Media-themed bracket wise for local sports talk

Cory Giger's handwritten seeds for the "tournament."

It's not an original idea by any stretch of the imagination, but latching onto the NCAA Tournament with a regional "tournament" focused on the Most Annoying Media Member was a good move by the namesake of "Sports Talk with Cory Giger," which airs in the Altoona and State College media markets from 4 to 6 p.m. weekdays.

Giger made himself the top seed in the event and built a 16-person field of personalities that his listeners know by their efforts, or at least their reputations.

After the first round of play -- contested by voting at Giger's Twitter account (@CoryGiger) -- trimmed the field in half, eight competitors remained. And it was an interesting mix.

Those quarterfinals featured:
1 Giger vs. 8 Neil Rudel
That's the Altoona Mirror sports writer and radio host vs. the same paper's managing editor (Rudel), known as one of the longest-tenured members on the Penn State sports beat. Giger had a a solid early lead in voting for Most Annoying among the pair. By job description alone, that probably makes sense. When he advances, Giger could face an interesting semifinal challenge.

2 Dave Jones vs. 10 Ron Musselman
This matchup features Patirot-News/Pennlive columnist Jones, perhaps the least self-effacing member of the Penn State media contingent. He's developed strong sources on the beat, though, and even when not present ranks as a presence in the media room. He's proven and solid at his job, and, in the mind of some Penn State fans, could rank as annoying. More interesting is that Musselman, absent from the Penn State beat and the media market overall until being hired in the past week or so by WJAC, advanced in the first round. He made news while covering Penn State when Joe Paterno was the coach (with a road rage story) and again when Bill O'Brien was in charge (with the coach famously calling the reporter by a different first name while knowing the difference). Those were during stints with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He also previously worked for StateCollege.com

3 Mark Madden vs. 6 Jerry Valeri
A late addition but a high seed, Madden might not be heard by many people in the Altoona/State College markets unless they are Pittsburgh Penguins fans, or die-hards who find his work online. There's no doubt he's polarizing, but that also means he's effective at his job. Sometimes, true to his affinity for pro wresting, it sometimes feels as if he's playing the heel, but he shows his journalistic chips often enough to offset the silliness -- at least for me. Conversely, Valeri, who does not work in sports, other than being a fans and some occasional Penn State public address opportunities, would seem to be a walkover opponent for Double M. Valeri can be annoying, but he has seemingly found his niche as a morning-drive host on a State College country station. He often does double duty, and more, for Forever Broadcasting. He might merit a spot in the field for conversation sake, but the six seed is generous and the Madden matchup seems tough.

4 Phil Grosz vs. 5 Dejan Kovacevic 
This quarterfinal matches the longtime publisher of Blue-White Illustrated (Grosz) and the entrepreneur and journalist who moved form newspapers to launch his own subscriber and sponsor driven website focused on Pittsburgh sports (Kovacevic). It's hard to paint Grosz as annoying in a bad manner. He's a character, a hard-working early adopter with recruiting coverage and has worked to keep his publication relevant as the market has gotten more cluttered. While Kovacevic's approach has gotten off to a strong start, it has been more than a business success. In the last week specifically, his site, http://dkpittsburghsports.com/, broke the news of the suspension of Steelers receiver Martavis Bryant -- and the reaction for people seeking more information subsequently broke the website. Briefly. Kovacevic's personal touch and strong opinions might make him annoying to some, and help him advance in this tournament, but that hardly makes him a bad guy.

The event will conclude in the next couple of days on Twitter, and, honestly, there's not a bad guy in the bunch. Giger has appropriately made the tournament a fun endeavor and hopefully those involved will as well. (Unfortunately, in an oversight, there was not a single women in the field.)

All who remain have a tough-enough skin to deal with an eventual Most Annoying Media Member title, and the semifinals seem primed to feature Giger, Kovacevic, Madden and Musselman -- in a slight upset. After that, Madden's bombast could propel him into a finals matchup with Giger.

The real winner in anything like this should be listeners, though.

Yes, it's contrived. Yes, it can seem self-serving but it's still decent radio and a way to drive some interest and interaction. It's a model used regularly across the nation -- and, in my mind, perfected years ago on Philadelphia sports-talk radio with regular "Field of 64" segments that drove a day's worth of conversation and even allowed the hosts to overrule decisions made by callers.

Cohn merits appointment viewing for 5,000th

She’s always made her mark by being a sports expert and journalist (even a fan) more than a calendar girl, but Linda Cohn should merit appointment viewing -- mark your calendars -- on Feb. 21.

At 8 a.m. that Sunday, Cohn will host her 5,000^th “SportsCenter.” She has hosted more episodes of ESPN’s flagship news program than any other anchor, male or female. In the buildup to the show, ESPN has created a Twitter hashtag (#LCo5KSC).

Cohn, who does her job well and consistently serves viewers, deserves the attention she’ll get in the next week or so. She has proven her versatility through the years on everything from studio shows to live events and radio broadcasts.

Amidst the growing mass of egotistical or ill-informed TV types, it’s good to know trustable talents like Cohn remain.

Expect more Peyton Manning on TV -- as an analyst

When Peyton Manning announces his retirement, and he will, he will not be away from the NFL for long.

Instead of measuring success by on-field accomplishments (18 seasons, 200 victories, 539 touchdowns and 71,940 passing yards), his expertise, insights and interview skills will become the new standards.

Almost as certainly as Groundhog Day means a convergence of attention on Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, Manning seems set for a career in sports television. He’s already proven himself in two separate “Saturday Night Live” appearances and a variety of funny, self-aware and self-deprecating commercials.

Manning’s aw-shucks approach should translate well to TV and we might get a little more depth from him as he shares his opinions. Also, if network producers find the right forum for his legendary film preparation viewers might get treated to some interesting Xs and Os.

Expect Manning to be the most-sought-after free agent of the offseason. Again, that’s not as a potential backup quarterback. Every network with an NFL contract would want him on their team. My sense is that might be more as a studio analyst than a game analyst, but perhaps with the right pairing he might succeed working games. He's be good on games, it just seems that he'd have a bigger forum in studio.

Of the five networks that carry the NFL, only one really seems on the outside when it comes to bidding for Manning’s services. That he could be envisioned at any of the other networks is what makes him so valuable.

Least likely would be the NFL Network. It’s just not a big enough platform for Manning and he already brings more gravitas and less silliness to the position than several of the former players among that network’s too big continent of experts.

Now, alphabetically, scenarios for the other networks:

CBS: Viewers might miss former players Tony Gonzalez or Bart Scott if Manning took one of their spots, but both are relatively new to the set. Swapping a QB for a QB, Manning for Boomer Esiason, might make sense to some, but Esiason seems to be CBS’s token studio naysayer, so he might be secure as a result. After all, viewers need someone to wear the black hat. On games, it's doubtful the network would break up its top team of Jim Nantz and Phil Simms, but if they pair Manning with, say, Ian Eagle, that No. 2 team would get even stronger. (And it might already be the network's best tandem.) 

ESPN: The network usually has everything, including a big on-air roster. However, with Keyshawn Johnson gone from “Sunday NFL Countdown” (his contract expired), there might be a seat for Manning with folks like aging Mike Ditka, former receiver Cris Carter and former linebackers Tom Jackson and Ray Lewis. In some ways, that seems like an easy and smart fit for all involved. At the same time, ESPN’s monetary problems could prevent a big investment in a big-time free agent. In terms of game coverage, he could be an interesting third on "Monday Night Football."

Fox: With a packed, proven and fairly A-list studio, that might be the tightest fit for Manning of any network studio team. Now, if they'd ax comedian Rob Riggle (or any comedian) to make room for Manning, that'd be great. Maybe Fox could lean less on the busy Michael Strahan (who works "Live with Kelly and Michael" as well as "Good Morning America") to make room, but that seems unlikely for the popular studio contributor. On games, he could again merit an assignment near the top of the roster.

NBC: With Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison in studio, and Hines Ward on site with Bob Costas, the network has a lineup that works. Former Steelers running back Jerome Bettis did not fit in his role, but maybe Manning could, especially with former coach Dungy. His first post-Super Bowl interview was with NBC’s “Today Show” and he later appeared on "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon," but that’s probably reading too much into his plans.

It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out and where Manning ends up on our TVs. Whatever the case, it seems likely we'll see him on TV, working games as opposed to playing them.

Get ready to enjoy Super Bowl build up -- it's worth it

Get ready to enjoy the Super Bowl -- and all the build up.

With Peyton Manning possibly making his final NFL start for the Broncos in the Super Bowl 50, and with emerging superstar Cam Newton leading the opposition Panthers in the big game, the Super Bowl has individual superstars.

Collectively, the opposing defenses rank as superstars, too.

All those people, combined with five decades worth of hype driven by the NFL’s proven marketing and publicity machine, along with always complicit media members, means anyone playing even the slightest bit of attention will know all they want (and more) about the game.

Additionally, expect CBS, which has the broadcast rights to next week’s game (if you’ve somehow missed that during the regular season and playoffs) to parlay every possible gold-plated connection -- no matter how far fetched -- between the Super Bowl and its entertainment and news programming in an effort to drive more viewers to the broadcast.

ESPN and its less important, smaller imitators -- CBS Sports Network, Fox Sports and NBC Sports Network -- will do their part as well. Likewise, the NFL Network will produce hundreds of hours from the game site in Santa Clara, California.

A variety of cable networks will be there as well, creating more content and programming than ever before around the big game.

All of that could be overwhelming and unbecoming. But it’s really not.

To me, it’s one of the best weeks of the sports season.

Yes, it’s hype, sometimes-silly hype, but it’s also compelling and engaging. With so many people trying to find stories that matter, we sometimes do get good information.

We do pay for the good stuff by trudging through lazy, silly and superficial reporting and stories, but when we overcome those things, the good stories stand out all the more.

Best bets

To navigate the onslaught of Super Bowl media, it is best to pick a few key sources. Atop the list should be ESPN and the NFL Network.

Credit both, because of their connections with the league, with consistently finding different sites for their on-site shows. While radio stations from across the nation set up shop on Radio Row, ESPN stays away from that circus. That’s a good thing.

Additionally, ESPN and NFL Network have their own deep rosters of on-air talent, people who share fairly interesting information on a regular basis.

Yes, there are clowns among each network’s lineup -- anything or anyone associated with “First Take” on ESPN, and Deion Sanders comes immediately to mind for NFL Network -- but the network’s real NFL experts and reporters deserve the reputations they’ve built.

Tuner tidbits

n  Forget what we’ve known for years at Media Day at the Super Bowl. It no longer exits. Instead, this year marks the debut, in prime time, of “Super Bowl Opening Night.” That’s Monday, beginning at 8 p.m., when the media throng converges on players and coaches in front of fans at Levi’s Stadium. Because the NFL knows all about producing TV shows, the media availability effectively becomes another such show with a live studio audience.

n  Another TV show, “NFL Honors,” winds down the week of hype leading to the game. That show airs at 9 p.m. Saturday on CBS and serves as the season-ending awards show. Modeled after any number of other televised awards shows, “NFL Honors” allows the league to hand out all its hardware at one time. It was clunky and slow in its inaugural year, but the league has started to iron out the kinks in the made-for-TV program.

n  Few media entities can “lose” in the Super Bowl buildup, but my bet would be on CBS Sports Network to fall into that category. While its corporate big brother has the game and seems almost like the NFL’s preferred partner for anything (such as “Thursday Night Football”), the CBS Sports Network never seems to build on the relationships it network has overall. Maybe it’s because hardly anybody watches the channel, but hardly anybody watches because the programming is not taken seriously.

n   Finally, just beating the rush here, but expect the CBS on-air team of Jim Nantz and Phil Simms to struggle during the game. They did so with consistency during the playoffs, and there’s no reason to think their streak of B- performances during A+ games will end.

n  Millions of Super Bowl fans will have a better option, though. Travelers, people working at places without at TV (if you can imagine) or those who simply prefer radio -- and those combined groups number in the millions each year -- will be listening on Westwood One radio affiliates.

After inaugural Super Saturday success, challenges exist for Big Ten Conference with Big Apple doubleheader

Everyone associated with the inaugural Big Ten Super Saturday at Madison Square Garden should be proud.

More than 27,000 people attended the basketball-ice hockey, day-night doubleheader between Penn State and Michigan in person.

In addition, the event played well on TV. From pre- and post-event coverage to the actual game action, it was all a success.

Still, the first edition might have been the easiest for the Big Ten Conference as it works to establish its foothold for the event in New York City and set the stage for the Big Ten Tournament to be played in the historic arena in 2018.

A pair of Penn State-Michigan matchups produced competitive action Saturday. More importantly, the Penn State presence provided a critical mass of people at the World's Most Famous Arena and prevented the games from being contested before limited crowds with a sports-as-a-studio-show feel.

Going forward -- because the Big Ten plans to repeat the event annually -- it might not be as easy to attract crowds.

Next year, it's Wisconsin-Rutgers in basketball and Wisconsin-Ohio State in hockey. In 2018, the Big Ten set Ohio State-Minnesota as the basketball opener followed by Minnesota-Michigan State in hockey. In 2019, it's Illinois-Maryland basketball with the hockey matchup to be announced.

Without Penn State, though, it might be hard to get a crowd for many of those matchups beyond the Rutgers basketball game.

Even with just-half-decent basketball team, Penn State fans flocked to the inaugural event at MSG. On the university campus Friday, there was a pep rally in the student union building as a sendoff event. And on gameday dozens of buses filled with students left Happy Valley just after dawn to get to the event.

The energy all those people provided means something. And Penn State's proximity to New York City provides something that cannot be rivaled by any other conference school execpt Rutgers.

That makes RU a wise pick for next season's basketball game as part of the twinbill. Beyond that, though, no other team in the conference has enough alumni or a fanbase in New York City to ensure a solid turnout for the games. While Maryland and Rutgers pulled the footprint of the Big Ten toward the east when they joined (and, more importantly, helped the Big Ten Network gobble up some bigger cable fees from subscribers of those states), Penn State remains the only Big Ten team with any cache or history in the east.

With hefty marketing -- and a hefty influx of conference or school dollars to help with travel packages -- future Super Saturdays could go well. They'll just require much more work. That's because Penn State, and Penn Staters willing to support their teams, made the doubleheader idea an inaugural success. That was something people who were there appreciated -- and something viewers at home could see as well.

Opportunity exits in use of on-screen handles, hashtags

What looks like a missed opportunity to me represents either a best business practice or a small part of a bigger plan for some who work in TV sports.

Still, they just seem wrong -- especially the part-of-a-plan folks.

Here’s the situation: With social media more pervasive every day, it’s surprising that every live sporting event on TV does not include some overt encouragement for viewers to connect by social media.

While only a small percentage of people are actually active on Facebook and Twitter, many do react and watch games as part of a “second-screen experience,” meaning they have a smartphone in hand or are not far from a computer while watching. They might even be streaming the game online.

Despite that, few TV sports types feel the need to keep handles or hashtags on screen throughout a broadcast.

“We always want to have a second-screen experience. Facebook and Twitter are high-traffic places for live events, and we try to be in front of the conversation,” said Josh Baird, director of social media for Fox Sports. He adds a caveat, though. “The assumption that there is a huge overlap that are watching TV and the people on social channels is a bold one.”

Fox Sports concluded high-profile coverage of the U.S. Open and Women’s World Cup in recent weeks. Neither set of broadcasts included overt or regular on-screen social media signals. That’s just the usual plan for Fox Sports. Broadcasts exist as broadcasts, and social media is separate.

To its credit, ESPN takes a slightly more aggressive approach.

Dave Miller, a senior coordinating producer for remote production at ESPN, said his network consistently tries to brand shows or a series on social media. In addition, something like #PSUvsOSU is not unusual for a big game.

Like Baird, Miller framed social media as a complementary place for conversation. He said it can be a challenge for broadcasters to take part in that conversation. Still, ESPN boasts 19.9 million Twitter followers to 1.28 million for Fox Sports, and the approach to share on-screen handles and hastags could be at least a small part of that huge disparity.

It just seems wise to embrace on-screen social media signals, at least as a strong hint about where people should go to conduct their conversations. Miller said broadcast partners (a league or organization) often ask about finding a way to incorporate social media.

And making social media work with a live broadcast is not impossible. ESPN often rotates game locations, broadcaster names and social media in graphics, Miller said. Beyond that, a more engaged approach has been proven to work well, too.

Root Sports has shown that with its Pittsburgh Pirates coverage. Yes, baseball’s slower tempo allows for easier interaction, but Root’s use of #BucsBooth to encourage viewers to ask questions of broadcasters during a game works.

It’s one more thing for someone to do -- after all someone has to weed through individual tweets to see if a good question exits -- but it does unearth some gems, inform some conversation and, at the same time, provide a community, of sorts, for those invested in the game.

In that way, it seems like the people are embracing an opportunity. They’re correct to do so.

Addition to Cowherd's show a rare opportunity

Sports-talk radio listeners across the nation might hear something a little different in a few weeks from ESPN Radio.

Jen Lada

Starting in mid-August, “The Herd with Colin Cowherd,” which airs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the East Coast, will feature another contributor along with the namesake host.

While Jen Lada will not be a full-fledged co-host, she will hold a regular role. Along with what listeners hear, Lada will contribute on social media, provide some exclusive digital segments and, no doubt, serve as a sounding board for Cowherd. That’s a good thing because Cowherd better engages listeners when he has someone to talk to, as opposed to when he dives into a monologue or offers his opinions about sports and social matters with no context or counterbalance.

Lada, who comes to ESPN Radio from Comcast Sports Net Chicago, becomes a member of a rare group -- women with prominent or regular roles on national sports-talk radio. It’s an extremely small group.

He’s hoping Lada thrives, and opens the door for a few more similar voices on sports-talk radio.

And, to be clear, it’s not hope simply for hope’s sake. Sports-talk listeners want quality sports talk -- compelling, interesting information -- no matter the gender of the host. As we eventually move toward more of that, it’s reassuring that a woman who has both been on air nationally and who brings strong doses of common sense and professional responsibility to her job has a role in selecting who gets on air and who does not.

Amanda Gifford, who started as an intern at ESPN Radio, commuting on weekends from Penn State to Bristol, Connecticut, and back when she was a student, believes sports-talk radio has changed during her time with the company. Still, the medium remains young. The first acknowledged all-sports station, WFAN in New York City, launched July 1, 1987.

“I do feel there’s more opportunity,” said Gifford, senior director of daytime programming. In that role, she’s in charge of Cowherd’s show, “Mike and Mike,” “The Rusillo Show” and “The Dan Le Batard Show.” Within arms reach of her office desk are two lists -- one with the show schedules and regular hosts’ vacations and another of ESPN talent who serve as replacement hosts. Clearly, she plays a big role in who gets on the air for ESPN Radio. She knows what resonates with listeners, and what impacts ratings.

“Sports talk itself has changed,” Gifford said. “It’s not as much about games, stats and what happened. There are bigger discussions, things that are relatable to life.”

A few months ago, ESPN Radio seemed set to add another woman, Molly Qerim, to a prominent role -- joining “Mike and Mike” as that show itself changed greatly, moving from Bristol to New York City. All that changed in the past few weeks, though, when the NYC move was dumped. As a result, Qerim gets a different opportunity at ESPN.

She’ll host “First Take” on ESPN2 -- so more visibility on TV, but a fairly familiar role for women in general as a moderator amidst the rants of Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith. It’s officially and interim position, but do not be surprised if Qerim stretches it farther.

Those host or moderator positions seem to be the major safe haven for women in sports, and for those who hire women. But, while they’re prominent, they sometimes seem overly gender-specific -- with the women serving as on-air moderators or moms. Qerim follows Cari Champion, who is moving on to host “SportsCenter.” Before her, Dana Jacobson was a “First Take” host, and any number of studio shows or update segments are handled by women.

Driving a sports-talk show requires a different skill set, and maybe that’s part of why finding quality hosts provides such a challenge. Beyond Jemele Hill and Sarah Spain, it’s not a long list of people who’ve proven themselves on radio in recent years.

Still, Gifford continually seeks out talent.

“Finding a host, male or female, is the same. It’s about the content they produce. Is it thought provoking? Is it original?” Gifford said. “In terms of women, it comes down to the individual person. Can she hold her own with her male counterparts? And, most of all, it cannot be ‘Hey, I’m female, but I can also talk sports.’ They just need to talk. Doing it the other way they marginalize themselves.”