ADWEEK's Tim Nudd reported once Wieden + Kennedy "drew up a list of its 10 favorite SportsCenter ads," ESPN "one-upped its agency -- devoting a whole special to its 50 favorite SportsCenter spots of all time." The show hosted by actor Jason Sudeikis will air tomorrow at 8:00pm ET. It "will feature anecdotes and stories about the top 50, and fans are encouraged to vote for their favorite spot over on Facebook." Sudeikis will "announce the winning spot on the show." More than 1 million votes "have been cast so far" (ADWEEK.com, 7/30).
COLD COMFORT: In Salt Lake City, Scott Pierce writes NBC is "in a tough spot" when it comes to covering the '14 Sochi Games, and the net "isn’t off to a real good start." With Russia passing anti-gay laws and "violence against gays bad and getting worse," the "fear is that, in order to keep the host country happy, NBC won’t even report on what’s happening." NBC Sports Group Chair Mark Lazarus "didn’t do anything to allay those fears" when he recently commented on the subject. His "non-answers are patently ridiculous" (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 7/31).
PATRIOT GAMES: The Patriot League on Monday announced the creation of the Patriot League Network (PLN) in collaboration with Campus Insiders, to debut in fall '13. Under the multiyear agreement, the league will live-stream hundreds of men's and women's sports events (Patriot League).
