Sabol, who spent the last 50 years of his life working for the NFL, pioneered a slew of storytelling techniques that have become commonplace on sports programming around the world. “Super slow motion, wireless mics on players, reverse angle replays, follies films, and custom composed musical scores. All that’s standard stuff today, but before NFL Films it was unheard of,” The NFL writes in its official obituary for Sabol.

“Steve Sabol was the creative genius behind the remarkable work of NFL Films,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in a statement. “Steve’s passion for football was matched by his incredible talent and energy. Steve’s legacy will be part of the NFL forever. He was a major contributor to the success of the NFL, a man who changed the way we look at football and sports, and a great friend.”

The recipient of a slew of awards and accolades over his career, Sabol received 35 Emmy Awards, running the gamut from writing and directing to producing and editing.

Sabol was the son of Ed Sabol, another video pioneer, who with his son helped found NFL Films in 1962. Steve Sabol presented his father as the elder Sabol was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

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Hosted by Bomani Jones, the sports radio host and Around the Horn regular shared his thoughts on the end of a successful 18-month run:

“On a personal level, it’s hard for me to be terribly sad. That’s largely because I know, when things are right, I’ll be able to work with everyone again. And, if things go as I hope they will eventually, we’ll be able to do the same thing we’ve been doing, just better.

The guys at Serious Sports, whom I’ve worked on videos with for the last two years, are still in Raleigh and still ready to work together. Shannon Penn and I can’t get together every Saturday morning, but we figured out how to get together to make those mockumentaries work. I’ll still hit Petey Green up for beats. Corey will one day be a big famous boxing commentator, and I’ll hope to still be relevant enough to, at the very least, book him as a guest. And Mike will still run the streets of Chicago.

Sacha, of course, will always be the kaaaaang. There’s always room for royalty. continued…

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The UFC on FOX card on Nov. 12 from the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. will feature only two fights and last one hour, allowing sports fans to watch the Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez fight on pay-per-view from Las Vegas.

“We’ll be out of there before Pacquiao even walks to the ring,” UFC chairman and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta told the Las Vegas Sun. “This is going to be a perfect night for any fight fan. Get together with your friends, watch two big fights in the UFC and then change the channel to ride into the Pacquiao pay-per-view.”

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The new feature will include a live feed of all BTN linear network programming, beginning with the start of the 2011 college football season, BTN president Mark Silverman announced Wednesday.

“We’re tremendously excited to launch BTN2Go because, as mobile technology has advanced, this is something fans are asking for,” Silverman said. “Big Ten fans are frequently on the go, and would like to watch BTN while away from home. BTN2Go gives fans that option at no additional cost to them.” continued…

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Sports fans who think Gus Johnson’s hot sauce-in-the-Jockeys announcing style is the height of entertainment should be overjoyed to learn Johnson is “neck and neck” in a competition with Bob Papa to be play-by-play announcer on the NFL Network next season. So reports Phil Mushnick of the New York Post.

Johnson’s enviable ability to derive excitement from the most mundane sports action would be put to the test if the NFL Network has late-season snoozers akin to last year’s Dec. 23 matchup, which pitted the Super Bowl-bound Steelers against the No. 1 pick-bound Panthers. In case you forgot, that game ended in a 27-3 blowout win for Pittsburgh.

Whoever does the play-by-play for the NFL Network won’t have to keep Joe Theismann and Matt Millen awake this season. As Sports Illustrated reported, they’ve been replaced by Mike Mayock.

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The blog was planning to cover the Toronto UFC Fan Expo next month but were shot down by the UFC management.

“This is the explanation that one of the UFC Fan Expo organizers e-mailed us, regarding why CagePotato would not be welcome at the Direct Energy Centre:

“Our contact from the UFC emailed us last night saying they have an issue with Cage Potato. She went and spoke with Dana about the situation, and he asked that we please cancel their involvement in the Expo. continued…

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In 2007, Scott underwent chemotherapy after an emergency appendectomy discovered a malignancy surrounding his appendix. He will try to maintain a normal work schedule during his treatments.

“There are 28 million cancer survivors worldwide,” Scott said in a statement. “You know what that means?..we’ve got a strong army!! Once again, I join the fight and like 3 years ago, I plan to beat this thing. Can’t tell you how much I appreciate everyone’s well wishes and support. I’ll be back at work soon…probably sooner than you think. continued…

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Monday night USA Network will televise the 900th episode of WWE’s “Monday Night Raw.” “The Simpsons,” by comparison, has aired “only” 420 episodes.

The wrestling show has been a staple of cable programming since it debuted in 1993, and has consistently ranked as one of the top programs (if not the top program) on cable every week since 1999. USA goes out of its way to tout its original programming success with shows like “Royal Pains” and “Covert Affairs,” but the one constant on the network through all of it has been wrestling.

The success of the WWE on the channel is that much more surprising when you consider that USA’s original dramas draw a large number of female viewers.

continued…

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