The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER's Kate Stanhope reported "TMZ Sports" is "set to launch in late night on FS1 on Nov. 9" with a half-hour program. The show "will air Monday through Friday at midnight, with the exception of 12:30 a.m. on Wednesdays following 'Garbage Time With Katie Nolan,' and focus on news stories about famous faces in the sports world both on and off the field" (HOLLYWOODREPORTER.com, 11/2).
GET WELL SOON: In Baton Rouge, Scott Rabalais reports LSU play-by-play announcer Jim Hawthorne "will miss at least" Saturday's football game against Alabama after "undergoing what school officials [termed] a successful medical procedure Friday." Hawthorne's plan is to "retire from broadcasting at the end of the basketball season" (Baton Rouge ADVOCATE, 11/3).
STYLIN' & PROFILIN': In DC, Marissa Payne reported former pro wrestler Ric Flair is the subject of an "upcoming '30 for 30' documentary about the rise of the now 66-year-old star." Flair's agency, Legacy Talent & Entertainment, in a statement said it started to shoot for the project Thursday and is "honored to work" on it. Legacy said that the film "does not yet have an air date" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 11/2).
BACK TO THE SPORTS DESK: N.Y. Times Exec Editor Dean Baquet and Sports Editor Jason Stallman yesterday in a memo to staff said Joe Nocera "will be rejoining the newsroom to write a column for Sports about the business of sports." TALKING BIZ NEWS' Chris Roush noted Nocera "spent five-plus years writing the 'Talking Business' column before going to Op-Ed four and a half years ago." His appointment is "effective immediately" (TALKINGBIZNEWS.com, 11/2).
