TV Schedule, Sunday February 13

Bowling: PBA Tour 2pm on ESPN

Bull Riding: PBR Tour 6pm on VERSUS

College Basketball:

Big 10:

Penn St. @ Indiana (women's) 11:30am on Big 10 Network
Purdue @ Illinois 12pm on CBS
Northwestern @ Penn St. 2:30pm on Big 10 Network
Minnesota @ Iowa 5pm on Big 10 Network

National Games:

Detroit Mercy @ Butler 11am on ESPNU
St. Louis @ Rhode Island (women's) 11am on CBS College Sports
Marquette @ Georgetown 12pm on ESPN
Arizona @ Arizona St. (women's) 3pm on Comcast SportsNet Chicgo, FS Midwest, & FS North
Tennessee @ Vanderbilt (women's) 5pm on ESPNU
Duke @ Miami, FL 5:30pm on Comcast SportsNet Chicago, FS Midwest, & FS North,
Arizona @ Arizona St. 8pm on Comcast SportsNet Chicago, FS Midwest, & FS North

Missouri Valley: Southern Illinois @ Creighton 7pm on ESPNU

College Wrestling: Michigan @ Iowa 1pm on IPTV

Golf:

European PGA Tour 7:30am on Golf Channel
PGA Tour (Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Final Round) 12pm on Golf Channel & 2pm on CBS
Champions Tour 6pm on Golf Channel

NASCAR: Daytona 500 Pole Qualifying 12pm on Fox

NBA Basketball:

Miami @ Boston 12pm on ABC
LA Lakers @ Orlando 2:30pm on ABC
Oklahoma City @ Golden St. 7pm on ESPN

NHL Hockey:

Boston @ Detroit 11:30pm on NBC
Pittsburgh @ NY Rangers 2pm on NHL Network

Rugby: USA Sevens World Series 3:30pm on NBC

Tennis: ATP Tour: ABN Amro World Tournament Championship Match 7am on Tennis Channel

Winter Sports:

FIS Alpine World Championships 11am on NBC
Winter Dew Tour 2pm on NBC

Disclaimer: All times are Central.

TV Schedule, Saturday February 12

Auto Racing:

Daytona 500 Pole Qualifying Practice 10am & 1pm on Speed Channel
ARCA Race 3:30pm on Speed Channel
Budweiser Shootout 7pm on Fox

Bull Riding: PBR Tour 7pm on VERSUS

College Basketball:

Big 10:

Ohio St. @ Wisconsin 1pm on ESPN
Indiana @ Michigan 3pm on Big 10 Network

Big 12:

Oklahoma @ Missouri 12:30pm on Big 12 Network*
Texas @ Baylor (women's) 12:30pm on FS Midwest & FS Wisconsin
Nebraska @ Oklahoma St. (women's) 2pm on Fox College Sports Atlantic
Baylor @ Texas 3pm on ESPN
Iowa St. @ Kansas 3pm on Big 12 Network*
Kansas St. @ Colorado 8pm on ESPNU

Missouri Valley:

Drake @ Northern Iowa (women's) 3pm on Mediacom Channel 22
Wichita St. @ Northern Iowa 9pm on ESPN2

National Games:

Maine @ Stony Brook 10am on ESPNU
St. Louis @ Richmond 11am on ESPN2
Syracuse @ Louisville 11am on ESPN
Kentucky @ Vanderbilt 12pm on CBS
Temple @ Dayton 12pm on ESPNU
Old Dominion @ Virgina Commonwealth 1pm on ESPN2
Youngstown St. @ Cleveland St. 1pm on Comcast SportsNet Chicago
North Texas @ Western Kentucky 3pm on ESPN2
Oregon St. @ UCLA 3pm on FS Midwest & FS Wisconsin
Wisconsin-Milwaukee @ Illinois-Chicago 3pm on Comcast SportsNet Chicago
Gardner-Webb @ Liberty (women's) 4pm on Fox College Sports Atlantic
BYU @ Utah (womne's) 5pm on CBS College Sports Central
Robert Morris @ St. Francis (PA) (women's) 5pm on Fox College Sports Central
Southern Miss @ Memphis 5pm on ESPN2
Tennessee @ Florida 5pm on ESPN
Seton Hall @ Rutgers 6pm on ESPNU
Detroit Mercy @ Butler 7pm on ESPN2
San Diego St. @ UNLV 7pm on CBS College Sports
Idaho St. @ Northern Arizona 7:30pm on Fox College Sports Pacific
Robert Morris @ St. Francis (PA) 7:30pm on Fox College Sports Atlantic
Pitt @ Villanova 8pm on ESPN
Gonzaga @ Pepperdine 9:30pm on Fox College Sports Central
Oregon @ USC 9:30pm on Fox College Sports Pacific
Idaho @ Boise St. 10pm on ESPNU

College Hockey:

Cornell @ RPI 2:30pm on NHL Network
Denver @ Minnesota 5pm on FS North
Ohio St. @ Michigan 6:30pm on Big 10 Network
Alaska-Anchorage @ North Dakota 7pm on Fox College Sports Atlantic

Extreme Sports: Winter Dew Tour 1pm on NBC

Golf:

European PGA Tour 7:30am on Golf Channel
PGA Tour: Pebble Beach Pro-Am (Third Round) 12pm on Golf Channel & 2pm on CBS
Champions Tour 5:30pm on Golf Channel

High School Basketball: Chaminade vs McCleur North 4pm on ESPNU

High School Hockey*:

Roseau vs Wayzata 10am on FS North
Hill-Murrary vs Moorhead 1:30pm on FS North

*Hockey Day Minnesota will air in between the high school games.

NBA Basketball:

Charlotte @ Atlanta 6pm on NBATV
Chicago @ New Orleans 7pm on WGN
Oklahoma City @ Sacramento 9pm on NBATV

NBA D-League: Dakota @ Iowa 7pm on Mediacom Channel 22 & on tape-delayed @ 10pm on VERSUS

NHL Hockey:

Hockey Day In Canada: Celebrating the Game 11am on NHL Network
Toronto @ Montreal 6pm on NHL Network
Chicago @ Phoenix 7pm on Comcast SportsNet Chicago
St. Louis @ Minnesota 8pm on FS Midwest & FS North

Siking: FIS Alpin World Championships 12pm on NBC

Tennis:

ATP Tour (ABN Amro World Tournament, 2nd Semi-final) 12:30pm on Tennis Channel
ATP Tour (SAP Open First Semi-final's) 3pm & 9pm on Tennis Channel

Disclaimer: All times are Central and blackouts are likely for regional NHL telecasts outside Iowa.

TV Schedule, Friday February 11

Boxing: Friday Night Fights 8pm on ESPN2

College Basketball:

Marist @ Iona (women's) 3:30pm on ESPN2
Siena @ Iona 6pm on ESPNU
Prairie View A&M @ Grambling St. 8pm on ESPNU

College Hockey:

Boston University @ UMASS 6:30pm on CBS College Sports
Ohio St. @ Michigan 6:30pm on Big 10 Network
Alaska @ North Dakota 7:30pm on Fox College Sports Central
Denver @ Minnesota 9pm on FS North (tape delayed)

Golf:

European PGA Tour 7:30am on Golf Channel
Champions Tour: 11:30am on Golf Channel
PGA Tour: Pebble Beach Pro-Am (2nd Round) 2pm on Golf Channel

High School Basketball: Oak Hill Academy (VA) @ Christ School (NC) 6:30pm on ESPN2

NASCAR:

Budweiser Shootout Practice 4pm on Speed Channel
Budweiser Shootout Final Practice 5:30pm on Speed Channel
Budweiser Shootout Selection Show 7:30pm on Speed Channel

NBA Basketball:

Minnesota @ Indiana 6pm on FS North
LA Lakers @ New York 7pm on ESPN
Phoenix @ Utah 9:30pm on ESPN

NBA D-League: Dakota @ Iowa 7pm on Mediacom Channel 22

NHL Hockey:

Detroit @ Boston 6pm on NHL Network
Minnesota @ St. Louis 7pm on FS Midwest
Chicago @ Dallas 7:30pm on Comcast SportsNet Chicago

Disclaimer: All times are Central and blackouts are likely for regional NBA & NHL telecasts outside of Iowa.

Chicago Cubs Release Their 2011 TV Schedule

The Chicago Cubs open the 2011 season at home against Pittsburgh on April 1 and today, the National League Central team announced their 2011 TV Schedule.

In 2011, the usual Cubs TV partners (Comcast SportsNet Chicago, WGN, and WCIU) return to televise all 162 games. The schedule breakdown looks like this and is subject to change:

ComcastSports Net Chicago will televise 81 games.
WGN will televise at least 60 games.
WCIU will televise 8 games in the Chicago TV market.
The Fox Saturday Game of the Week will televise at least 8 games.
ESPN is expected to televise several Cub games this year and that schedule will be announced later on.

The 2011 Cubs schedule with TV information can be found at this link: http://www.bleachernation.com/2011/02/10/chicago-cubs-2011-television-schedule/

The TV Schedule For The 2011 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Is Revealed

Last year when the NCAA announced a new TV contract with CBS Sports, there was excitement about the prospects of TV coverage being expanded with the addition of Turner Networks (TBS, TNT, and TruTV) that will guarantee that every game through the first 4 rounds will have national coverage. In Central Iowa, TruTV is carried in HD by Mediacom and Dish Network, however, DirecTV does not carry the HD feed of TruTV.

Today, the NCAA and it's TV partners announced the TV schedule for the 2011 men's postseason tournament.

According to a press release from the NCAA, here are some of the programming highlights:

• CBS will air the Final Four semifinals and national championship game for the 30th year, in addition to a total of 26 games throughout the tournament, including the second round, third round, Sweet 16 and Elite 8.

• Turner will air 41 games across its three television networks. TBS will air a total of 16 contests, including games in the second round, third round and Sweet 16.

• TNT will air a total of 12 games, including second round and third round match ups.

•TruTV will tip off the tournament’s coverage airing all First Four, as well as a total of 13 games during the First Four and second round. It also will air the Reese’s College All-Star Game on April 1 as part of NCAA Final Four Friday.

The full schedule of games for the first weekend (March 17-20) look like this, all times are Central:

Thursday-Friday:

11am on CBS
11:30am on TruTV
12:30pm on TBS
1pm on TNT
1:30pm on CBS
2pm on TruTV
3pm on TBS
3:30pm on TNT
5:45pm on TBS
6pm on CBS
6:15pm on TNT & TruTV
8:15pm on TBS
8:30pm on CBS
8:45pm on TNT
8:55pm on TruTV

Saturday, March 19:

11am on CBS
1:30pm on CBS
4pm on CBS
5pm on TNT
6pm on TBS
7:30pm on TNT
6:30pm on CBS
8:30pm on TBS

Sunday, March 20:

11am on CBS
1:30pm on CBS
4pm on CBS
5pm on TNT
6pm on TBS
6:30pm on TruTV
7:30pm on TNT
8:30pm on TBS

Complete scheduling information can be found here: http://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/2011-02-10/turner-cbs-air-all-ncaa-tourney

TV Schedule, Thursday February 10

College Basketball:

Big 10:

Penn St. @ Michigan St. 6pm on Big 10 Network
Illinois @ Minnesota 8pm on ESPN
Minnesota @ Iowa (women's) 8pm on Big 10 Network

Missouri Valley: Creighton @ Northern Iowa (women's) 7pm on Comcast SportsNet Chicago & FS Midwest

National Games:

Florida St. @ Georgia Tech 6pm on ESPN2
Wright St. @ Butler 6pm on ESPNU
UCONN @ St. John's 6pm on ESPN
Middle Tennessee St. @ Western Kentucky 7pm on Fox College Sports Central
Weber St. @ Northern Arizona (women's) 7:30pm on Fox College Sports Pacific
Alabama @ Vanderbilt 8pm on ESPN2
Tulsa @ UAB (women's) 8pm on CBS College Sports
Oregon @ UCLA 9:30pm on Fox College Sports Atlantic
Gonzaga @ Loyola Marymount 10pm on ESPN2
Oregon St. @ USC 10pm on Comcast SportsNet Chicago, FS Midwest, & FS North

Golf:

European PGA Tour 8:30am on Golf Channel
PGA Tour (Pebble Beach Pro-Am, 1st round) 2pm on Golf Channel

NBA Basketball:

LA Lakers @ Boston 7pm on TNT
Dallas @ Denver 9:30pm on TNT

NHL Hockey: Los Angeles @ Pittsburgh 6pm on NHL Network

Disclaimer: All times are Central.

St. Louis Cardnails announce their 2011 TV Schedule

The St. Louis Cardnails open the 2011 season at home against San Diego on March 31 and today, the Cardnails announced their 2011 TV schedule.

New this year for the Cardnails is that 152 games will be shown on FS Midwest, that's an increase of 22 games from last year. In previous years, Sunday afternoon games would've aired on a separate TV package that included over-the-air stations in cities all over the Midwest and this year, that package goes away.

The schedule breakdown looks like this and is subject to change:

152 games on FS Midwest
10 games on either ESPN or the Fox Saturday Game of the Week.

The Cardnails 2011 schedule can be found here: http://mlb.mlb.com/schedule/broadcast/index.jsp?c_id=stl

Chicago White Sox announces their 2011 TV Schedule

The Chicago White Sox opens the 2011 season Friday, April 1 at Cleveland and today, the White Sox announced their 2011 TV Schedule and it breaks down like this:

100 games will air on Comcast SportsNet Chicago
30 games will air on WGN
25 games will air in the Chicago TV market on WCIU-TV
7 games will air as part of the Fox Saturday Game of the Week

The information above is subject to change and the complete 2011 White Sox schedule with TV information can be found here: http://mlb.mlb.com/schedule/broadcast/index.jsp?c_id=cws

Changes occuring with NBC Sports

The merger between Comcast & NBC is less than a month old and already changes are taking place within the media giant that will change how we watch sports. Some changes have been behind the scenes while other changes will show up on our TV screens sooner rather than later.

The Golf Digest today is reporting that NBC's golf programming will be rebranded as The Golf Channel on NBC (think "ESPN on ABC").

There is so much speculation in message board land and on blogs as to what will happen to VERSUS and the Comcast owned regional sports networks. Personally myself, I would like to see VERSUS rebranded into a national Comcast SportsNet incorporating the resources of NBC Sports as well as the regional Comcast sports networks and taking on the monster that is ESPN.

While there are others who would like to see VERSUS and the Comcast regional sports networks take on the look and feel of NBC sports. My biggest issue with that is, other than the Olympics, what exaclty is NBC Sports known for? Decide for yourself, is it Notre Dame Football, NFL Football on Sunday night's, or something else like the NHL?

In many of the nation's largest media markets, Comcast SportsNet is an established brand and is the place to go for coverage of the hometown teams. Comcast SportsNet Chicago is available all across Iowa on satellite as well as on cable in Eastern Iowa.

Another issue with any rebranding the regional Comcast sports channels is that in Chicago, Comcast only owns 20% of the channel with the Bulls, Blackhawks, Cubs, and White Sox all having a joint ownership in the channel. So it's not like CSN Chicago can be rebranded as NBC Sports Chicago without ruffling some feathers.

Should be interesting to see how this all plays out. Here's a link to more information about "The Golf Channel on NBC": http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-tours-news/blogs/local-knowledge/2011/02/new-golf-channel-head-to-move-methodically.html.

St. Louis Cardnails broadcast team agree to contract extensions

2011 is a big year for St. Louis Cardnail radio broadcasts. Following a several year hiatus, the St. Louis Cardnails return to the 50,000 watt blow torch that is KMOX Radio (AM 1120) as their flagship radio affiliate. In addition, via a press release, the Cardnails have announced that the radio team of Mike Shannon, John Rooney and Mike Claiborne have all agreed to contract extensions.

The Cardnails radio broadcasts can be found on radio stations all over Iowa.

More info can be found here: http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20110204&content_id=16567904&vkey=pr_stl&fext=.jsp&c_id=stl

TV Schedule, Wednesday February 9

College Basketball:

Big 10:

Northwestern @ Michigan 5:30pm on Big 10 Network
Wisconsin @ Iowa 7:30pm on Big 10 Network

Big 12:

Nebraska @ Baylor 7pm on Big 12 Network*
Texas @ Kansas St. (women's) 7pm on FS Kansas City
Texas @ Oklahoma 8pm on ESPN2
Texas A&M @ Colorado 8pm on ESPNU

*Check local listings for channel availability in your area.

Missouri Valley: Bradley @ Missouri St. 7pm on FS Midwest

National Games:

Georgetown @ Syracuse 6pm on ESPN
Louisville @ Notre Dame 6pm on ESPNU
Marquette @ South Florida 6pm on ESPN2
Memphis @ South Florida 6pm on CBS College Sports
La Salle @ St. Louis 8pm on CBS College Sports
North Carolina @ Duke 8pm on ESPN
Utah St. @ Idaho 10pm on ESPN2

NBA Basketball:

LA Clippers @ New York 6:30pm on NBATV
Chicago @ Utah 8pm on Comcast SportsNet Chicago+
Denver @ Golden St. 9:30pm on NBATV

NHL Hockey:

Montreal @ Boston 6pm on VERSUS
Colorado @ Minnesota 7pm on FS North
Chicago @ Edmonton 8:3pm on Comcast SportsNet Chicago

Disclaimer: All times are Central and blackouts are likely for regional NBA & NHL telecasts outside of Iowa.

Televised Spring Training Games Involving Midwest MLB Teams

The following is a listing of spring training games involving Midwest MLB clubs that will be televised by Comcast SportsNet Chicago, FS Kansas City, FS Midwest, FS North, FS Wisconsin, and WGN.

Chicago Cubs:

March 6: vs Los Angeles Dodgers 3pm on WGN
March 12: vs Cincinnati (split squad) (in Las Vegas) 3pm on WGN
March 13: vs Arizona (split squad) 3pm on WGN
March 19: vs San Diego 3pm on WGN
March 20: vs San Francisco (split squad) 3pm on Comcast SportsNet Chicago
March 24: vs Chicago White Sox 4pm on Comcast SportsNet Chicago
March 25: vs Seattle (split squad) 3pm on WGN
March 27: vs Colorado (split squad) 3pm on WGN

Chicago White Sox:

March 10: vs Arizona 7:30pm (split squad) on Comcast SportsNet Chicago
March 11: vs Chicago Cubs 2:00pm on Comcast SportsNet Chicago
March 16: vs San Francisco 3:00pm on Comcast SportsNet Chicago
March 20: vs Los Angeles Dodgers 3:00pm on WGN
March 26: vs Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 3:00pm on Comcast SportsNet Chicago

Kansas City Royals:

March 25: vs San Franciso 8pm on FS Kansas City
March 28: vs Milwaukee (split squad) 3pm on FS Kansas City

Milwaukee Brewers:

March 19: vs Los Angeles Dodgers 3pm on FS Wisconsin
March 28: vs San Diego (split squad) 3pm on FS Wisconsin

Minnesota Twins:

March 14: vs Florida 12pm on FS North
March 21: vs Pittsburgh 12pm on FS North
March 23: vs Baltimore 6pm on FS North
March 28: vs Pittsburgh 12pm on FS North
March 30: vs Atlanta 11am on FS North

St. Louis Cardnails:

March 17: vs Florida 12pm on FS Midwest
March 25: vs Washington 5pm on FS Midwest
March 26: vs Florida 12pm on FS Midwest

Disclaimer: All times are Central, schedules may change at the last minute, and even though not likely for Spring Training games, blackouts may apply for telecasts outside of each club's home TV market.

TV Schedule, Tuesday February 8

College Basketball:

Big 10:

Indiana @ Purdue 6pm on ESPN

Missouri Valley: Creighton @ Drake 7pm on Mediacom Channel 22

National Games:

Cincinnati @ DePaul 6pm on ESPN2
UCONN @ West Virginia (women's) 6pm on CBS College Sports
Xavier @ Georgia 6pm on ESPNU
Boston College @ Clemson 8pm on ESPNU
South Florida @ Georgetown (women's) 8pm on CBS College Sports
Tennessee @ Kentucky 8pm on ESPN

NBA Basketball:

LA Clippers @ Orlando 6pm on NBATV
Minnesota @ Houston 7:30pm on FS North

NHL Hockey:

Buffalo @ Tampa Bay 6:30pm on VERSUS
St. Louis @ Florida 6:30pm on FS Midwest

Disclaimer: All times are Central and blackouts are likely for regional NBA & NHL telecasts.

Super Bowl XLV Ratings

The 2010 NFL season smashed all sorts of records when it came to viewership and the trend continued with last night's Super Bowl.

According to various published reports, last night's coverage of pro football's championship game averaged a staggering 111 million viewers with a total viewership of just under 163 million viewers and surpassed last year's Super Bowl as the most watched program in the history of television.

Super Bowl's have always generated monster ratings, but last year's game over took the 1983 series finale of M*A*S*H as the most watched program in the history of television.

Even though for various reasons attendance may be down in most NFL cities, the ratings continue to prove that the NFL has never been more popular. The growth of HDTV, DirecTV's Sunday Ticket, man caves, and fantasy fooball all have fueled the NFL ratings bonanza.

FS Kansas City releases its 2011 Royals TV Schedule

FS Kansas City, the TV home of the Kansas City Royals, has released their 2011 Royals TV Schedule. This year, FS Kansas City will televise 140 regular season games and two Spring Training games from Arizona.

The Spring Training telecasts include games against San Francisco on March 25 at 8pm (CT) and March 28 against Milwaukee at 3pm (CT).

The Royals will open regular season play on Thursday, March 31 with a home game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at 3:10pm (CT). As the case with previous years, the majority of non-televised games will be weekday afternoon games as well as weekend games in September.

Previously, Mediacom, the largest cable TV provider in Iowa, has aired Royals games in Central & Western Iowa that don't conflict with St. Louis Cardnail games. However beginning in 2011, FS Midwest will be the exclusive TV home for all Cardnail games that isn't picked up by ESPN or Fox. At this time, it's unknown how many Royals telecasts will make it onto Mediacom. Royals fans across Iowa with DirecTV and the sports pack, will be able to watch all 142 televised games. In Southwest Iowa, Royals telecasts on FS Kansas City is included in the basic satellite programming packages in both DirecTv and Dish Network.

Here's a link to the complete 2011 Royals schedule: http://www.foxsportskansascity.com/common/medialib/294/2011_royals_schedule_02-04-11.pdf

TV Schedule, Monday February 7

College Basketball:

Big 12: Missouri @ Kansas 8pm on ESPN

National Games:

Duke @ North Carolina (women's) 6pm on ESPN2
Mississippi Valley St. @ Alabama St. 6pm on ESPNU
Pitt @ West Virgina 6pm on ESPN
Norfolk St. @ Delaware 8pm on ESPNU
Tennessee @ Kentucky (women's) 8pm on ESPN2

PGA Golf: Phoenix Open (Final Round) 10am on Golf Channel

NBA Basketball:

Minnesota @ New Orleans 7pm on FS North, Mediacom Channel 22, & NBATV
Chicago @ Portland 9pm on WGN
Phoenix @ Golden St. 9:30pm on NBATV

NHL Hockey:

NY Ranges @ Detroit 6:30pm on NHL Network
Chicago @ Calgary 8:30pm on Comcast SportsNet Chicago

Disclaimer: All times are Central and blackouts are likely for regional NBA & NHL telecasts outside of Iowa.