THE BIG LEAD's Ryan Glasspiegel reported CBSSports.com's Ken Berger "will not return" to the site, as he "was informed by management in July that his contract would not be renewed." Sources said that the reason was that CBS "brought on veteran NBA reporter Ethan Skolnick, who lives in South Florida where CBS Sports’ web operations are based and is therefore a better fit for their ongoing video and mobile push." Berger "joined CBS from Newsday" in '08. Berger's "most differentiable NBA reporting strengths pertain to" the CBA and sports science (THEBIGLEAD.com, 8/8).
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| Druley said Rodgers was on SEC Net's radar before "The Bachelorette"
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BACHELOR PARTY: ESPN Senior VP/Event & Studio Production Stephanie Druley in a Q&A with SI.com's Richard Deitsch addressed the recent hiring of Jordan Rodgers as a college football analyst. Asked if the net is attempting to capitalize on the popularity of Rodgers winning ABC's "The Bachelorette," Druley said, "He had been on our radar before the show. ... I had a real concern with how he would be viewed by fans of the show and what it might mean for him down the line." She added, "The advantage Jordan had when he sat down in front of our cameras in Charlotte was that he had just spent the past three months in front of a camera or many cameras. ... When you combine that with the fact that he knows college football and can speak intelligently about it, it made him the right fit for us" (SI.com, 8/7).
GET WELL SOON: In Chicago, Colleen Kane notes White Sox broadcaster Hawk Harrelson "will miss the next two road series" against the Royals and Marlins "due to illness." Tom Paciorek joined analyst Steve Stone in the booth for this week's series against the Royals, while home play-by-play man Jason Benetti "will fill in Thursday." Stone "was slated for a scheduled series off in Miami, so Paciorek and Benetti will team together for that series Friday through Sunday" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 8/10).
REPLACING A LEGEND: In L.A., Chris Erskine notes the Dodgers, who are looking for a broadcaster to replace the retiring Vin Scully, "have tapped Joe Davis, who spent this season auditioning for the role." Though the Dodgers "haven’t officially said, and will make nothing of the transition, Davis is Scully’s air apparent, so to speak." Davis "is a promising young pro, with enough potential to develop into something better than just another statistical savant." Meanwhile, from all indications, there is "still no movement on the Dodger TV blackout." Time Warner Cable and DirecTV "will not discuss whether talks are progressing, though the Dodgers remain hopeful that the Charter-TWC merger will shake things up." But "hanging in the balance is a good chunk" of Dodgers President & CEO Stan Kasten’s "professional legacy" (L.A. TIMES, 8/10).
NOTES: Reporter Tania Ganguli is leaving ESPN to cover the Lakers for the L.A. Times (TWITTER.com, 8/8)....The Ventura County Star's Rhiannon Potkey will join the Knoxville News Sentinel where she will serve as the Univ. of Tennessee football beat writer (TWITTER.com, 8/8).
