WatchDog: The best of Neil Best

Curling sweeps NBC schedule

Several readers noted NBC seemed to devote a huge amount of its Olympic coverage to curling - the cute-but-curious sport that combines shuffleboard, bowling, bocce and household chores.

It was not their imaginations. I have been informed that approximately 300 of NBC's 835 hours of coverage on TV and the Web were devoted to the sport.

I actually requested that stat, but during the Games, NBC and/or Nielsen provided reams of unsolicited data, giving me something to do while waiting for curling matches to end.

For example:

NBC research showed that 66 percent of viewers cheered aloud while watching the Games and 42 percent said the sport they most would like to try is bobsled.

Also, 35 percent cried or became teary-eyed while watching, including 25 percent of men. (And that was before the women's figure skating long program.)

Nielsen said ratings among people ages 55 and over were 82 percent higher than the national average, and ratings among teenagers were 57 percent lower.

Ratings among Hispanics and blacks each were 74 percent below the national average.

Not 'Today' for Tiki

Tiki Barber was at the Olympics, contributing video pieces for Yahoo such as a snowboarding lesson at Whistler.

Why was he not on the "Today" show, on which he has appeared regularly since joining NBC?

With "Today'' fully staffed with its heavy hitters on site, it didn't have a big role in mind for Barber, and his new deal with NBC News allows him to work for other outlets.

(The contract - at a reduced salary - also gives him the freedom to return to commercial work; his ad for Ritz crackers played early and often on Super Bowl Sunday.)

It appears Barber's days with NBC Sports, including "Football Night in America,'' are over after three years. Hence his exploration of other sports media forums such as Yahoo, for which he also worked the Super Bowl.

ESPN has wardrobe malfunction

Official WatchDog take on ESPN suspending Lynbrook's own Tony Kornheiser for two weeks for making fun of Hannah Storm's wardrobe:

It's excessive. A reprimand and apology would have sufficed.

Did Storm - a strong-minded veteran of the sports media wars - really need the gallant knights in the ESPN executive offices to come to her rescue?

No. No more so than John Kruk would have if Kornheiser had said he looks like a badly dressed Shrek after a long weekend in Vegas.

Sure, there are larger societal issues here, and there are good reasons why it is more socially acceptable for people to make fun of a man's appearance and/or clothing than a woman's.

It's because women are judged on their appearance far more than men are.

So Kornheiser absolutely should have apologized, which he did. But a two-week timeout? That's two weeks too many.

Darling futon update: It was Game 1

Ron Darling called Friday with a correction to my story about Ray Romano delivering a futon to him during the 1986 World Series.

It turns out the delivery came the morning of Game 1, not Game 6, as Romano recalled.

"I had a small apartment [in Manhattan] and my family was in town for my start and I needed a futon," Darling said.

He said he left for the stadium three hours earlier than usual that day to escape the bustle. "I just needed to get out of the house," he said. (The Red Sox would win, 1-0, on an unearned run.)

Darling was happy to hear Romano considered his $15 tip "very generous."

"That's like, what, $50 today?'' he said. "I'm really happy. All the times I've left good tips were worth it for just that one."

Phillips holds court on WFAN

Former ESPN analyst Steve Phillips put on a clinic in image rehabilitation Friday during a 3 1/2-hour visit to WFAN, sounding properly remorseful, reasonable and respectful as he tries to work himself back into the business.

Someone needs to send the tape to Tiger Woods to show him how it's done.

Mike Francesa (and his callers) asked mostly pertinent, pointed questions on some delicate topics, and Phillips didn't flinch.

Prediction: Phillips will have a prominent sports media job before the start of the 2011 season.

Versus versus DirecTV

Wisely taking advantage of all the excitement over hockey these days, Versus is loading up with five bonus NHL games during the first week of March.

But what about DirecTV customers, who have been without the station because of a stalemate over distribution?

Versus offered this statement:

"At this time, we are not optimistic that an agreement will be in place with DirecTV in time for the start of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs."