ESPN earned a 3.7 overnight Nielsen rating for yesterday afternoon's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Brickayrd 400 from Indianapolis Motor Speedway, up 5.7% from a 3.5 overnight for the race last year (THE DAILY). In St. Petersburg, Tom Jones writes ESPN's coverage of the race was one of the things he "liked on television this weekend." The coverage had a "few new bells and whistles, and set up what should be an enjoyable stretch run for fans of the good ol’ boys" (ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, 8/1).
THE SEARCH FOR TOMORROW: HBO co-President Richard Plepler Thursday said that the net "will soon begin the search for a replacement" for departed HBO Sports President Ross Greenburg. MULTICHANNEL NEWS' R. Thomas Umstead noted HBO "will most likely look outside the company for an executive that has both a boxing and sports production background." Plepler said that he "will be involved in the network's boxing negotiations in the near future." That includes the net's pitch to Top Rank "for the Nov. 12 Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez fight and most likely" the Dec. 3 Miguel Cotto-Antonio Margarito bout (MULTICHANNEL.com, 7/29).
3K GLITCH: In N.Y., Barrow & O'Keeffe noted there is an "editing snafu" in HBO's "Derek Jeter 3K." Before Jeter is shown recording his 3,000th hit in the Yankees' July 9 game against the Rays, the documentary "goes haywire, as, out of nowhere, footage from later in the game appears." MLB Productions and HBO "were still unaware of the error" when it was brought to their attention. An MLB Productions spokesperson said, "It was a simple oversight in the editing process. And we are fixing it for re-air." But Barrow & O'Keeffe wrote, "You'd think that there would have been plenty of eyes on 'Derek Jeter 3K,' making sure that every step of the Captain's journey was picture perfect" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 7/31).
HISTORY OF DANCE: In N.Y., Phil Mushnick notes ESPN's "Evolution of the TD Dance," which the net calls "'a project,' soon will be seen on all things ESPN." Mushnick: "Not sure why ESPN insists on challenging Nike to determine which can do the most to destroy what's left of the sport in our sports, but I sure wish ESPN would cut it out" (N.Y. POST, 8/1).
