CBS Sports Chair Sean McManus confirmed that the third and fourth rounds of The Masters in November "will start early to finish in time for the network to air football games," according to the AP. Saturday's third round will "wrap up" around 5:30pm ET as a "lead-in" to LSU-Alabama that night. Sunday's final round "should finish" between 2:00-2:45pm, ahead of that afternoon's NFL action (AP, 9/8). McManus said of the new schedule, "It worked out really well for everybody. Everybody benefits. Everybody was cooperative. It's a really good example of how a partnership in the world of sports television can work out so everybody benefits." The BIG LEAD's Brian Giuffra wrote the "concessions from the NFL, Masters and SEC made this happen." The NFL "gave CBS all afternoon games to broadcast on Sunday day so it wouldn't have to choose between the Masters and NFL" during the 1:00pm start times. And the SEC "pushed back" its marquee Saturday afternoon game between LSU and Alabama to 6:00pm "so CBS could broadcast the third round of the Masters." McManus said that all three broadcasts "should benefit from having marquee sporting events rolling right into one another" (THEBIGLEAD.com, 9/8).
