- Big Name: The MLS Seattle Sounders have replaced play-by-play voice Kevin Calabro with English broadcaster Arlo White. Calabro, a former Sonics broadcaster who still calls NBA games for ESPN, admits he did not give the Sounders “the quality of the work that this project and the fans deserve.” Calabro: “They needed a guy that?s hungry and driven and passionate about soccer and who is available 24/7 to do the soccer … [W]hile I like the sport, I certainly don?t have the same passion for that sport that I do for NBA and college basketball.” (The Olympian)
- The Ratings Game: Super Bowl XLIV also drew record numbers in Canada. Sunday’s Saints/Colts game drew 6.7 million on CTV and RDS, up 52% from last year (4.3 mil), and the most-viewed Super Bowl ever in Canada. The 6.7 million viewers for the game is the second-largest for any Canadian television program since ’94. (TSN)
- Idle Note: NASCAR on FOX will no longer have “comedic segments” featuring Digger the Gopher. The character, who had been the subject of a weekly animated show during the NASCAR on FOX prerace, will still “occasionally pop up.” (USA Today)
Ted Turner, whose cable business transformed TV sports, dies
Ted Turner, the media mogul and team owner whose TBS "SuperStation" helped pave the way the era of cable...
