"He's a celebrity, and he's a brand. People from all walks of life know who he is. He markets himself to sports fans, families and has a religious following. Plus, the casual fan into pop culture is interested in him" – Single-A South Atlantic League Lakewood BlueClaws VP/Ticket Sales Jim McNamara, on Tim Tebow, whose Columbia Fireflies are drawing big crowds for road games (ESPN.com, 5/18).
“You’re always hoping, geez, I’d love to call the NFL, I’d love to call the Olympics, I’d love to call women’s championships and all kinds of different sports. You just keep your head down, keep working hard, and hope somebody will notice and give you that chance” – ESPN's Beth Mowins, who will call the Sept. 11 Chargers-Broncos "MNF" game (BOSTON GLOBE, 5/19).
"If you had a shorter overtime, it might encourage a little more risk-taking to try to score quicker, so it could be exciting" – Lions President Rod Wood, on the NFL weighing a proposal to reduce OT from 15 to 10 minutes (MLIVE.com, 5/19).
"It’s not a secret that we have a very good football program. Ten wins and everybody saw what we did in the bowl game. It’s hard to get on the phone with opposing programs now and get them to agree to come here” – Tulsa AD Derrick Gragg, whose football program continues to face difficulty persuading teams to visit H.A. Chapman Stadium (TULSA WORLD, 5/19).
