YAHOO SPORTS' Kelly Dwyer wrote under the headline, "ESPN Has Some Work Left To Do With Its In-Studio NBA Show." Dwyer: "What would any NBA junkie learn from Tim Legler, Jon Barry, Magic Johnson, Chris Broussard or Michael Wilbon? I sincerely respect each of those men in their respective, previous fields. But as quick commentators in a halftime setting? They tell you absolutely nothing." There are "hundreds of trained on-air types that could ably run a highlight reel for those of us that are looking to catch up on that night's NBA action on the fly." The net should not "embarrass good people like Magic by forcing them into roles they're clearly not suited for." ESPN's "continued insult, in trotting this crew out to analyze these games and read copy off of teleprompters, shows just how little it thinks of you, viewers" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 1/12).
ENDING BLACKOUTS? In N.Y., Richard Sandomir notes the FCC Thursday "took a step that may lead to the elimination of all sports blackouts." The commission said that it was "seeking public comment on eliminating its own rules that have effectively backstopped league policies by prohibiting cable and satellite operators from carrying a game already blacked out by local broadcast stations." The NFL "firmly believes in the policy nearly 40 years after it replaced one that required that all home games be blacked out within a 75-mile radius of the stadium." Sports Fan Coalition Exec Dir Brian Frederick "anticipates that the NFL and other leagues will oppose the elimination of the FCC’s rules by saying that blackouts are a financial necessity" (N.Y. TIMES, 1/13).
CRASH COMPENSATION: MMA WEEKLY noted Microsoft this past week "sent an email to those affected by the UFC 141 on Xbox Live technical issues, making up for the crash by offering fans the opportunity to watch Saturday’s UFC 142 Rio: Aldo vs. Mendes for free, as well as giving them a free one-month membership to Xbox Live Gold." Microsoft and UFC recently "kicked off a partnership offering the UFC 141: Lesnar vs. Overeem pay-per-view for free to the first 30,000 fans that subscribed to Xbox Live and downloaded the UFC App used to stream the event." Things went "awry on fight night, however, when the Xbox Live servers were unable to handle the crush of traffic, leaving fans with an error message instead of Brock Lesnar and Alistair Overeem" (MMAWEEKLY.com, 1/12).
AWARDS CEREMONY: The NFL Alumni Foundation on Thursday announced the '12 NFLA Player of the Year Awards, which are presented by Allstate Insurance, will be televised for the first time on NFL Network at 10:00pm ET on Feb. 6. Actor Alec Baldwin will host the awards ceremony on Feb. 3. Baldwin also is slated to host the "NFL Honors" show, which highlights the league's year-end awards, on NBC Feb. 4 (THE DAILY).
