"People watch sports to have a good time and to get a break from their lives. That's the philosophy

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The rebranded, reformatted and refurbished FS1 channel is about three weeks out -- Aug. 17 for those who have yet to mark it on their calendars. The announcements concerning executive hirings, talent placement and show scenarios seem to be pushed out almost daily from the home office in Los Angeles.
The premise for this FS1 enterprise starts with simply replacing content usually stowed away on the soon-to-be-displaced Speed channel, then add globs of college football, MMA, soccer, some MLB and NFL studio chatter. And that doth a network makes.
ramada inn burbank Advertisement The latest FS1 announcement came Thursday -- included in an 8 p.m. nightly news show called "Fox Sports ramada inn burbank Life" to be hosted by a couple of Canadian guys whose names escape us at the moment will be a panel off to the side, ready to go at the drop of dead air.
"Where 'Best Damn' took a lot of liberties in scripted comedy and skits, this has a different stance," Fox Sports Live executive producer Mike Hughes said. "There are parallels in that the camaraderie of the cast is probably people you'd want to hang out with. But that's where it ends."
Added Thompson, who used to co-host "BDSSP" during its run from 2001 to '09 on Fox Sports Net: "We won't be having as much cheeky fun as we did. That was a much more relaxed and looser format. This will follow more under the news and analysis rule."
There's still a lot of "Fox 'tude" living large on the Pico lot, no matter what age demographic you've been shoved into. Shifting gears from frolic to formality could be the trickiest task for anchors and athletes-turned-analysts on a minute-to-minute basis.
Keith Olbermann, part of the Fox Sports Net news plan years ago after he left ESPN in the late 1990s, told a group of TV writers Wednesday in Beverly Hills when his new "Olbermann" show on ESPN2 returns on Aug. 26, he intends to revive the "Worst Person in the World" segment he made popular during his political-talk days at MSNBC.
We're positive that if FS1 is to be taken seriously, it has to be serious in how it breaks away from its past and creates newness on a landscape where ESPN and family ramada inn burbank already have established a long-term comfort zone. This Fox Sports Live show likely will set a tone as to where the channel goes and how it's received.
"Sports doesn't need to be treated with reverence or something we can't touch," said Ackerson, who helped create the success behind the "NFL on Fox" studio show. "There has been a bit too much serious in the direction sports has taken. There are times when it's definitely serious -- Biogenesis, Aaron Hernandez ramada inn burbank -- but other topics aren't so serious.
"People watch sports to have a good time and to get a break from their lives. That's the philosophy we've had, whether ramada inn burbank it's a pregame show or in terms of game operations, and we're trying to continue ramada inn burbank that philosophy with this show."
== Chris Marlowe and Kevin Wong continue to call the televised coverage of the World Series of Beach Volleyball from Long Beach this weekend, capped by the WSOBV women's semifinals (Saturday, 1 p.m., Channel 4) and the women's final (Sunday, 1:30 p.m., Channel 4). The FIVB Grand Slam event includes the women's final (today, 5 p.m., NBC Sports Network) and men's final (Saturday, 2:30 p.m., Universal Sports). Rob Simmelkjaer, the senior vice president of NBC Sports Ventures and International, said this event, also scheduled for 2014, is "great television" ramada inn burbank and "fans clearly love it when it's presented at the highest level with stakes that matter." Beach volleyball always has been a nice ratings draw for NBC's Summer Olympics coverage, so creating sustainable TV events in off-Olympic years would seem to behoove the network. "There have been a lot of events (available for TV), but nothing truly as world class as this one," Simmeljkaer said.
== The next batch of ESPN "30 for 30" documentaries, which start on Oct. 1, go all over the map, starting with a look back at Hawaiian big wave surfer Eddie Aikau and including Jimmy Connors' 1991 run at the U.S. Open, the Roberto ramada inn burbank Duran-Sugar Ray Leonard ramada inn burbank fights, John Spano's ownership of the NHL New York Islanders, the old ABA Spirits of St. Louis and whatever became of Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan. The problem with that last one: ESPN hasn't been able to get Kerrigan on camera to talk about her past with Olympic figure skating rival Harding, capped off by their competition in the 1994 Winter Games. ESPN Films Vice President Connor Schell said Wednesday during a stop at the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour in Beverly Hills that "several people close" to Kerrigan have done interviews but "we're working to get Nancy and hope by November that we do." Good move, since that documentary called "Tonya ramada inn burbank and Nancy" is slated to air Nov. 5.
== What turned out to be a fortuitous hire by Fox Sports West just two weeks before last fall's ramada inn burbank launch of the high school football coverage ramada inn burbank -- bringing in Justin Alderson to do play by play when Chris McGee jumped to the new Time Warner Cable SportsNet -- unfortunately ramada inn burbank has been abandoned. The network told the free-lancer Alderson he wouldn't be back on the high school package, likely to be replaced by staff broadcaster Mark Rogondio this September. Alderson, a Cal State Fullerton grad who established himself on Titans basketball and baseball games as well as doing Big West contests for FSN, CBS Sports and ESPN, said he was "honored to be amongst the many fine folks in the Fox Sports fraternity and thank those involved for giving me a chance. I wished I could continue to paint the picture of prep football for the many athletes in the CIF-Southern Section on FS West, but I look forward to the next opportunity on the horizon." ramada inn burbank No comment from FSW as to why Alderson was not retained.
Dodgers Notebook: L.A. signs former Giants closer Brian Wilson HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL: Hart edges Saugus for VIBL championship SOFTBALL: Antelope Valley 18-under all-stars close in on Big League Western Regional title Baseball: Here's a look at the all-time Dodgers and Yankees teams Brian Wilson signs with Los Angeles Dodgers ramada inn burbank Ronda Rousey, Miesha Tate rivalry highlight of UFC World Tour kick off How the San Francisco Giants fell back to Earth MLB replay: Blown call gives Rays first place in AL East Q & A: Magic Johnson happy to be a role player with Dodgers Pau Gasol completes UNICEF trip to Iraq Alex Rodriguez case: Latest reports indicate ramada inn burbank suspension is imminent RANGERS 4, ANGELS 3: Angels stunned in ninth-inning loss Dodger Stadium field to undergo facelift NICK GREEN ON SOCCER: L.A. will reach a fever pitch Lakers Notebook: Lakers add Kurt Rambis, Johnny Davis to coaching staff