Media Notes

Busch Believes Consistent Start Time To Races Would Benefit Fans

NASCAR driver Kurt Busch this past weekend said a "consistent time" for races "would be better" for fans. Busch: "That would create more viewership knowing that they knew when to find the race." NASCAR Dir of Corporate Communications Ramsey Poston said that NASCAR "supports more consistent start times and is planning to discuss the topic with TV partners Fox, TNT and ESPN before the 2010 season." Fox Sports Chair & CEO David Hill earlier this year said that he "told NASCAR that start times should be made uniform ... because inconsistency confuses fans" (USA TODAY, 6/30).

MEETING OF THE MINDS: Longtime MLB writer Murray Chass noted the Chicago chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America "met Friday to discuss, at a member's request, guidelines for voting for the Hall of Fame in the steroids era." Chicago Tribune columnist Paul Sullivan, the chapter's Chair, said, "We debated it for about half an hour. Everyone had a different opinion." Sullivan said that there was "no consensus to develop guidelines," and that "everyone agreed ... that the existing Hall of Fame rule governing voting mentioning character, integrity and sportsmanship was appropriate for steroids users." Chass wrote, "Contrary to what some people think, baseball writers can make intelligent decisions" (MURRAYCHASS.com, 6/28).

GOOD AND BAD FROM BRISTOL: In N.Y., Bob Raissman writes not only is ESPN "celebrating the return" of suspended Dodgers LF Manny Ramirez, "the cheater, it seems to have stricken the word 'steroids' from" the resume of Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez. ESPN analysts ahead of Sunday's Yankees-Mets game were "going gaga over the way Rodriguez has performed recently." But while "chronicling his apparent comeback from hip surgery, they did not mention how he was outed as a steroids cheat in the spring" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 6/30). Meanwhile, in Boston, Mike Reiss wrote, "You always seem to learn something or hear a fresh perspective when listening to ESPN analysts Trent Dilfer and Tim Hasselbeck" (BOSTON GLOBE, 6/28).

TRANSFER STUDENT: PRO FOOTBALL TALK's Mike Florio reported CollegeFootballTalk.com (CFT) will join NBC Sports on July 1 along with ProFootballTalk.com. CFT's John Taylor "will continue to run the show at CFT, and he'll be backed up by some of the folks from Rotoworld/NBC" (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 6/27).