Cubs Chair Tom Ricketts said that the franchise is "still is deliberating its choices" for its next TV contract. Ricketts: "There are a lot of discussions and a lot of options on the table, and we just have to think it through." He added, "The biggest challenge for us on the business side is to make sure the decisions we make over the next few years on our media rights will be the ones that makes the most sense for the organization and give us the most financial flexibility moving forward. The good news is it’s going to be great for the team. Those are going to be big dollars, and those are going to be dollars that go back on the field" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 7/29).
FUNNY HOW? The BOSTON HERALD reports WEEI-FM "Dennis & Callahan" producer Craig Sawisch "got a one-day suspension after an F-bomb accidentally got on the air." Sawisch "used a sound cut from the movie 'Goodfellas' to introduce a segment" on Red Sox DH David Ortiz’ "war with the Rays, and he missed one of the many F-words" actor Joe Pesci spews. A source said that the station "got no complaints but Craig will have a day off to reflect on the screw-up" (BOSTON HERALD, 7/29).
FOUR-MAN FRONT: Cable network Epix will premiere the documentary "Forgotten Four: The Integration of Pro Football" on Sept. 23. The film will focus on the lives of former NFLers Kenny Washington, Woody Strode, Marion Motley and Bill Willis, who broke the color barrier in '46, one year before Baseball HOFer Jackie Robinson broke in with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Since the players have passed away, the program will include interviews with the players’ families, historians and other former NFLers. Former HBO Sports President Ross Greenburg produced the film (Epix).
SKATER SPOTLIGHT: VARIETY's Andrew Wallenstein wrote Street League Skateboarding is "trying to bring respectability to the sport on a global scale," and FS1 "helped pave the path with coverage Sunday of SLS’s Nike SB World Tour." The league and net are "in the first year of a multi-year pact." Fox Sports Senior VP/Original Programming Michael Bloom said of SLS, "It’s visually stunning. It looks different than anything else on our air and we’re excited to grow Fox Sports 1 alongside of the Street League for the next couple years" (VARIETY.com, 7/28).
