In Florida, Craig Handel reports golfer Greg Norman acknowledged he has "talked with USGA as well as Fox officials" about becoming an analyst for the net when they broadcast the U.S. Open beginning in '15. Norman added that talks are "on hold for the next couple of months." Norman: "I like what I hear from the two organizations. Where they see things going and how they want to take it is impressive. With all the sports Fox has shown in the last decades I see a lot of pretty good ideas" (Ft. Myers NEWS-PRESS, 10/16).
SILVER FOX: In Minneapolis, Steve Alexander reports ESPN's Nate Silver "hopes to branch out into other fields that could benefit statistical analysis." Silver, speaking at the Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association's annual summit, said, "I think of FiveThirtyEight as a data blog, not a politics blog. ESPN has the resources to expand FiveThirtyEight out to a lot of areas, such as economics, business, education, health, even weather a little bit." Silver also sees the move to ESPN "as broadening his base of business." Silver: "Diversifying your risk is a good strategy in many walks of life" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 10/16).
SABRES RATTLED: In Buffalo, Alan Pergament notes local TV viewership for Sabres games "slipped more than 50 percent from the 9.8 rating for the season opener" against the Red Wings to a 4.8 rating for Saturday's game against the Blackhawks. The Sabres' ratings are "down sharply but they are still higher than many prime time broadcast networks get these days." But the loss of "more than 30-50 percent from the season opener is a clear indication that the NHL team is losing its fan base" (BUFFALO NEWS, 10/16).
