In N.Y., Andy Clayton noted on ESPN's "College GameDay" from the campus of Ole Miss, singer Katy Perry, "wearing a hot pink and black fuzzy jersey, didn't hold back as she made a R-rated joke about South Carolina's mascot, encouraged Oklahoma's QB to call her, used a giant pencil and corndogs as props and capped her appearance by ripping the 'Bama elephant mascot head off Lee Corso and tossing corndogs at the camera." She "reportedly got the guest gig thanks to her manager being" an Ole Miss alum. Clayton: "She definitely had the juvenile college humor down pat, we're just not sure what the suits at ESPN will think of her performance" (N.Y DAILY NEWS, 10/5).
HOOPS HYPE: In Hartford, Dom Amore notes Basketball HOFer Jim Calhoun "is about to begin a new basketball season in a new role" as an ESPN analyst. Calhoun yesterday said, "You can say things, be professional, without stabbing, hurting anybody. … We're in an age where people say [anything] that sells, but I plan to be careful about telling people how to do things when I don't have inside information" (HARTFORD COURANT, 10/6)....In Indianapolis, Candace Buckner reported FS Indiana Pacers TV host and sideline reporter Brooke Olzendam "has been replaced by Jeremiah Johnson." The net "decided not to renew Olzendam's contract during the offseason" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 10/4).
GET WELL SOON: In Buffalo, Alan Pergament reported Sabres broadcaster Rick Jeanneret's throat cancer "will prevent him from being at the microphone" on Thursday for the team's regular-season opener. Jeanneret "remains optimistic that he will return to call games this season, but there is no timetable." He added, "I still have throat issues, it is very sore. A lot of people have said my voice sounds stronger than they expected it to. It doesn’t sound so strong from my mind though" (BUFFALO NEWS, 10/5)....ESPN's Shelley Smith said that she "has been diagnosed with invasive lobular carcinoma -- estrogen positive -- in her left breast." It "has spread to at least one lymph node." Smith: "We won't know until surgery if it has spread to more, but we do know it hasn't gone to any of my organs or bones" (SI.com, 10/5).
NOTES: On Long Island, Neil Best wrote with his new Players' Tribune venture, Derek Jeter is "one of us now, and even old No. 2 is going to have to face the realities of the impossibly overcrowded modern sports media landscape, where getting noticed is more than half the battle." The challenge "will be keeping the public interested if Jeter sticks to his longtime aversion to negativity and if the content generated by athletes veers toward the safe and sanitized" (NEWSDAY, 10/4)....In Dallas, Barry Horn noted FS Southwest Stars reporter Julie Dobbs has been "declared cancer free" after being diagnosed in September of last year with inflammatory breast cancer. Dobbs is now "assuming a new role that guarantees a higher profile." She will be the Stars' "ice-level reporter at home games in addition to hosting the team’s weekly magazine show" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 10/4)....In Charlotte, Theoden Janes profiled NASCAR.com reporter Alan Cavanna, who "is just shy of his second anniversary with ... NASCAR Digital Media, where he serves as a video reporter and host" and also as "proof that sometimes childhood fantasies do come true." Cavanna: "I’ve always wanted to do this one thing, and I never diverted from that. Sometimes dreams change. Mine didn't" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 10/5).
