In West Palm Beach, Brian Biggane notes Golf Channel for the Northwestern Mutual World Challenge has assigned Brandel Chamblee to "the post-match interview area, meaning he should be on site" when Tiger Woods completes his first round today. After the "back-and-forth between the two following Chamblee’s charge that Woods was 'cavalier' with the rules at different times this past season, and Woods' counter that perhaps GC should terminate Chamblee’s employment, it should be an interesting exchange" (PALMBEACHPOST.com, 12/4). Meanwhile, in a special to GOLF WORLD, golfer Geoff Ogilvy writes he did not agree with everything Chamblee said about Woods, but the "resulting backlash against Brandel was also unfair." While he "used language that was, in places, too hyperbolic for my taste, the principle of him being able to share with us his expert assessment is too important to be abused." Ogilvy: "To my mind, Brandel is one of the best things on Golf Channel. And let's be clear: He isn't employed to give us facts; he is there to offer opinion. So he should be allowed to do so" (GOLF WORLD, 12/9 issue).
AMERICA'S MOST WANTED: THE BIG LEAD's Jason McIntyre cites sources as saying that free agent QB Tim Tebow will "almost certainly be a college football TV analyst next year, either for ESPN’s SEC Network, CBS Sports, or Fox Sports." One source said that ESPN, CBS and Fox "have all expressed interest" in Tebow and that ESPN "already has a show set in place for him." SEC Network, which debuts on Aug. 21, is "planning its own version of 'College Gameday' and has settled on three names: Rece Davis (an Alabama grad) would be the host, the voice of the South Paul Finebaum would play the role of Lee Corso, and Tebow would be the show’s Kirk Herbstreit." Meanwhile, McIntyre reported CBS is "willing to blow up its pregame show and make major changes if it lands Tebow" (THEBIGLEAD.com, 12/3).
MARK MY WORDS: In DC, James Wagner notes former MLBer Mark DeRosa will make his debut as an MLB Network analyst Monday at the MLB Winter Meetings. DeRosa, who will "appear on the show 'MLB Tonight' throughout the season," was a guest analyst for the net during the '11 and '13 postseasons and "loved the experience." MLB Net's studios are in Secaucus, N.J., "'walking distance' from where DeRosa grew up, and his new job will allow him to spend more time with family there" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 12/4).
NATIONAL TREASURE: In Toronto, Jerry Agar gave his reasons why Rogers Communications "should keep Don Cherry." Agar: "Simply put, he is unforgettable." What other sportscaster "would take the time to honour Canada's soldiers and cheerlead for his country the way Cherry does?" The fact that some people "want to stop him from doing it, and take to the Internet to describe their hatred for him, says more about them than it does about Cherry, a man who loves his country and will speak up loudly for it." With "no disrespect intended to other sports broadcasters, Cherry is irreplaceable" (TORONTO SUN, 12/3).
NOTES: ESPN yesterday announced that Ben Casselman will join the team of FiveThirtyEight.com as its Chief Economics Writer. He comes from the Wall Street Journal, where he covered energy, real estate and most recently served as a lead economics reporter (ESPN)....TV One officials yesterday said that the net has hired ESPN.com Editor Shannon Cross “as news anchor for its live daily news program, ‘News One Now.’” The net said that Cross will “serve as a contributing voice of the daily morning news broadcast, narrating both breaking news briefs and lengthier feature segments beginning Dec. 9” (MULTICHANNELNEWS.com, 12/4).... In Miami, Barry Jackson reported radio host Marc Hochman, who recently informed WAXY-AM that he is leaving when his contract expires on Dec. 31, yesterday wrote in an e-mail to associates that he and the station have “mutually agreed to part ways about three weeks earlier than planned.” He indicated that today’s morning program “will be his final show” (MIAMIHERALD.com, 12/4).
