ESPN's Jalen Rose yesterday in Michigan was handed a jail sentence for drunken driving, "but was given until Tuesday to report to the Oakland County Jail." Rose was sentenced to 93 days, but state District Court Judge Kimberly Small said that he "must serve only the first 20 days behind bars." The rest "will be held in abeyance if he completes an alcohol awareness program and attends alcohol impact sessions with the victims and survivors of drunken driving incidents during one year of probation" (DETNEWS.com, 7/27).
OVERDOING IT A LITTLE? In London, Hough & Magnay report the BBC yesterday "sent almost 10 times as many staff as its main news rival to cover an event marking one year until the start" of the '12 London Games. A "total of 250 BBC staff were accredited." One of those individuals criticized the net for sending a "cast of thousands" and for a "complete overkill." But the BBC said that its staff "used the event as a training exercise because as the host broadcaster it will [provide] feeds during the games for television networks across the globe" (London TELEGRAPH, 7/28).
IT'S COMPLICATED: In Houston, David Barron notes "on the programming front, ESPN and Texas are marching in lockstep toward Aug. 26, when the Longhorn Network will go on the air as the first network devoted to one school." But ESPN also has sued UT "over a request by ESPN reporter Paula Lavigne to obtain correspondence, under the Texas Open Records Act, from UT-Austin president Bill Powers during the summer of 2010 when it appeared the Big 12 Conference was about to implode." Barron writes it is "another example of the scope of ESPN." ESPN VP/Communications Mike Soltys said the net has "business relationships with many high-profile sports entities, and at the same time our news side aggressively covers them." Soltys: "This is just the latest example" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 7/28).
NOTES: The GLOBE & MAIL's Susan Krashinsky reported Rogers Communications "has acquired 100 per cent of Setanta Sports Canada, a 24-hour television channel dedicated mainly to rugby and soccer matches, including the rights to popular" EPL games. The net is a "pay-television channel and will continue under its current financial model in which viewers pay an extra free for its programming." It will be rebranded as Sportsnet World on Oct. 3 (GLOBE & MAIL, 7/27)....Universal Sports debuted on DirecTV yesterday, "the same day it launched its 'Countdown to London'" (CABLEFAX DAILY, 7/28).
