Media Notes

Jerry Remy Says He Has Been Battling Depression

Jerry Remy, the Red Sox' game analyst on NESN, revealed that in addition to "dealing with the after-effects of lung cancer, he's also been battling depression." Remy, who took a leave of absence from NESN in April, made a "cameo appearance in the second inning" during the net's telecast last night of the Tigers-Red Sox game. Remy on the broadcast said, "I’ve been fighting depression for the last couple of months. I’m in therapy for that, trying to get the meds right, trying to get all that right. I think I’m on the right path. But it’s been hard, there’s no way around it. It’s been very hard for me. People deal with cancer all the time, people deal with depression. I’m not embarrassed by that. I’m not immune to all that." Remy "vowed to return to the broadcast booth -- at least for home games -- this season" (BOSTON HERALD, 8/13).

FUN WITH NUMBERS: In DC, Tim Lemke compares the ratings for the Titans-Bills preseason game on NBC and ESPN's Red Sox-Yankees broadcast on Sunday night and writes the "oversimplistic analysis of television ratings led to a series of comical pronouncements this week that the NFL was clearly the most popular sport in the history of the world" and that MLB "ought to be downright ashamed." Ratings for MLB games "almost will always trail those of the NFL because games are so much more plentiful; therefore, each baseball game is generally less significant." It is "fine to acknowledge the NFL's dominance of the sports landscape." Football "always will outdraw baseball on a head-to-head basis," but there is "no need to overstate the significance of that" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 8/13).

KICK START: The Manchester GUARDIAN noted with the EPL season kicking off this weekend, "rivals BSkyB and ESPN have begun something of a marketing war over the last week." BSkyB's marketing campaign "includes a rather large billboard straight across the road from ESPN's offices in Hammersmith," while ESPN's "rather large billboards, with the line 'It's great to be here,' just happens to be on the M4 on the way out to the BSkyB HQ at Osterley" (GUARDIAN.co.uk, 8/12).

WILDCAT FORMATION: In Arizona, Patrick Finley reports the new Arizona Wildcat Sports Network (AWSN) has announced a partnership that "will make many of its games available to out-of-state fans with a satellite dish or sports cable package." Games "will air on Comcast SportsNet, Cox Channel 4 in San Diego and on Altitude Sports and Entertainment, a network that encompasses 10 Rocky Mountain states." AWSN will "publish which channel will air the games for out-of-state viewers" (ARIZONA DAILY STAR, 8/13).

NOTES: The 1:00am ET "SportsCenter" for two days earlier this week did not originate from L.A. due to "back-up generators needing repair" (NEWSDAY.com, 8/12). Thursday morning's "SportsCenter" aired as scheduled from L.A. (THE DAILY)....Saturday's Seahawks-Chargers preseason game at Qualcomm Stadium will be blacked out locally and "will be shown on tape delay in the San Diego market" on KFMB-CBS at 10:30pm PT (NORTH COUNTY TIMES, 8/13).