Sources familiar with negotiations said that the Big Ten Network and Time Warner Cable have reached an agreement in principle for carriage of the year-old cable network in time for this weekend’s Ohio State Buckeyes season opener against Youngstown State Saturday.
The deal calls for Time Warner to carry the channel on expanded basic on all of its systems in the eight-states where Big Ten schools operate. As recently as Friday, it looked as if an agreement wouldn’t be reached in time to broadcast the game.
‘’We have a handshake deal with Fox (the Big Ten Network’s partner) that will ensure that Time Warner customers will be able to watch the game this weekend,’’ said Bill Jasso, Time Warner’s vice president for government affairs and media relations. ‘’And ware are confident that we’ll reach a deal for carriage shortly.’’
BTN and Time Warner have been locked in a battle over the station since the network began. When Comcast, the nation’s top video provider reached a deal last spring, an agreement with Time Warner seemed to be a foregone conclusion.
That’s not been the case and in recent days negotiations had grown a bit contentious with both sides taking their respective cases to the media. In fact, Ohio State University athletic director Gene Smith sent an open letter to Buckeyes fans advising them to switch video providers.
No details of the deal were available.

No, there isn't going to be a lot of game analysis here, primarily because I don't think there's much of a point to dissecting something that's likely already been sliced and diced to death today.

A lot of people have asked me what it's like to cover the Eastern Conference Finals, so what the heck.  I figured I'd offer some insight (as if the rest of you really care).

-  I've heard some people complain about the pyrotechnics the Cavs use before games.  Here's a piece of advice:  do not go to The Palace of Auburn Hills to watch one.  During their pre-game festivities they use the fireworks and spewing flames.  By the time it was done I felt as if I should have had an apple in my mouth, been garnished with pineapple and pineapple juice and roasted over an open pit.  Fun. Fun. Fun.

- I've been to a few arenas in my lifetime, but I've yet to meet ushers the caliber of the ones in Motown.  Ushers?  Who the hell am I kidding?  Some of them acted as if they worked with Tony Soprano.  Some of the badges don't even give them the title of "usher".  They actually read "crowd control."  How welcoming.  But on at least two occasions the crowd control folks crossed the line.  One grabbed me without permission and by the time he was done I wanted to ask him if it was good for him and whether he wanted a smoke.  Such fun.  And the biggest crime of all, he didn't even ask for my number.  I feel so cheap and used.

- Then there's always the irrationality that follows losses such as the one Thursday night.  I get home from Detroit and this gem waits in my mailbox.  Please note that as sloppy as I can be on this blog occasionally, the spelling and grammatical errors are not mine:

"i am sending in this preemptive email, before everybody starts bashing lebron.  why is it that everybody except maybe dan gilbert, see that mike brown is the problem.  he could get away with ineptitude against terrible teams, but the pistons bring out what many die hard cavs fans have been seeing all year."

Now everyone out there raise your hand if you think that the Cavaliers have a championship caliber team.  Go stand over there and the folks from your local mental health institution will be by shortly.

- Then there was this gem of an email that came in response to a column of mine that ran today:

After reading your article about the guy who doesn't have cable, I thought you might offer up better solutions. There are plenty of places to go and enjoy a game that are fan friendly. How about going to watch the game at a Damon's Grill??? They are family friendly

with four 12 FOOT Big Screen televisions. Personally I am sick of people whining about cable tv. This isn't 1979, its 2007! This person wasn't complaining the Cavs weren't on television when they were they were only winning 17 games a short time ago?!?!
Tell the guy to quit whining and do something about it!  He is probably the same guy who called Mark "Munch" Bishops show the other day complaining the game wasn't on TV.  It was on TV, its called CABLE TV and no one wants to hear his whining.

Ahhh such intelligence.  Such compassion.  Such questionable taste in dining choices.  Damon's?  As Rodney Dangerfield said so eloquently about the country club cuisine in Caddyshack - "Tell the chef this was low grade dog food."

As for getting cable because it's 2007, please.  He's a parent who doesn't want to put temptation in his house in the form of unwanted channels.  Being a parent, I get that.  Secondly, any league that wants to please its fans will want to make sure its post-season games are easily accessible.  Selling the rights to cable networks who do not intend to sell the feed to over-the-air stations doesn't exactly fall into that category.  This is why the NFL continues to dominate and the NBA and MLB continue to eat football's turf.

By now it's all over the Internet that ESPN punted Joe Theisman from the Monday Night Football booth in favor of Ron Jaworski.  The question I have:  why now?

This is a move that would have been better off made when ESPN assumed ownership of television's top sports franchise.  After all, ESPN moved Theisman's broadcast partners Mike Patrick and Paul Maguire out when they essentially switched nights and TV contracts a couple of years back.

Hiring Mike Tirico for MNF was a no-brainer.  He's intelligent, well-versed in an endless number of sports and generally classy.  It was bold hiring Pardon the Interruption and the Washington Post's Tony Kornheiser.  They missed an opportunity to brand MNF as their own initially.

Was Theisman knowledgeable?  He certainly was.  And Lord knows he didn't lack for opinions.  But what was once attractive isn't any longer. Part of the dilemma with Theisman is that you know you're going to get those opinions and they were often in your face, completely lacking subtlety.  It didn't hurt that it often seemed that you risked his consternation in the booth if you disagreed with what he had to say.

Norby Williamson, a suit at ESPN, said that they want to find a prominent place in ESPN football coverage for Theisman.  He'd fit in perfectly on Sunday NFL Countdown, a show that welcomes bold, brash opinions.  Goodness knows Chris Berman put up with Michael Irvin long enough.

Will Jaworski work out?  Who knows for sure.  What I do know from watching him on NFL Matchup is that he has an uncanny ability to breakdown plays so that Joe or Jane Average football fan could understand them and he does so in a way that isn't condescending.

I shall have thoughts on this later, but here it is from ESPN's own computer. Their news release about Theisman being replaced:

Sports television’s signature series, ESPN’s Monday Night Football, will kick off its 38^th season with a new line-up when longtime ESPN NFL analyst Ron Jaworski joins Mike Tirico and Tony Kornheiser in the booth, and sideline reporters Suzy Kolber and Michele Tafoya.

   Jaworski will occupy the analyst role previously held by Joe Theismann, who has been offered a prominent football analyst role with ESPN. 

“This new lineup will enhance our presentation of Monday Night Football, our most important property,” said Norby Williamson, executive vice president, studio and remote production, ESPN.  “Ron has covered the NFL from many different perspectives, and he is totally tied into the issues and trends from around the league. “We appreciate the work Joe has done for 19 years and continue to talk with him about another high-profile football role with ESPN.” 

Jaworski’s passion for football and his knowledge of all things NFL have made him a fan favorite on ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown and other studio shows.  Following a 17-year NFL career (1973-89), most notably as quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles, Jaworski joined ESPN in 1990.  He has worked in various capacities – sideline reporter, game-site reporter, host and as both a studio and game analyst. 

 He was a fixture on ESPN’s NFL studio programs last season, including Sunday NFL Countdown, NFL PrimeTime and NFL Match-Up, a show he will continue to do.  Jaworski has also appeared as a weekly ‘Five Good Minutes’ guest on Monday editions of Pardon the Interruption with Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon and worked as an analyst during the San Diego Chargers-Oakland Raiders game as part of ESPN’s 2006 season-opening NFL doubleheader.  He continues to be a major contributor to ESPN’s annual NFL Draft coverage.