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Watching Golf this Week: The U.S. Open, Philly Style

June 12, 2013 by

US Open MerionAre you ready for 2013 Major No. 2? The big daddy of them all? I truly can’t wait for this one to start, because I feel like we all sorta got cheated at the Masters. I mean — lost in the hubbub of the Tiger Drop Crisis was the fact that the dude was just about ready to take the lead and start stomping everyone.

And then the ball hit the pole. And went into the drink. And then the wheels came off.

As play starts today outside Philadelphia at the quirky old Merion East course (Anyone else think the logo featuring the pole-baskets looks like a freaking bloody Q-tip?) all eyes rightfully will be on Tiger Woods, and his quest for Major No. 15. Nobody else really matters right now, and nobody this year is truly playing at his level. But one thing is for sure, the “new” Tiger isn’t anything like the old — over the last year or so he has shown a tendancy to choke on the weekends at majors, something he never did before. And the rest of the guys playing? They’ve gotten better.

What does that mean for Tiger? It means his margin of error is much slimmer than it was when he was the only guy on the tour who looked like an athlete. Now there’s lots of them. He used to be by far the farthest hitter, now he’s about top average. There are new foreign foes like Graeme McDowell, who aren’t going to be intimidated by Tiger the way the U.S. Tour guys used to be. With its tight layout and wet conditions Merion is probably going to be a birdie fest, so no more rope-a-dope par fests like last year at Olympic. There’s going to be room to make shots here, so let’s get it on. Having just watched the Blackhawks beat the Bruins in triple overtime in the Stanley Cup opener, I’m ready for more drama and lore. Don’t let us down, Tiger. Or whoever wants to keep Tiger’s majorless streak going.

ESPN has your live TV Thursday and Friday, our suggestion is mute when Berman starts talking, unmute when Van Pelt has the mike. NBC gets the weekend, with lots of online viewing available at USOpen.com or via the U.S. Open app, which beats pants off the PGA Tour app (which still doesn’t really work on all Android phones). WatchESPN and ESPNRadio also available online.

THE U.S. OPEN

(all times Eastern)
TV COVERAGE
Thursday, June 13 — ESPN, 9 a.m. — 3 p.m.; 5 p.m. — 7 p.m.; NBC, 3 p.m. — 5 p.m.
Friday, June 14 — ESPN, 9 a.m. — 3 p.m.; 5 p.m. — 7 p.m.; NBC, 3 p.m. — 5 p.m.
Saturday, June 15 — NBC, 1 p.m. — 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, June 16 — NBC, 1 p.m. — 7:30 p.m.

RADIO
SIRIUS XM (Satellite)
12 p.m. — 4 p.m., Thursday; 12 p.m. — 5 p.m, Friday. The live broadcasts are also available to subscribers on the SiriusXM Internet Radio App and online at SiriusXM.com.

ESPN RADIO
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday-Friday, 2 p.m. — 8 p.m. Saturday-Sunday.

NEW! PGA TOUR RADIO!
This a better deal for those not living in the U.S., because it’s free internationally. Inside the U.S. you will pay (due to rights fees) $1.99 per event or $9.99 for the whole year. Gives you the CBS feed, audio version. Click here for more info and payment plans for your area.

ONLINE
The U.S. Open site at USOpen.com has live online coverage with featured groups.
Thursday groups:
7:11 a.m. – Marquee Group 1 (Phil Mickelson, Steve Stricker, Keegan Bradley)
1:14 p.m. – Marquee Group 2 (Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Adam Scott)
Friday groups:
7:44 a.m. – Marquee Group 1 (Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Adam Scott)
12:41 p.m. – Marquee Group 2 (Phil Mickelson, Steve Stricker, Keegan Bradley)

Featured groups on the weekend, TBD.

There are also mobile apps for iOS and Android.

FACEBOOK PAGE
Here’s the USGA Facebook page.

TOP TWITTER FEEDS TO FOLLOW

The U.S. Open Twitter feed.
Geoff Shackelford — well known golf writer. If you’re not following Geoff you are missing the online boat.
Golf Channel — official Golf Channel feed
@PGATOUR — official PGA Twitter feed
@StephanieWei — great golf writer who is a Twitter fiend. Now leading the Wei (hah!) with Google+ Hangouts during most tourneys.
Doug Ferguson is the lead golf writer for AP. Good Twitter insights that often aren’t part of your wire-service lead.
Matt Ginella is a former Golf Digest writer now at Golf Channel. Your guide to the best golf course reviews, evar. Plus great columnist-type commentary on a regular basis.

WHAT’S THE COURSE LIKE?
If you haven’t heard about good old Merion and the baskets on the flagpoles you’ve been under a rock the past week. Here’s a great lengthy takeout on Merion’s East Course from the folks at SBNation.

WHO WON THIS THING LAST YEAR?
The Birdman! Excuse me, it was Webb Simpson, with an assist from Jim Furyk.

Filed Under: Apps, ESPN, ESPN Radio, Golf, PGA, Tiger Woods, US Open, WatchESPN, WatchESPN Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Verizon Extends NFL Mobile Deal for $1 Billion

June 4, 2013 by

Verizon Wireless and the NFL have extended their current deal around mobile viewing of live NFL games, with a $1 billion, 4-year extension announced this week.

The billion-dollar deal does not, however, cover mobile viewing on tablet devices, a distinction noted by this story in Sports Business Daily and one we will bet is going to be kept by the league for its own video streaming plans. There will be more to this story later, but the good news for football fans who have Verizon phones is that for the 2014 season, you will be able to watch all live games — including CBS and Fox broadcasts — and not just the Thursday-Sunday lineup now available.

No word yet on ESPN’s plans to pay for mobile access for sports fans. On the Verizon side, the NFL Mobile viewing access is still apparently priced at $5 per month, but I bet that increases with the increased game schedule in 2014. Got to pay for that $1 billion bill somehow!

Filed Under: CBS Sports, Fox Sports, Live sports via mobile, Live Sports Video Consumption, NFL, Verizon Wireless Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Watching Golf this Week: The Memorial, AKA Playing at Jack’s House

May 30, 2013 by

Memorial golf Did you miss us golf fans? Yes, MSR’s weekly how to watch golf primer took a couple weeks off. No big deal, we just got busy and hey, we’re just like the top golfers sometimes — can’t be at every stop!

But we digress. On to the golf, at the Memorial which, thanks to its “ownership” by uber golf legend Jack Nicklaus this weekend gets mini-major status — kind of like, say, an NFL Divisional playoff game. Or round 2 of the NHL playoffs. However you categorize it, all the big names are in Ohio this weekend, though after watching Rory McIlroy struggle on Thursday he probably ain’t going to be there for Saturday or Sunday.

Defending champ Tiger Woods? A 1-under on Thursday is just fine, even though it puts him 6 back of early leader Charl Schwartzel. Remember, Tiger does well on courses he likes (Torrey Pines, Bay Hill) and he’s won here five times before. So if he’s within three or four on Sunday, we still like his chances.

Are you feeling the U.S. Open yet? Two weeks away and we are already getting ready for Marion. It was cool to watch the Golf Channel replay of the 1971 playoff between Nicklaus and Lee Trevino — just loving to see all the new cool stuff GC is doing, including putting all its shows online. What a surprise, but not to us! Golf people love their online coverage, and Golf Channel is showing how smart it is by adding live online simulcasts and now studio shows too.

More coming soon about online golf, and about AT&T’s new method of bringing cellular coverage to golf events — but not right now. Still busy with other stuff so enjoy the Memorial this weekend, especially online where there is more coverage than you think Broadcast is on CBS.

THE MEMORIAL

(all times Eastern)
TV COVERAGE
Friday, May 31 — Golf Channel, 2:30 p.m. — 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 1 — Golf Channel, 12:30 p.m. — 2:30 p.m.; CBS, 3 p.m. — 6 p.m.
Sunday, June 2 — Golf Channel, 12 p.m. — 2 p.m.; CBS, 2:30 p.m. — 6 p.m.

RADIO
SIRIUS XM (Satellite)
12 p.m. — 6 p.m., Thursday-Sunday. The live broadcasts are also available to subscribers on the SiriusXM Internet Radio App and online at SiriusXM.com.

NEW! PGA TOUR RADIO!
This a better deal for those not living in the U.S., because it’s free internationally. Inside the U.S. you will pay (due to rights fees) $1.99 per event or $9.99 for the whole year. Gives you the CBS feed, audio version. Click here for more info and payment plans for your area.

ONLINE
The PGA’s Live@ is back! The Memorial gets full “major-like” treatment, with simulcast coverage, featured groups and more. Thankfully the PGA has put all your options on this page so click there and see what’s online, live.

PGA SHOT TRACKER
Get another online fix via Shot Tracker.

FACEBOOK PAGE
Here’s The Memorial Facebook page.

TOP TWITTER FEEDS TO FOLLOW

The Memorial Twitter feed.
Geoff Shackelford — well known golf writer. If you’re not following Geoff you are missing the online boat.
Golf Channel — official Golf Channel feed
@PGATOUR — official PGA Twitter feed
@StephanieWei — great golf writer who is a Twitter fiend. Now leading the Wei (hah!) with Google+ Hangouts during most tourneys.
Doug Ferguson is the lead golf writer for AP. Good Twitter insights that often aren’t part of your wire-service lead.
Matt Ginella is a former Golf Digest writer now at Golf Channel. Your guide to the best golf course reviews, evar. Plus great columnist-type commentary on a regular basis.

WHAT’S THE COURSE LIKE?
Muirfield Village Golf Club — designed by Jack for tournament play. Here’s the tourney site course page, which looks plain but has a lot of interactivity if you click around, video flybys and multiple hole vantage points. The Nicklaus design company page has some stunning photos as well.

LOCAL FLAVOR
The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch has things pretty well nailed down with a special Memorial site. Interactive course map, video, features, it’s all here. Hurray for newspapers.

WHO WON THIS THING LAST YEAR?
Tiger Woods. Or do you not remember this shot?

Filed Under: AT&T, CBS Sports, Golf, Golf Channel, PGA, Tiger Woods Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Twitter and ESPN? We’ve Seen this one Coming

May 13, 2013 by

The inevitable combination of Twitter and ESPN is going to become official, according to a Wall Street Journal story today. As the WSJ story notes, the killer relationship is ESPN content — mainly video highlights — and Twitter’s distribution channel. Under the proposed deal, the story says, “people can watch the video clips on Twitter’s website and mobile apps shortly after the action happens on TV.”

Here at Mobile Sports Report we’ve seen a closer Twitter/ESPN need coming for quite some time. Here are some archived posts about Twitter and its relationship to ESPN, and how Twitter is the main disruptive technology as it relates to sports:

Could Twitter + Mobile Phones Kill ESPN? (Aug. 19, 2011)

Twitter Loves ESPN Loving Twitter (Oct. 28, 2011)

Twitter is Hammering ESPN on Penn State ‘Riots’ Coverage (Nov. 9, 2011)

Twitter and Sports: The Game Has Already Changed (Sept. 19, 2012)

ESPN Adds Twitter, Facebook ‘Share’ Buttons to In-House Commenting (March 22, 2012)

Filed Under: ESPN, Twitter Tagged With: , , , ,

WSJ: ESPN Thinking About Paying for Your Mobile Sports Jones

May 9, 2013 by

You have to fight your way around the paywalls to read it, but the Wall Street Journal had a story today about ESPN talking to wireless providers about paying part of the fees for people who watch sports via cellular connections. There’s nobody on record, but when the WSJ uses the familiar “according to people familiar with the matter” dodge you know that somebody wanted this story to get out.

For the carriers, this is a kind of a holy grail thing — if ESPN starts subsidizing watching sports via cellular, you can bet that AT&T and Verizon will step up their marketing machines to sell tablets and smartphones. I’m imagining a future where you pay something like $50 a month, which gets you live NFL games and a free iPad to boot. Think you’d sign up tomorrow?

Why would such an arrangement be valuable to ESPN? With more mobile users, the worldwide leader could jack up the fees it charges advertisers since it would have incredible amounts of granular user info, right down to where the user is watching. And I’d bet you wouldn’t be able to watch any other channel on that subsidized device. But then again — would you care?

Net neutrality worries aside, it will be interesting to see if this deal comes to fruition. With Verizon’s exclusive cell phone rights deal with the NFL coming up for renewal next year, it’s the right time for something new to happen. We’ll stay tuned.

Filed Under: 4G LTE, AT&T, ESPN, NFL, Verizon Wireless Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Watching Golf this Week: Wells Fargo Championship

May 2, 2013 by

Bad greens! Bad greens! Want more proof that professional golfers have no idea what the real world is like? Witness all the big stars pulling out of this week’s Wells Fargo Championship because… the greens aren’t in top shape.

On some level we can understand: The best players in the world, like Tiger Woods, play at a high level of perfection and hate it when they can’t count on the conditions being as perfect as they are. I mean — lost in the whole Tiger drop controversy at the Masters was the fact that the guy knew that if he moved the ball back two yards and hit the same shot it’d be perfect. And it was. Anyone else have that kind of control over distance and accuracy? No. So if Tiger doesn’t want to putt on shabby greens, I guess that is his perogative.

The real reason, I think, is — bad greens or not, somebody will walk off with the win this week, so top players may not want to be “shown up” by other guys who are willing to gut it out, and play through the oh-so-challenging troubles of some brown patches on the short grass. I think we have used up all our sarcasm for the week, so enjoy the golf. Phil will be there this weekend, along with Mr. Orange Rickie Fowler, who won here last year.

WELLS FARGO CHAMPIONSHIP

(all times Eastern)
TV COVERAGE

Thursday, May 2 — Golf Channel, 3 p.m. — 7 p.m.
Friday, May 3 — Golf Channel, 3 p.m. — 7 p.m.
Saturday, May 4 — Golf Channel, 1 p.m. — 2:30 p.m.; CBS, 3 p.m. — 6 p.m.
Sunday, May 5 — Golf Channel, 1 p.m. — 2:30 p.m.; CBS, 3 p.m. — 6 p.m.

LIVE ONLINE COVERAGE

Thursday and Friday, Golf Channel TV simulcast coverage via PGATour.com and GolfChannel.com; Saturday and Sunday, CBS coverage via the PGA site and from CBSSports.com. NOTE: If you are using the PGA Mobile app to watch the Golf Channel online video, be advised that it only works with iOS phones and with some (not all) Android phones. There is no fix planned for the immediate future.

SHOT TRACKER
Don’t forget the PGA’s Shot Tracker, a great way to track the action online.

RADIO
SIRIUS XM (Satellite) 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The live broadcasts are also available to subscribers on the SiriusXM Internet Radio App and online at SiriusXM.com.

FACEBOOK PAGE
Here is the Wells Fargo Facebook page.

TOP TWITTER FEEDS TO FOLLOW
The Wells Fargo Twitter feed.
Geoff Shackelford — well known golf writer. If you’re not following Geoff you are missing the online boat.
Golf Channel — official Golf Channel feed
@PGATOUR — official PGA Twitter feed
@StephanieWei — great golf writer who is a Twitter fiend.
Doug Ferguson is the lead golf writer for AP. Good Twitter insights that often aren’t part of your wire-service lead.

LOCAL FLAVOR
The Charlotte Observer has you covered with a special golf section that has columnists, features and news.

WHO WON THIS THING LAST TIME?
Rickie Fowler.

Filed Under: CBS Sports, Golf, Golf Channel, PGA Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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