An ABC News scoop that disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong was under criminal investigation was cited as one of the reasons that Armstrong is now considering cooperating with the US Anti-Doping Agency.

ABC’s Neal Karlinsky, who has owned the Armstrong beat, broke the news Tuesday that Armstrong was facing criminal charges, and that “agents are actively investigating Armstrong for obstruction, witness tampering and intimidation.”

Armstrong had refused to cooperate with the USADA investigation to this point, but USA Today says that he is now reconsidering, thanks to Karlinsky’s report.

Since his January televised interview with Oprah Winfrey, Armstrong had said he could not meet USADA’s deadline but would cooperate with a hypothetical “truth and reconciliation” commission set up by the World Anti-Doping Agency and the international cycling federation. However, he appears to have changed his mind and been swayed to come clean to USADA after hearing reports, first broken by ABC News, that he might be facing criminal prosecution, the person said.

It was a big week for cable last week, between Oprah and Lance Armstrong, the pre-inauguration festivities and a number of big premieres.

Fox News was once again the top cable news channel for the week, placing fourth in primetime among all ad-supported cable networks, and seventh in total day. FNC averaged 1.75 million viewers in prime and 1.07 million in total day.

MSNBC was 28th in primetime and 26th in total day, averaging 757,000 and 476,000 viewers, respectively. CNN placed 33rd in primetime and 32nd in total day, averaging 567,000 and 391,000 viewers, respectively.

HLN was 43rd in primetime and 45th in total day, averaging 314,000 and 213,000 viewers, respectively. Current TV was 93rd in primetime and 95th in total day, placing below Nielsen’s threshold for accuracy. OWN, which had the big Lance Armstrong “get,” was 31st in primetime, and 43rd in total day, averaging 619,000 and 253,000 viewers, respectively.
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Manti Te’o has granted his first on-camera interview following revelations of a hoax involving a fake girlfriend to ABC’s Katie Couric. The interview will air on Couric’s syndicated show “Katie” on Thursday with previews airing on all ABC News programs.

Couric will sit down with Te’o and his parents, Brian and Ottilia Te’o, who are speaking out for the first time and say they were also victims of the hoax.

In an off-camera interview with ESPN’s Jeremy Schaap Friday, Te’o reiterated that he’s the greatest victim of the hoax, while admitting he’d made mistakes, including telling his father he met “Lennay Kekua.”

Given that the interview is for Couric’s show, but that she also contributes to ABC News, one might wonder if Te’o and his family were paid for their appearance. ABC News tells us no money changed hands. Couric’s PR man Matthew Hiltzik was hired by the Te’o family in recent days.

The Te’o interview comes a week after Oprah Winfrey got a big “get” in Lance Armstrong for her network, OWN.

As the Manti Te’o hoax story spreads across the media landscape, the race is on to get the first interview with the star Notre Dame football player.

TVNewser hears that ESPN and NBC News have both been making their pitch to Notre Dame and people close to Te’o, and it is safe to assume that many other news outlets have been as well.

Sports Illustrated‘s sports media ace Richard Deitsch got a comment from ESPN on the matter:

Says ESPN on a possible Manti T’eo interview: “We like many are pursuing the interview. No confirmation.”

— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) January 17, 2013

Te’o is likely to face tough questioning when he does decide to talk, given the inconsistencies in the story he has presented publicly. Even if he is telling the truth about being hoaxed, it begs the question how he could be fooled so easily.

He could also take a cue from another sports star: Lance Armstrong. Armstrong decided to come clean via an interview with Oprah Winfrey, airing tonight on OWN. Winfrey makes her interviewees seem a little more human, and it is clear she is gunning for any big interview that she can get.

Right now, Te’o is that big get.

During the American Century Celebrity Golf Championship at Lake Tahoe, former NHL star Joe Sakic sank a hole-in-one on the 162-yard, 17th hole that earned a $1 million prize — half going to Sakic and the other half going to Lance Armstrong‘s Livestrong Foundation.

ESPN has released a statement regarding Bruce Feldman‘s suspension, as reported first by SportsByBrooks.com.

“There was never any suspension or any other form of disciplinary action. We took the time to review his upcoming work assignments in light of the book to which he contributed and will manage any conflicts or other issues as needed.   Bruce has resumed his assignments.”

Word?

Something doesn’t add up. Regardless, #freebruce, which was trending nationally this morning on Twitter, is a success.

Stick to what you know, CNN.

[H/T SB Nation]

Members of the German women’s national soccer team appear on the cover and within the pages of this month’s German version of Playboy, a NSFW spread that was just published in advance of the three-week World Cup tournament set to begin in Berlin on June 26. The women who appear are not first-team members of the German team, which are the defending World Cup champions.

Nina van Splunter of German Playboy, said: “For us, this makes a lot of sense.

“Everyone knows how popular football is in Germany and, just like their male counterparts, the female team are very successful.

“The girls we have used are not yet first-team players with Germany, but they have all represented their country at various levels.

Van Splunter added: ‘We have only just published, so we’re waiting to hear comments.”

Since it’s not being published in the puritanical United States, the comments will probably be restrained.

In a development that surprises no one, ESPN is reportedly looking to hire recent retiree Shaquille O’Neal to contribute to its NBA coverage. O’Neal, who retired yesterday via Tout, once again took to the video conduit to discuss being courted by the World Wide Leader. We can’t embed the video, but here’s the link.

The Big Ten Network rolled out new branding (BTN), logo and web domain (BTN.com) Tuesday in order to reflect the network’s evolution and direction.

“Fans, viewers, media and our colleagues have already naturally gravitated toward the BTN name in recent years. It makes sense to adopt it,” Big Ten Network president Mark Silverman said. “These changes are a logical step in our evolution, and give us an umbrella under which we can launch other businesses across digital platforms during our next phase of growth and development.”

Along with the new logo, the network has redesigned their graphics, animation and music packages that viewers will see for the first time during the Big Ten Football Media Days and Kickoff Luncheon in July.