SPORTS COUCH POTATO

ESPN platforms put full-court press on college hoops

If you think ESPN is omnipresent on the college gridiron — and it is — contemplate its reach on the basketball court: The Worldwide Leader will broadcast about 1,100 college hoops games this season over its multiple platforms.

Things get going in earnest on Nov. 9 with the annual 2K Sports Classic Benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer. Then comes the College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon on Nov. 16 with games scheduled every two hours starting at 6 a.m. ET.

This is the first year of a 15-year agreement with the SEC featuring every conference home game not on  a broadcast network to be televised on an ESPN platform. It is also the first season of a new agreement with the WAC, with games on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPU.

For the ninth straight year ESPN will show the NCAA tournament's opening-round game from Dayton, Ohio.

The network's platforms include ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ABC, ESPN360.com, ESPN Mobile TV, ESPN Regional Television and ESPN Full Court.

Collins, Vescey to be feted as Gowdy award winners

TNT basketball analyst Doug Collins and longtime New York Post "Hoop du Jour" columnist Peter Vescey have been selected as this year's recipients of the Curt Gowdy Media Award from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. They will be honored at a ceremony in September.

The award, named in honor of the late broadcaster and former Basketball Hall of Fame president, is presented annually to members of the print and electronic media.

Collins, pictured, has had two tours of duty with TNT since 1989. He returned to the network in 2003 after coaching stints with the Detroit Pistons and Washington Wizards.

Vescey has been writing a basketball column since 1976, either with the Post or USA Today. He has also been a regular contributor on NBC and NBA TV.

James anything but cavalier about jam video

If ever there was an athlete who seems totally secure in his skin, it is LeBron James. He is an elite specimen who has gone to great lengths to cultivate an image of confidence and maintaining grace under fire. (See Steve Kroft's recent "60 Minutes" profile to really appreciate the PR machine behind the man.)

So along comes this sophomore from Xavier University named Jordan Crawford who shows what a gifted athlete he is by throwing down a monstrous two-handed jam over the Cleveland Cavaliers all-star at the Nike-run LeBron James Skills Academy in Akron, Ohio.

Pretty cool, huh? Not to James.

A freelance videographer named Ryan Miller says that soon after he shot video of the dynamic dunk, his tape was confiscated by Nike Basketball's senior director Lynn Merritt — apparently at James' behest.

Since CBSSports.com blogger Gary Parrish broke the story on Tuesday, word of the blackout has spread across the web and painted the NBA's self-proclaimed "King" in a not-so-regal light.

C'mon LeBron. Laugh it off, release the tape and give the kid his moment in the sun. Or as your Nike partners might say, "Just do it."

Strong interest in NBA playoffs bodes well for ABC

It's motto is "where amazing happens" and the NBA has lived up to that billing during the current postseason. Starting with the phenomenal Boston Celtics-Chicago Bulls series, there's been no shortage of drama.

ABC has strong reason to believe its coverage of the finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Orlando Magic — with their respective superstars Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard — will generate significant viewer interest.

Ratings for the Western Conference finals on ESPN increased 32 percent from the network's conference finals coverage last year. The Eastern Conference finals on TNT were up 30 percent from its conference finals coverage in 2008.

For the entire playoffs, TNT's ratings were up 19 percent from a year ago. ESPN's increased 12 percent.