Are You Ready for Some Football?

One of the most certain signs of an NFL lockout settlement came late last week, when Hank Williams Jr. filmed this season's promos for "Monday Night Football" during a long session in Florida.

For the 62-year-old country music superstar (and make no mistake, he's so well known in part because of the success of those "MNF" promos), the annual sessions provide a reason to be excited. Especially because what was supposed to be a one-year deal in 1989 has earned an anticipated spot in U.S. sports culture.

A generation of fans know "MNF" only with Hank Jr. kicking off the action, and his role in the weekly telecasts has lasted longer than almost any other talent associated with the show.

The season's game-opening segments were taped during a long day at on campus at Full Sail University, an award-winning school for entertainment media, and included dozens of faculty and students from the school as well as a couple hundred extras.

And, while NBC has tried its own musical opening with Faith Hill, it's OK but just not the same. The Peacock Network should have stuck with its original female singer -- Pink. Because if you're going to be different -- different, entertaining and strong are good.

ACT: Hope Solo tells Dana Jacobson the U.S. women's soccer team did not choke. Video
REACT: Some people, including ESPN analyst Tommy Smyth, disagree because they believe the U.S. team could've done a better job protecting the lead. Twice. Still, it's good to have a bit of analysis and a sports-talk feel in the aftermath of the Women's World Cup. Otherwise, it's not a sporting event. It's just some cultural experience. Still, the dynamic of the questioning by Jacobson, and Solo's response, was polite and subdued compared to other such situations with other sports. If you listen/watch closely, though, you see that Solo takes the typical jock, people-do-not-understand-the-sport defense as at least part of her response.

ACT: HBO's Ross Greeenburg decides not to renew contract and leaves the company.
REACT: A potentially impactful loss for sports on TV. Hopefully HBO has enough of a culture established to withstand his departure, but he's been that good and that much of a driving force. Boxing on HBO never waned (despite the sport's problems) under his leadership. Plus, he created "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel" and the "Hard Knocks" series. During his tenure, HBO earned 51 Sports Emmy Awards.

ACT: Shaq joins TNT as a basketball analyst.
REACT: A wise decision by the Big Analyst. They'll find a better role for him and he'll make the same amount of money and work less (over many fewer platforms) than he would have at ESPN. Plus, he'll still get all kinds of media attention.

ACT: Poynter Project reviews Bruce Feldman, ESPN situation. Link
REACT: So, he was not suspended, just asked not to do some work for a while. Sure, that's believable. It was just a poorly handled situation all the way around. Honestly, communications companies may communicate more poorly than any kind of business. In the end, it's not ESPN but Feldman who takes the bigger hit, and that's a shame because he's good and deserves to be in a better situation.

ACT: K-Swiss unveils long-form, online commercial. Video
REACT: It's supposed to be irreverent and naughty, something that could garner buzz and gain traction online. It's a nice premise, but it's just OK -- a little much to much. It's too long. Plus, dropping all the f-bombs happens just because they can and becomes self-serving.