ESPN L.A.'s Mark Saxon noted MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred last week indicated that he will play "no role" in the Dodgers' distribution problem with SportsNet LA. Manfred: “Distribution issues are fundamentally issues between the rights holder and the distributors. I have no role or leverage in terms of inducing anybody to do anything in that process. We stay in touch with the Dodgers, the Dodgers are very concerned and obviously want to have distribution, as do we, but we just don’t really have a seat at that table" (ESPNLA.com, 2/11).
PUNCHERS' CHANCE: ESPN.com's Dan Rafael cited a source as saying that Spike TV is "in the process of finalizing its deal with broadcaster Scott Hanson to handle the blow-by-blow duties on its monthly Friday night telecasts" of Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions series. Hanson is "best known for his work as a host on the NFL Network and the popular 'Sunday NFL Red Zone.'" This will be Hanson’s "first boxing assignment" (ESPN.com, 2/10).
EYE OF THE TIGER: In Baton Rouge, Ross Dellenger reports longtime LSU play-by-play broadcaster Jim Hawthorne yesterday announced that he is "retiring after next basketball season." The 71-year-old "has spent 35 years calling LSU games" including "380 consecutive football games" dating back to '84. Hawthorne said that he is "retiring to spend more time with his family." Dellenger notes LSU will "conduct a national search for Hawthorne’s successor beginning this spring" (Baton Rouge ADVOCATE, 2/12).
CHILDREN OF THE CORN: In Omaha, Henry Cordes reported KXSP-AM will "become the Omaha affiliate" of the Univ. of Nebraska's statewide Cornhusker sports network, effective July 1. KXSP's bid was "chosen over that of current affiliate" KFAB-AM, whose association with the school "goes back almost nine decades." The move "puts every Nebraska football game, men’s and women’s basketball game, volleyball match and baseball game on a single, powerful station from which they won’t be bumped in favor of other non-Husker programming." Financial terms of the five-year agreement were not disclosed (OMAHA.com, 2/10).
