The marathon Wimbledon final between Roger Federer and Andy Roddick is the second-highest rated since 2000.
NBC said Monday that the 4 hour, 16 minute match drew a 4.2 overnight rating and 12 share. Only 2008's epic Federer-Rafael Nadal final had a higher rating in the last eight years, according to the Associated Press.
Federer won the fifth set 16-14 on Sunday to set the record for most Grand Slam singles titles in men's tennis history.
I'll tell you right up front this post has nothing to do with sports media. It has everything to do with friendship and brotherhood.
My very dear friend and longtime colleague Steve Brennan passed away Thursday after a valiant battle with cancer. He was a sweet, gentle man who deserved far more years on this Earth than a mere 57.
I used to always razz Steve about his age. He was the "old man" among all of us slightly younger old men. Today, a day after his passing, I realize all too well just how young he was.
Then-editor Teri Ritzer and I hired Steve as The Hollywood Reporter's syndication reporter when he moved to Los Angeles from Europe on a work visa in 1989. Our boss, publisher Bob Dowling, thought we were nuts. "What does a guy from Ireland know about barter?" he asked. Good question. I'm still amazed we were able to give him the job.
Steve knew nothing about the topic but was one of the best newsmen we had ever been acquainted with. We just knew he'd pick it up quickly and that he did. He became one of the best in the business covering a highly specialized field. It was one of the first great hires I was ever associated with.
A year or two later we were required to open up his position to qualified U.S. candidates. (Steve and his wonderful wife Bernadette would later become citizens, one of the proudest moments of their lives.) We made sure there were none. The "search" was rigged. If anyone dared apply for the position and accept an invitation for an interview, they were subjected to questions so arcane only an insider would have had a clue. Many a wide-eyed applicant left the building in a cold sweat, their heads in a whirl.
Steve spent many years as a newspaper reporter in Ireland so there was nothing on the Hollywood beat that could faze him. That's why whenever I needed someone to jump into a breaking news story he was always the first person I turned to.
A hard-nosed reporter, Steve was also a hard-driving partier. I don't think I know anyone else who put them away the way he did. Only once did his drinking almost compromise our working relationship and friendship. He threatened to hit me. I threatened to fire his ass. Conflict quickly resolved, never to be discussed again.
There was no one I'd rather have been on the road with. You never knew what he might do when unleashed in a city like New Orleans or Las Vegas, but that's what made him so special.
There's the night he planted a big wet one on the cheek of a burly waiter at the famous New Orleans eatery Antoine's. It was priceless. I don't remember why he did it but I'll bet there was genuine affection involved.
That love was reciprocated not just by those with whom he worked. One year at the annual television programmers' conference, the folks at Columbia actually had in their hospitality booth a barstool engraved with his name on it. How great is that?
It was at the NATPE convention where the Reporter used to do an on-site daily. Those who are familiar with the event will know they were often front-loaded with headlines, making it challenging to find real news in the the waning days. Our competitors may have struggled, but not us. Not with Steve on the case. He was always, always, the go-to guy — and he delivered every time. That's a professional.
Years later when the investment bankers came in and began their semiannual purge of the editorial staff, I was one of many let go. The first person to call me after I left the building was Steve. He would continue to check in often — sometimes at the oddest hours — to make sure I was OK. Of all the great times we shared in and out of the newsroom, that's the memory I will savor most about my good friend.
Steve had been sick for a while and everyone who knew him was braced for the bad news while praying it wouldn't come to pass. Now that it has I feel like I have lost an older brother. It is devastating and deflating.
But as the beer man on the TV says, "The high life is about celebrating, not separating." While I'm now at least temporarily separated from my brother, I will continue to celebrate his memory for the rest of my days. He was my friend and my colleague, and I miss him so.
This one's for you, Steve.
The folks at ESPN have come up with quite a few clever marketing campaigns over the years, one of the best being the ESPN360.com spots featuring the late TV pitchman Billy Mays.
Viewers of ESPN and other cable networks no doubt became familiar with Mays long ago as his infomercials became standard fare in virtually all dayparts.
You didn't have to be in the room with the television to know when Mays was on the air hawking household products like OxiClean and Orange Glo. His barker-like delivery and before-and-after demonstrations made him the Ron Popeil of his era.
The ESPN360.com campaign was a parody of actual Mays commercials and he seemed to relish the spoof. Not just an expert marketer, Mays was a good sport as well.
Mays was found dead Sunday morning by his wife at their Tampa, Fla., home. The cause of death was unknown pending an autopsy. He was 50.
TSN.com is reporting that next year's NHL Winter Classic will originate from Boston's Fenway Park and feature the hometown Bruins against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Quoting the Trentonian newspaper in New Jersey, TSN.com said the league pushed for the Washington Capitals and superstar sniper Alexander Ovechkin to be included in the annual outdoor match-up on New Year's Day, but NBC — the U.S. network that broadcasts the game — wanted the Flyers for better ratings.
There have been rumors the NHL may add a second game on Jan. 1 pitting the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Calgary Flames at McMahon Stadium, home of the CFL's Calgary Stampeders. The TSN.com report made no mention of a second game.
The 2010 edition will mark the third annual Winter Classic. The first was played in 2008 at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo while this year's event was staged at Chicago's Wrigley Field.
