at the gym, jogging -- while he's waiting for the launch of the new, 9-hour SportsCenter on August 11. The commercials are completely live, which I grant you is novel, but they are not funny, clever or up to the ESPN standard. I hate them. They're jarring, poorly done and, like I said, annoying. I guess some genius in marketing decided that any way to make the viewer remember that a new format is coming is good enough.

Here's a sample of Steve's work (don't say I didn't warn you!):

Here are the weekly cable ratings, by number of viewers.

While I'm really, really happy that Burn Notice grabbed the #6 slot this week, I'm a little bummed out that Mad Men didn't make the top 10. In fact, it didn't even make it in anywhere near the top 10, despite getting two million viewers for its season premiere. Still, that's better than the ratings for last season.

1. The Closer (TNT)
2. NASCAR Sprint Cup (ESPN)
3. Saving Grace (TNT)
4. Monk (USA)
5. Hannah & Miley (Disney)
6. Burn Notice (USA)
7. Monday Night RAW (USA)
8. Law and Order: CI (USA)
9. Yankees vs. Red Sox (ESPN)
10. In Plain Sight (USA)

ESPN Films is co-producing a film for theatrical release about legendary baseball player Jackie Robinson and Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey. The film will center around their struggle to break down racial barriers in the late 40s. The project, which is yet untitled, will be produced by Robert Redford, Tracy Falco, Karen Baldwin and Andrew Cohen. Redford will star in the role of Rickey. No word on who will play Robinson.

ESPN Senior VP, Ron Semiao, says "ESPN Films is honored to be collaborating with such accomplished storytellers and filmmakers for such an important sports and American story." Semiao was at the Beverly Hilton yesterday along with Branch Rickey III to discuss the project. Semiao added that doing this theatrical film was a natural extension for the company which tries to serve sports fans "however they consume sports content."

Here are the weekly cable ratings, by number of viewers.

Breaking News: No SpongeBob is the top 10 this week! But USA must be happy with what they're doing, with five shows on the list. And it's a good bet that Burn Notice will be on the list when the second season premieres next week.

Don't know what to tell you about the top 4 shows. There's that many people watching wrestling and auto racing?

1. Sprint Cup - Daytona (TNT)
2. Monday Night RAW (USA)
3. Monday Night RAW (USA)
4. NASCAR Post-Race Show (TNT)
5. Law and Order: CI (USA)
6. In Plain Sight (USA)
7. Red Sox/Yankees (ESPN)
8. The Wizards of Waverly Place (Disney)
9. Army Wives (Lifetime)
10. Law and Order: SVU (USA)

NBC's Football Night in America is something like too much of a good thing. The network seems intent on stuffing the Sunday night broadcast with everything but the kitchen sink.

When Tiki Barber retired from the New York Giants, he joined their broadcast. Same thing with Jerome Bettis of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Then Keith Olbermann, a sports guy before becoming the host of MSNBC's Countdown, was inserted into the show. And that was on top of the three mainstays Bob Costas, Cris Collinsworth and Peter King.

Now, you can add one more star to the constellation. Dan Patrick is joining Football Night in America. Patrick, formerly the main man at ESPN -- and Keith's longtime partner on Sports Center as well as Dan's radio show -- will be paired up with Olbermann again and will be slotted in as pre-game show's co-host.

There's no question that Patrick will be an asset. His 18 years at ESPN proved that, and I admired his maverick spirit when he bolted the comforts of Bristol, Connecticut and set up a new deal with his radio show.

As longtime readers of TV Squad probably know, I'm a tennis fanatic. I hate summer with a passion, but I'm happy for the season during four weeks: the two weeks of Wimbledon (late June/early July) and the two weeks of the U.S. Open (late August/early September). If you need me those two weeks, I'll be in front of my TV and a fan, drinking cold liquids.

Of course, it's not all popcorn and roses. There's something that really irritates me about ESPN's coverage of Wimbledon that's going on right now, and I see it every single time I look at the screen (which I find you have to do if you want to watch the matches). It's that damn scoreboard at the top of the screen.

Here are the cable ratings, by number of viewers.

Well, this is shocking (sarcasm): Camp Rock is number one this week! Disney can pretty much guarantee the top (or near the top) slot if they put the Jonas Brothers or Hannah Montana in a new movie. They could just keep doing this forever. Have the brothers go up against Hannah in a dance off, using the music of High School Musical, and have Zac Efron guest star. Oh, and throw in a guest appearance by someone from American Idol and maybe a subplot involving the gang from CSI. Instant hit!

1. Camp Rock (Disney)
2. Sprint Cup - Sonoma (TNT)
3. Monday Night RAW (USA)
4. Monday Night RAW (USA)
5. U.S. Open (ESPN)
6. Law and Order: CI (USA)
7. In Plain Sight (USA)
8. SpongeBob SquarePants (Nickelodeon)
9. Wizards of Waverly Place (Nickelodeon)
10. SpongeBob SquarePants (Nickelodeon)

If you're a pro football fan and you don't get the NFL Network, chances are you know about the stalemate between the NFL Network and cable operators, like Time Warner. Because of their inability to strike a compromise, eight NFL games last season which The NFL Network broadcast, were unavailable to many cable customers, causing much hue and cry.

Well, it looks like there may be a light at the end of the tunnel. ESPN is talking with The NFL Network about a broadcasting partnership, that according to The Associated Press. If a deal is done, NFL Network games in 2008 could be seen by just about everyone, not just those of us who are satellite subscribers.

A roundup of TV people from in front of the camera and behind the scenes who have passed away.

• Charlie Jones: He was a veteran sports announcer, best known for announcing football games on ABC and NBC from 1960 to 1998. He also worked on the Olympics, soccer matches, college football, tennis, figure skating, and other sports. He died of a heart attack in La Jolla, CA at age 77.

Long before ESPN was the worldwide leader in sports, ABC sportscaster and newsman Jim McKay was the voice of American sports. ABC sports legend Jim McKay died today at the age of 86; the cause of death was not revealed. In the annals of television history, Jim McKay is among the giants in sports broadcasting: a twelve-time Emmy winner, an iconic presence on The Wide World of Sports, the man who said the words, "the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat." He was the moderator of twelve Olympics and a broadcaster who gave the best he had in every television show in which he was involved, be it the Kentucky Derby, the British Open, or any of the other hundreds of events he covered.

If Jim McKay had just done that, he'd have a great legacy. However, when he was confronted with the task of anchoring the events that unfolded at the 1972 Munich Olympics, when the Israeli athletes were taken hostage by terrorist and killed in a commando raid, Jim McKay rose to the occasion.

Here are the weekly cable ratings, by number of viewers.

The big news I guess is that this week, in between all of the NBA Playoffs and the usual slots taken up by SpongeBob and wrestling, is that the debut episode of USA's In Plain Sight hit number 6 in the ratings. With the NBA Finals on ABC, next week's cable ratings should look a lot different.

1. NBA Playoffs - Lakers/Spurs (TNT)
2. NBA Playoffs - Lakers/Spurs (TNT)
3. NBA Playoffs - Celtics/Pistons (ESPN)
4. NBA Playoffs - Celtics/Pistons (ESPN)
5. NBA Playoffs - Celtics/Pistons (ESPN)
6. In Plain Sight (USA)
7. The Andromeda Strain - Part 2 (A&E)
8. The Andromeda Strain - Part 1 (A&E)
9. SpongeBob SquarePants (Nickelodeon)
10. Monday Night RAW (USA)