In Miami, Barry Jackson noted interest in the Heat "appears to be rising significantly" during the team's current 12-game winning streak. Prior to last night's win against the Bucks, five of Sun Sports' 10 most-watched Heat games this season had "come during the winning streak," and viewership of Heat games had risen 33% "over the full season average" (MIAMIHERALD.com, 2/8).
BAR KEEP: Barstool Sports CEO Erika Nardini, who joined the company last July, said, "When I was looking at Barstool, the diversification of the revenue model was one of the most attractive things to me." She said of the site's brand of humor, "Barstool was known as a sports blog. In reality, it’s a comedy site. ... There’s no strategy to go up against PC culture. It’s a non-PC group of people who are tired of packaging, vapid content" (DIGIDAY.com, 2/8).
SNEAKY SUSPICION: In Washington, John Blanchette writes under the header, "First 'Bracket Preview Show' Will Reveal Tremendous Amount Of Nothing." Why the NCAA men's basketball selection committee "picked Friday night to shut down their computers" for Saturday's inaugural "Bracket Preview Show" on CBS is "a mystery." It is "unclear" what the "early reveal will clear up." Blanchette: "Not sure why the committee should be in the prediction business" (Spokane SPOKESMAN-REVIEW, 2/9).
