Sportsnet ONE to launch on August 14

Here is the storey on Sportsnet regarding their new channel... I will give my opinion on this soon but in the mean time read this and gear up for more live sports...It may not be ESPN but it may be a start or at least an improvement.

http://www.sportsnet.ca/one/

Sportsnet ONE to launch on August 14

Canadian sports fans will have another channel -- and hours of more live sports -- to choose from when Sportsnet ONE launches on Aug. 14.

More than 800 hours of live sports programming -- featuring the Toronto Blue Jays, Toronto Raptors and Barclays Premier League soccer -- will be available to viewers across the country, the bulk of it in high definition, on the 24-hour national sports digital channel.

Also scheduled to be broadcast are other MLB games, including the Seattle Mariners, and various NBA games.

"We know there is an incredible appetite for live-event sports, and we plan to fulfill that need," Doug Beeforth, president of Rogers Sportsnet, said Tuesday. "We are confident that Sportsnet will be a must watch for Canadian sports fans, and a great addition to the sports broadcasting landscape in Canada."

Sportsnet ONE launches Aug.14 at 12 noon, beginning with a Barclays Premier League match featuring defending champion Chelsea and West Brom, followed by a 4 pm ET / 1 pm PT MLB game and then the Blue Jays vs. Los Angeles Angels at 9 pm ET / 6 pm PT.

"Sportsnet ONE is the perfect complement to our four regional channels," said Beeforth. "We have established a reputation for live events on Rogers Sportsnet, and Sportsnet ONE continues that tradition."

Rogers Media, which owns Sportsnet ONE as well as the existing four Sportsnet channels (East, Ontario, West and Pacific), received approval from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) for a category mainstream sports channel license in March. Sportsnet ONE will be a national channel with the ability to broadcast regional content.

The Le-Gong Show

Wow, what a sceptical and what a joke last nights LeBron infomercial was. That was the most un-necessary, over hyped egotistical and poorly produced thing they could have done. It is bad enough that ESPN, who usually prides itself as being at the very least as a network that does a good job at the programs they put on the air, failed miserably. Softball questions, no before and after reaction from the towns an array of interviews with LeBron by different people asking the same questions and not getting very satisfying answers.

It was a dick move to put yourself ahead of not only the league but to hold the other teams hostage, to not let them know was one of many poor decisions from the James camp. Not letting the Heat know (Allegedly) until minutes before. Doing it the way he did it was just one big giant middle finger to the Cavs fans, the team and maybe even the state.

Sure it may be an exciting team to watch now with James, Bosh and Wade but it would have been easier to accept if done professionally and through the correct and regular channels. I will root for Wade to succeed but as of now Lebron is so far down my depth chart of athletes that I like it will be hard to recapture his original standing. He is a huge talent for sure but in my eyes...and many others he is just a spoiled rich kid looking for camera time.

If you are going to move move, thats fine. It is a business and this does give the best chance for Championships but just be humble about it. He went from the most popular person in the league to probably, unless you are a Heat Fan as one of the most disliked. I relate it to the WWE where the once good guy bashes another good guy in the head with a chair and instantly turns into a heal (or bad guy), and the people say "Why? You used to be so good, why would you disappoint us like this?"

At least the Heat will get a boost in ticket sales and NBA merchandising money

LeBron-A-Thon

The LeBron-A-Thon has almost reached the climax and it could not have come any sooner. This media driven hype factory has been more aggravating then the annual Brett Favre saga that we have to sit through every year. Now, on the plus side with other terrible events going on like the world cup, at least some of the focus has been deflected from it.

So tonight is the night that it is all to go down with an hour long "Selection Show" on the ‘Mother Ship’ aka. ESPN. This is an unprecedented move for a free agent to take up an hours worth of network programming to make an announcement of this nature. They say that the money raised will be going to the Boys and Girls Club of America. A transparent attempt to cover a narcissistic, self indulgent, 1 hour infomercial. Nothing says needy kids like The Boys and Girls Club in Greenwich Connecticut. If you wasn’t to help the kids donate some of your millions that you are going to make under this new contract or better yet some of your time. Not everything needs to be a sceptical. If you are trying to grow a Global Brand in LeBron Inc. This type of behavior and action is not going to help public image.

The other 2 big players were Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. Wade seemed to do things right and did his other meetings with other teams but didn’t make a show of it. Bosh on the other hand took a camera crew to his interviews with all the teams for a documentary his production company is going to make. That with all the tweets and what not was aggravating but not to the level LeBron took it. Wade and Bosh have decided to land in South Beach with the Heat so at least that ended that. Now if James goes there it will be interesting to see what other pieces they add to them to take a run at some championships.

Question: Does Will Smith make some money on royalties tonight when Lebron grabs the Heat Hat and "I'm going too Miami" starts playing and the light show and confetti begins?

It is funny that at the end of the day, if all 3 end up with the Heat that the one that was the quietest and most professional will be the leader of the team. Make no mistake this is WADE’s Team. If LeBron wanted to be the Michael Jordan type guy he would be the leader of his own team like Mike was, like Kobe is, not just a complementary player...an All Star and maybe talent wise one of the best ever but not the face of the team.