Watchdog
Neil Best leaves no stone unturned in the world of sports media.
Neil Best
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, then returned in 1985 after a two-year stint covering college hockey for The Anchorage Times in Alaska. From 1985-90 he covered New York City high school sports, then spent five years as Newsday's beat writer for St. John's and Big East basketball. From 1995-2005 he covered the Giants before leaving that beat to become a reporter, columnist and feature writer focused on off-field topics such as sports media and business. His SportsWatch column debuted on Sept. 30, 2005.
ESPN2, SiriusXM to carry lax semis
Photo credit: Cornell University
Yes, I will be in Philadelphia Saturday for the Cornell vs. Duke lacrosse national semifinal, because that is what I do when Cornell reaches the Final Four.
Still waiting on witnessing my first national championship for the Big Red. I was not associated with the school the last time it won it all - in 1977.
Speaking of 2009, when Syracuse snatched a national title from Cornell in the...
Read more »NBC has faith in Carrie Underwood
Photo credit: Getty Images
Still catching up on all the important sports media news I missed during my month with Melo.
For example: With Faith Hill having stepped down as singer of “Waiting All Day for Sunday Night,’’ NBC will replace her with Carrie Underwood, effective the night of the Giants-Cowboys opener Sept. 8.
The Peacocks actually conducted a media conference call to discuss this a couple of weeks ago,...
Read more »Mike Tyson, talking pigeon on the case
Photo credit: Handout
Sure, I could try to cleverly reword Adult Swim’s news release regarding an animated series premiering sometime during the 2013-14 TV season, but there is no way to improve upon the original, so here ya go:
“In the new animated comedy series Mike Tyson Mysteries, Mike Tyson is taking the fight from the boxing ring to the streets… by solving mysteries! Armed with a magical tattoo on his face...
Read more »Lindsay Czarniak to host Indy 500
Photo credit: Getty Images
My visit to Indianapolis for Game 6 of Knicks-Pacers last weekend was not a total loss, thanks to some nice IndyCar folks showing me around the speedway on qualifying day.
Pretty cool for someone who saw his first 500 live via closed circuit in an Elizabeth, N.J., theater when Al Unser Sr. won in 1971. Why would my mother leave a 10-year-old alone in an Elizabeth, N.J., theater for five hours?
Different...
Read more »King Football rules prime time
Photo credit: AP
For the second year in a row – and second time ever – the most-watched prime time show for a full TV season was NBC’s “Sunday Night Football,’’ which averaged 21.5 million viewers to 21.3 million for “NCIS.’’
It’s something even “Monday Night Football’’ never achieved in its heyday and more evidence that in an ever more splintered media environment, football remains the Great Aggregator.
Even...
Read more »SNY helps Sandy-battered leagues on LI
Well, hello there! I have returned to the media and business beat after a month following the Knicks around and . . . well, I'm glad to be back.
Kudos to the hoops beat writers for doing a job that is more difficult than it appears and for keeping the rest of us informed of Knicks and Nets doings.
Let's get back in the swing with a positive story:
SNY recently made $5,000 grants...
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