Media Notes

Tribune Editor Denies Report That Mariotti Will Join Paper

Chicago Tribune Associate Managing Editor for Sports Mike Kellams yesterday said that there is "no truth to a blog report that Jay Mariotti will begin writing a weekly column for the Tribune on Sept. 1." Kellams: "It's untrue. The person who wrote it never called me. If he did, I would have told him it wasn't true." Kellams added of Mariotti, "I suppose there's always a chance for something to happen, but I don't see him coming here any time soon" (Ed Sherman, CHICAGOBUSINESS.com, 8/10).

ACCESS DENIED: CABLEFAX DAILY reports the FCC Enforcement Bureau has recommended that an administrative law judge "deny MASN's claim" in its complaint against Comcast. The Bureau said that MASN "failed to show that Comcast denied carriage" to the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Lynchburg, Virginia, markets to promote Comcast SportsNet. The Bureau said, "The carriage history of the Baltimore Orioles and Philadelphia Phillies in Harrisburg belies MASN's contention that Comcast denied carriage of MASN in the Pennsylvania capitol because it intended to turn Harrisburg into a 'Philadelphia Phillies Town' when it lost the rights to the Baltimore Orioles" (CABLEFAX DAILY, 8/11).

TEEING OFF: Turner Sports' golf sites -- PGATour.com, PGA.com and Yahoo Sports -- averaged 4.1 million monthly unique users over the first six months of '09, more than twice the number of monthly unique visitors as the nearest golf site. Turner's golf sites averaged 73 million monthly page views and 67 million minutes per month for the period, which was five times the nearest competitor and No. 1 in the marketplace for every month of '09 for both metrics (Turner).

TALENT REVIEWS: In Indianapolis, Curt Cavin wrote he "can't say enough good things about the job" Versus' IndyCar analysts Jon Beekhuis and Robbie Buhl are doing. Cavin: "They're terrific and the best pair of analysts I've heard working together in racing in years" (INDYSTAR.com, 8/10)....In Sacramento, Joe Davidson writes CSN California A's studio analyst F.P. Santangelo is a "natural on TV." Santangelo "doesn't use a teleprompter," and "he flows." Davidson: "Like an old ballplayer, he critiques his work, studies his craft," and he "craves more work, too" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 8/11).