Nothing gets me ready for football like listening to Lady Antebellum and Maroon 5. Their music makes me want to run through a freaking wall. Obviously NFL officials share this sentiment, because these two groups — along with Kid Rock, who’s a little soft for my tastes — will be playing the pregame concert before next Thursday’s NFL Kickoff game between the Saints and Packers at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.

These acts will play on a stage adjacent to Lambeau Field, with the concert starting at 7:30 p.m. ET. The game itself kicks off at 8:30 p.m. The concert will air on NBC and on the NFL Network.

The concert before last year’s game in New Orleans featured The Dave Matthews Band, Taylor Swift and Harry Connick Jr., who are likewise staples in NFL locker rooms.

In this week’s episode of “5 Things You Need to Know This Week,” we give a lesson on human reproduction, talk about the U.S. Open, sit down with Julian Assange, and, oh yeah, cover that Irene thing everyone’s been talking about.

For more videos, check out Mediabistro.tv, and be sure to follow us on Twitter: @mediabistroTV

I think America is ready for football.

The Sunday Night Football preseason game between the San Diego Chargers and Dallas Cowboys this past weekend was seen by 10.7 million viewers, the third most-watched NFL preseason game in the last five years.

Locally, Dallas (23.7/38), San Diego (22.2/37), and San Antonio (15.1/23) led the way in the metered markets. Read more

Turner Sports has announced that veteran broadcaster Vince Cellini has been named full-time host of NBA.com’s live studio show, GameTime, and will also host the new NCAA.com College Football Preview Show with analyst Dave Archer. Cellini will also continue his role as host for the NASCAR Preview Show delivered by FedEx Racing and Fantasy Showdown on NASCAR.COM.

Cellini has worked for Turner Sports in various capacities in the past, including as a guest host on GameTime in 2010 and co-host of CNN Sports Tonight in the 1990s.

“The addition of Vince brings added depth, experience and knowledge about the NBA to our already strong lineup on NBA TV,” said Albert “Scooter” Vertino, vice president of content, NBA Digital. “We are excited to have Vince back with the Turner family.”

Word of advice to Bobby Valentine – don’t poke the bear that is Ozzie Guillen.

Of the 30 MLB teams, the last one I would want to call out would be the Chicago White Sox. The other 29 managers might let that comment slide, but not Guillen.

[H/T Just Sports & Just Us]

For the third straight year, NFL Network and NFL.com will show every NFL preseason game.

All 64 preseason games in HD will air multiple times in August and September, but only six are slated to get the live treatment:

Green Bay Packers vs. Cleveland Browns • Saturday, August 13 at 7:30 PM ET
New Orleans Saints vs. Houston Texans • Saturday, August 20 at 8:00 PM ET
Minnesota Vikings vs. Seattle Seahawks • Saturday, August 20 at 11:00 PM ET [Joined live in progress]
Indianapolis Colts vs. Cincinnati Bengals • Thursday, September 1 at 7:00 PM ET
Denver Broncos vs. Arizona Cardinals • Thursday, September 1 at 10:00 PM ET
Oakland Raiders vs. Seattle Seahawks • Friday, September 2 at 10:30 PM ET

NFL fans on the go can watch every preseason game on NFL.com’s NFL Preseason Live, offered at a 50% off “Back to Football” discounted price of $19.99.

Former Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach was on the Tony Bruno Show Tuesday to discuss his new book, Swing Your Sword, which Bruce Feldman co-wrote.

Even though Feldman has returned to work at ESPN, he’s been quiet since news broke that he was reportedly suspended for his involvement with Leach’s book.

Leach wasn’t shy in discussing how ESPN treated Feldman, according to Larry Brown Sports:

“Every step of the way he had permission from ESPN to write it,” Leach said of Feldman. “He has written permission. The chapters they’re sensitive about are all in the words of the perpetrators, so that’s what makes it powerful. Evidently ESPN didn’t like the way it came out – they’re not comfortable with the facts – so [Bruce] did what any journalist would do he wrote the facts down in the appendix of the book. Read more

A new poker league has signed a television deal with CBS, with seven hours of programming planned for the league’s first year, or roughly how many hours of poker were aired on ESPN in the last seven hours.

Epic Poker League is angling to become “the equivalent of professional tennis or golf to card sharks.”

The shows will be hosted by Pat O’Brien, who’s covered the Olympics, Super Bowls and a lot of news programs featuring the Kardashians.

Epic Poker League officials said the deal will include 20 hours of programming from five poker tournaments, including a $1 million freeroll no-limit Texas Hold ‘em championship planned in February in Las Vegas. Most of the Epic tournaments will air on Velocity, a Discovery Communications network launching in October.

Hello there! In this week’s episode of “5 Things You Need to Know This Week,” we read a letter from Roger Ailes, discuss unwanted sexual advances, talk some football (J-E-T-S Jets! Jets! Jets!), and see Skittles in a totally different light.

Oh, and be sure to check out our brand-new video site MediabistroTV and follow us on Twitter. Thanks!

For most people with NFL-related jobs, the end of the lockout signaled a resumption of job duties. But for Redskins blogger Matt Terl, who is credited with being the first official team blogger for a major sports franchise, his job duties will not resume. Terl was informed Friday that he lost his job within Dan Snyder‘s fun house because of a restructuring of the team’s department of broadcasting and Internet.

For three years, Matt Terl managed something that few writers could do or would want to do: Provide day-in, day-out coverage of a franchise that doubles as your beat and your employer. As official Redskins blogger, Terl covered the players, the facilities, the personalities, the issues – all in a way that didn’t bear the stink and taint of someone on the inside.

On his Facebook page,Terl wrote, “As of this past Friday, I’m no longer employed by the Washington Redskins. It was their choice, not mine, but it was an amicable parting. This is a sudden change and I’m not yet sure what’s next, but my family and I are eager to find out. Thanks to everyone for the support during these last three years.”

Being official team blogger for the Redskins, writing about the players, team and team issues with honesty and dignity, must have been an exasperating job.