World Series idol? It wasn't Justin Bieber

When I heard that wispy-haired pop sensation Justin Bieber would be world-premiering a new cut at Game 3 of the World Series this past Saturday, I was more than a little dismayed. I immediately had a painful memory of Creed frontman Scott Stapp's cringe-inducing rendition of "God Bless America" during the 2004 World Series. It was the most out-of-tune singing I've ever heard on national TV, with the exception of Taylor Swift's pitch-imperfect performance at last year's Grammys. It was a total embarrassment. 
  Major sporting events have also had built-in music promotion for as long as I can remember, but why would Fox go all-in on a teenie bopper like Bieber? Last week, Tony Bennett did "God Bless America" in San Francisco and tore it up. Why would Fox target Bieber-mania during a game that skews older and male—more Bennett's fan base than Bieber's? On a Saturday night, no less? It would've made sense to have Bieber for some other time than Halloween weekend, too, given that all the kiddies would've been in bed early on Saturday in expectation of Sunday night's candy fest. Is the network really that interested in driving younger viewers toward baseball?

A look back at some other long sports days

After watching John Isner outlast Nicolas Mahut in the longest tennis match in history (6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 7-6, 70-68 at Wimbledon after 11 hours and five minutes of play), I got to thinking about other memorable sports marathons—most notably, the 1987 New York Islanders-Washington Capitals quadruple-overtime thriller. Here's my take on that, plus a few others that won't soon be forgotten.

New York Islanders @ Washington Capitals
April 18-19, 1987
Landover, Md.
  My brother and I watched the entire game, known as "The Easter Epic," waking my parents up more than once that night into morning. The 69 minutes of overtime ended at 1:57 a.m., on a goal by Islanders star Pat LaFontaine, roughly seven hours after the opening faceoff. It also just happened to be the deciding Game 7 of the Patrick Division semifinals.

Stephen Strasburg's debut is a little less dazzling for D.C. viewers without HD

I didn't get a chance to see Washington Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg's Major League Baseball debut last night on the MLB Network (because I refuse to deal with Time Warner Cable in Brooklyn), but I sure did hear (and read) quite a bit about it. He struck out 14 batters and apparently lived up to the hype. One of my colleagues was even compelled to text me, telling me to watch it. It's good to know there are still young phenoms out there, waiting in the wings to come up to the Big Show. Sure, Strasburg is making an exorbitant amount of money to play what many think is a kid's sport, but we'll give him a pass here. Who knows how he will fare in the future?  
  Better yet, in a decent-sized market like Washington, D.C., it would be great if their baseball team started getting better (and some more media attention). They've been simply awful since their inception, like many Washington sports franchises have been lately. Remember the Senators of old? The Bullets/Wizards of the NBA? The Redskins of the NFL? Might it be the Nationals' time to break the curse?
  It would help if all Washington-area viewers could get the Nats games in HD. Last night, the biggest in franchise history, Verizon Fios and Dish Network viewers had to make do with SD broadcasts. That's like striking out with the bases loaded.

—Posted by Will Levith

Ken Burns updates baseball documentary

One of my favorite documentary filmmakers, Ken Burns, is making the leap back into baseball. This fall, PBS will air The Tenth Inning, a four-hour, two-part update to Burns's 1994 doc about America's favorite pastime—which was both a cultural event and a groundbreaking film. Loved that soundtrack, too. 
  Burns is also expected to throw out the first pitch Tuesday night in D.C. at Washington Nationals phenom Stephen Strasburg's first major-league game. Stasburg is the Second Coming, as far as baseball statisticians and experts are concerned. Sure, he could turn out to be the next Todd Van Poppel, but I think this kid's really got it. At least, that's what his minor-league numbers seem to be saying. (And of course, the ESPN producer in my fantasy baseball league picked him up in the live draft, before he was even in the majors.) 
  Shit, maybe he'll throw a perfect game only to get screwed over by Jim Joyce. Anything's possible.

—Posted by Will Levith

Galarraga's near-perfect game: a perfectly horrible situation all around

If you still haven't seen the Armando Galarraga footage by now, you're living under a rock. I'll provide this short recap: Detroit pitcher pitching perfect game, umpire blows call on final out, pitcher smiles and continues pitching, umpire weeps and admits he blew it, all is right with the world. Galarraga gets worldwide praise for his "sportsmanship," along with a free Corvette. 
  Now, wait a damned second here! Are we seriously going to just let this go? Is Major League Baseball just going to wash its hands of this egregious situation? (Commissioner Bud Selig already has, sadly.) Are we just going to allow CBS's condescending Harry Smith to ask poor Galarraga how he felt watching the replay? Of course, we are! That's the American way! To screw something up royally and then be completely unapologetic about it … until way after the fact. Think "Mission Accomplished." Or Obama's Henry Louis Gates beer party at the White House. Or, soon enough, the whole BP oil-spill fiasco. "Ohhh," some exec will moan to Congress, "we should've listened to Mediaweek's Will earlier and plugged up the hole up with Kate Gosselin."

HBO to work blue with Jets' Rex Ryan

Merrily profane New York Jets coach Rex Ryan is getting his own nationally televised reality show, as Gang Green will be the focus of the sixth season of HBO's training camp series Hard Knocks. Sports fans in the New York DMA are already familiar with Ryan's off-the-cuff standup routines; close your eyes during one of his live post-game press conferences and you're transported to the front table at the Chuckle Hut. Throw in the fact that HBO won’t be bleeping out any of the defensive mastermind’s salty utterances, and we’re basically looking at Deadwood with a clipboard and lap-band surgery. Along with the yuks and the potty mouth, Ryan's also renowned for his summertime bravado. During last year’s training camp, Ryan told reporters that he didn’t come to New York "to kiss Bill Belichick’s rings," and a few weeks later, he got into a comic pissing match with Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder. Of course, the latest installment of HBO’s behind-the-scenes NFL franchise will also focus on the likes of sophomore QB Mark Sanchez, creaky first-ballot Hall of Famer LaDanian Tomlinson and trash-talking linebacker Bart Scott. But we’re betting that Ryan emerges as the star of season six. One way or the other, Ryan promises an uncensored look at camp life.

—Posted by Anthony Crupi

Intel courts March Madness man-taskers

Not sure what's worse here: a newly coined term, "man-tasking," to describe men's voracious cross-platform media usage during March Madness, or Intel's music-video homage to it. It's a disorder, not a skill, right? The clip, dubbed "The Ultimate Man-Tasker" (posted after the jump), is aimed at the mad sports fanatic who "streams sports online, watches multiple games on TV at the same time, tracks scores, follows brackets all while managing several fantasy teams," according to the marketer. If I live to be 1,000 years old, I will never understand this. You with me, girls? Little wonder I don't work for Intel, which is pushing its "all-new 2010 Core processor family" so guys can spend untold hours immersed in college basketball. (Spoiler alert: The Kentucky Wildcats take it all!) There's even a "Boss Button" so men doesn't get busted while man-tasking at work. And for guys who aren't sure they qualify, Intel has a handy Cosmo-style quiz ("Are You a Man-tasker?") that asks such pertinent questions as, "Does your significant other nag you about your combined Internet, video game, mobile phone and TV usage at home?" The only fitting reply: What significant other?

—Posted by T.L. Stanley

Figure skating just goes better with Bond

I was watching late-night figure-skating, and on came a woman who was touted as one of the top short-program skaters. Scott Hamilton went blah blah blah about her form, and so I went into the kitchen to cook myself a burger. And then came her music. I was enthralled.
  Ever since I was very small, I've been a huge James Bond fan. I've seen every movie more times than can be counted on my fingers and toes, and I know every soundtrack like the back of my hand. My favorite Bond movies are Thunderball (1965) and On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969). (I was actually just recently talking about Telly Savalas on the PI Podcast with Marc Berman. Savalas plays Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the latter movie.) Every time I see these flicks, it's like watching anew. And the scores are second to none.
  So, I was happy to hear this woman skating to the theme from Thunderball—but not Tom Jones's amazing intro. She was skating to the deep cuts from the soundtrack album, the lyric-less score. When the skater was done, the audience roared in her favor. It might have been for her skating, but I'd like to think it was, in part, for the John Barry classic chosen for the music.
  Figure-skating community: Keep the Bond coming!

—Posted by Will Levith

Yeah, I'll admit it. I still like Tiger Woods.

Before the barrage of accusations and floozies exploded all over every media outlet, I was a casual Tiger Woods fan. But I was a fan, no less. When I'd watch golf on TV, it would be to watch Tiger, because he was always the best player on the course—even on his crappiest days. He's expected to win, and I think that's why the blood- and story-thirsty entertainment media have been all over him. He wasn't expected to do all of these things (or maybe he was?). And one by one, as the skeletons have fallen face-first out of his closet, I've been, like, "So what?" I might be the first to say this, but I still like Tiger Woods. People have done a lot worse. Media: Get over it. Elin: You're young and hot. You'll find somebody else. The PGA: When he comes back, he'll still be the best, and your ratings will be sky high. So, stop pouting.

—Posted by Will Levith