Barry Melrose, right, will rejoin ESPN after being fired as Tampa Bay's coach.
A few weeks ago, we shared 15 irritants about football on network television this season. Here are eight developments that have impressed or amused:
Dramatically improved
When, where: Tonight, 8, at TD Banknorth Garden.
TV, radio: CSN, ESPN, WEEI (850).
Scoring: Brandon Roy 21.1, LaMarcus Aldridge 15.9, Rudy Fernandez 11.6.
Rebounding: Joel Przybilla 8.0, Greg Oden 7.8, Aldridge 6.6.
Assists: Roy 5.3, Steve Blake
...fans turning to ESPN and the Internet, many local television stations have cut back on sports. But not Charter TV 3. Fourteen months ago, Andy Lacombe switched from news reporter to sports reporter to assist sports director Kevin Shea. Following the departure...
...sort of evolved," Sullivan said. "It was a little awkward at first [returning from the prior regime], but that has gone away." ESPN announced yesterday that Melrose, long a fixture in its hockey broadcast department, will be back at the microphone in January. "The...
...long-term goals? The time for generalities and allusions to inherited problems has gone, and fans want to hear reasons for hope. ESPN last night kept focusing on a strand of hair yanked from Rutgers running back Jourdan Brooks' head. They should've had some...
...Ty Willingham. There wasn't a way to wrangle Arizona-Arizona State away from ESPN on Saturday instead? --Tune in to either ESPN "SportsCenter" or ESPNEWS to see the live sentencing of O.J. Simpson (today, 9 a.m.) in LasVegas, two months after he was found...
...Legions of geometry buffs find the subtle angles of the horizontal passing game riveting. "The New York media along with ESPN media are almost two years ahead of this [LeBron] thing, for cryin' sake. From a fan's perspective, it makes all of [the media] look...
...of Maryland, Ohio State, St. Joseph's, Villanova and Miami. The imposing lineup has gained the school national recognition. In ESPN Rise's Fab 50 rankings, the Lions were No. 11 in the country and No. 3 in the East, behind only No. 2 Christ the King (N.Y.)...
...top 32 bowlers qualified for round-robin match play today. The top four will advance to Sunday's televised finals beginning 1 p.m. on ESPN. GoErie.com and the Erie Times-News invite you to post your thoughts on this article or column in...
...and the fewest yards penalized among the nation's major-college teams this season. A few things to check out tonight (8:45 kickoff on ESPN2): Ball State's Nate Davis is one of the best relatively unheralded college quarterbacks in the country and has a shot...