TVSquad

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)

One of the things that helps me keep my cool when I meet or speak to celebrities is the knowledge that at one time, they were just another person struggling to keep his or her head above water, just like everyone else. Take Zach Braff, for example: it wasn't too long ago that Zach was just another struggling actor and not one of the highest-paid stars on TV. And, thanks to the fun that is the interwebs, we can find evidence of that very easily.

The video after the jump is from a commercial for ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown show, which looks like it was from 1998 or so. At the time, those wacky guys at the Worldwide Leader were referring to themselves as "Bristol University" (the network is located in Bristol, CT), and this particular ad shows student registration for classes like "History of the AFC Central Division 1994-1997," taught by Chris Berman. But the most popular class is the one taught by the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (of course), and Braff is one of the students who get to ask the cheerleaders about the class' content. You can see some elements here of what made him a good choice to play J.D. on Scrubs three years later. It's just too bad that class doesn't exist ...

As Bob Sassone wrote in his report about Inside the NFL ending its HBO run last February, the NFL was reporting that the show would find a home on another network. It has. And I can tell you now that Inside the NFL will be appearing weekly on Showtime. It'll be a collaboration with CBS Sports and NFL Films. That said, I think we can expect to see CBS talent on the show.

In its most recent edition on HBO, Inside the NFL was hosted by Bob Costas, with expert input by former players and current broadcast analysts Dan Marino, Cris Collinsworth and Cris Carter. Costas and Collinsworth are NBC employees, and Carter is part of ESPN. That leaves Danny Boy. And yes, he is a CBS guy, a regular commentator on The NFL Today every Sunday during football season. I'll bet you right now that Dan will be on the show.

Inside the NFL is a unique weekly highlight show -- one of the best ever -- because shows the games up close from the viewpoint of NFL Films. Those cameras get inside of the game more than TV cameras. They're films, not TV and the production values are like a documentary film. As a longtime football fan, I'm really glad that Inside the NFL will go on. This year will be its 32nd on the air.

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

OK, we get it, everybody in the country watched basketball last week, except for the hardcore wrestling fans who assured that Monday Night RAW got into the mix again under enormous pressure (and both hours!). I also find it cool that SpongeBob manages to get into the top 10. The guy has more power than Oprah and Donald Trump combined.

1. NBA Playoffs - Jazz/Lakers (TNT)
2. NBA Playoffs - Cavaliers/Celtics (TNT)
3. NBA Playoffs - Cavaliers/Celtics (ESPN)
4. NBA Playoffs - Cavaliers/Celtics (TNT)
5. Monday Night RAW (USA)
6. NBA Playoffs - Jazz/Lakers (ESPN)
7. NBA Playoffs - Spurs/Hornets (TNT)
8. NBA Playoffs - Spurs/Hornets (ESPN)
9. Monday Night RAW (USA)
10. SpongeBob SquarePants (Nickelodeon)

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

Hey, did you hear there were a few basketballs games last week?

The NBA Playoffs - various teams against each other on two different networks - dominated the cable ratings. Monday Night RAW got the board too, while SpongeBob squeezed his way into the last spot.

1. NBA Playoffs - Jazz/Lakers (TNT)
2. NBA Playoffs - Celtics/Cavaliers (TNT)
3. NBA Playoffs - Celtics/Cavaliers (ESPN)
4. NBA Playoffs - Celtics/Cavaliers (TNT)
5. Monday Night RAW (USA)
6. NBA Playoffs - Jazz/Lakers (ESPN)
7. NBA Playoffs - Spurs/Hornets (TNT)
8. NBA Playoffs - Spurs/Hornets (ESPN)
9. Monday Night RAW (USA)
10. SpongeBob SquarePants (Nickelodeon)

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

OK, I know that everyone is really excited about Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, but I'm still surprised that a repeat of an almost 30 year-old movie grabbed the number one slot in the cable ratings this week. Not only that, but the sequel, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, got the number six slot. Hasn't everyone seen these movies a gazillion times already?

1. Raiders of the Lost Ark (USA)
2. NBA Playoffs - Hornets/Spurs (ESPN)
3. NBA Playoffs - Cavaliers/Celtics (TNT)
4. Monday Night RAW (USA)
5. Monday Night RAW (USA)
6. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (USA)
7. NBA Playoffs - Jazz/Lakers (TNT)
8. NBA Playoffs - Hornets/Spurs (ESPN)
9. SpongeBob SquarePants (Nickelodeon)
10. NBA Playoffs - Jazz/Lakers (ESPN)

I hope Hannah Storm enjoyed sleeping late since she's been off the CBS Early Show because her new gig will be on the AM shift once again. And she'll be back talking sports. ESPN is going to announce tomorrow that Hannah Storm will anchor a new, revamped SportsCenter morning edition. SportsCenter is already on every morning, so you have to assume that by adding Storm to the mix, the folks at Disney (ESPN's parent company) are looking to pump up the old format and maybe bring in some new viewers -- like maybe those who used to watch Hannah on CBS.

Of course, there's already two other competing morning shows on the ESPN family of channels, Mike & Mike in the Morning which stars Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic, and First Take (formerly known as Cold Pizza) with Jay Crawford and Dana Jacobson.