Hall of Fame NBA coach and broadcaster Dr. Jack Ramsay has passed away. Dr. Ramsay died after a long battle with cancer over the past decade. Dr. Ramsay coached the Portland Trailblazers to their only title in 1977. In the last 2 decades he is one of the most respected analysts working on Miami Heat and then ESPN and ESPN Radio broadcasts. He was a World War II Navy serviceman and inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame in 1992. Ramsay passed at the age of 89. [ESPN]
Kevin Burkardt will be joining FOX Sports full time in 2015. Burkhardt has been a torrid rise in the broadcasting ranks receiving an NFL Playoff assignment in his first year, bypassing veterans Kenny Albert and Thom Brennaman. Burkhardt is currently the new studio host for MLB on FOX's pregame show and is expected to work College Basketball assignments this fall. Burkhard is still under contract with SNY as the field reporter for the New York Mets through this season. [NY Post]
FOX Sports 1's Crowd Gone Wild hosted by Regis Phibin has been cancelled. The program was highly promoted in the heels of FS1's August 2013 launch, but from its inception struggled in ratings. The show will end in May. With the show's departure, the Mike Francesca Show will receive an extra hour running from 1 p.m to 5 p.m. [Fang's Bites]
Haven't done this in a while...........
- CBS and Turner Sports officially announced the anticipated changes to their joint coverage of the NCAA tournament basketball tournament. Starting in the 2014 edition (and the following year in 2015), TBS will have coverage of the Final Four on the final Saturday of the tournament, while CBS retains prime time coverage of the National Championship game. In addition, TBS will share coverage of the Elite Eight finals. How those games will be distributed has not been announced. Then, beginning in the 2017 Tournament, TBS will be the home of the Final Four AND National Championship game, alternating every year with CBS through the end of their contract in 2024.
- Yesterday afternoon, NBC announced, country music star Carrie Underwood will sing the open of Sunday Night Football beginning this fall. She will replace country legend Faith Hill, who departed as the lead singer of the networks signature game earlier last month after six years. Underwood, a six-time Grammy winner rose to fame as the winner of FOX's American Idol behemoth in 2005. The Sunday Night Football theme, 'I've Been Waiting All Day for Sunday Night' is a parody of Rock Legend Joan Jett's 'I Hate Myself for Loving You.' Underwood's first appearance should be during the NFL Kickoff game on Thursday, September 5th.
- FOX Sports One continues to build an impressive roster of talent by announcing the signing of Canada's most popular news tandem. TSN's Sportscentre anchors Dan O'Toole and Jay Onrait have signed on to be the anchors of FS1's FOX Sports Live. The popular and irreverent tandem, have been the lead anchors at TSN since 2006 and will move to FOX in August. FOX Sports One have jumped into the game with other huge acquisitions, including the impending hiring of Charissa Thompson from ESPN (still under contract, so it has not been made official), the courting (no pun intended) of retired US Tennis star Andy Roddick, the legendary Regis Philben and successfully beating out NFL Network to retain NFL and UFC insider Jay Glazer, who will get his own program on the network.
- USA Today's prominent and respected media columnist Michael Heistand has accepted a buyout and will leave the paper this week.
- Emmy award winning writer Robert Lipsyte has been named the new ombudsman for ESPN. He is the fifth ombudsman for the WWL and will be taking over for the embattled Poynter Institute that ran its final column last November.
