According to a tweet from James Andrew Miller, co-author of the ESPN book Those Guys Have All the Fun, ESPN college football writer Bruce Feldman is returning to work for ESPN tomorrow to cover the Pac-12 media days, but Feldman’s long-term employment with the World Wide Leader is uncertain.

As you may recall, Feldman was “not” suspended by ESPN for assisting former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach in his book, Swing the Sword, which was highly critical of ESPN in its handling of Leach’s departure from the Red Raiders — in particular, allegations that Leach mistreated Adam James, son of ESPN college football commentator Craig James. No, Feldman has simply been in Bristol limbo, waiting for the hypocrisy 8-ball to reveal his fortune.

Holley Mangold, sister of Jets’ center Nick Mangold, weighs 370 pounds and is vying to become an Olympic weightlifter. MTV is covering her story on its show True Life: I’m the Big Girl, which premieres Thursday at 11/10c. Here’s a preview clip.

(H/T GameOn)

Tom Scocca has a point when he writes about the hit on Austin Collie over the weekend.

The premise behind the fines and announcements is that there is a correct, safer way to play pass defense, if only the players would be willing to learn it. Instead, the message that the Colts-Eagles crew sent was that the protections are a sham. If a defensive back is going to be judged by some made-up retroactive standard – by something he didn’t even do – then James Harrison is right. Reform is a farce, and the only responsible thing for a defensive player to do is to get out there, pop somebody, and let the zebras and the league suits sort it out.

It’s about someone in the media said as much, especially given the amount of press we’ve collectively given the issue. The NFL has a problem. Read more

Those crazy kids at Vice are back with a series on soccer. Of course, they put their own unique spin on the proceedings.

The this third installment of their We Are Eleven offering, the VBS.TV team travels to Brazil where they meet up with Gavioes da Fiel, the largest supporter group of Corinthians. They met Miss Fiel, a well-endowed enthusiast and samba dancer. You can imagine where it goes from there. (To the stadium for a game.) Read more

Washington Post television critic Tom Shales apologized to PBS “Need To Know” co-host Alison Stewart in a Q&A with readers today.

Kathy Lee never whimpered about the reviews, I don’t think friends of the “Need to Know” gang should claim grievous bodily harm either. I do however want to apologize to cohost Alison Stewart for the line about her looking as tho she’d have been more at home in Bill Clinton’s lap. That was seen by some as a graphic sexual reference (it was not meant that way, but c’est la vie); I was talking about cozying up, nothing more sinister than that.

Shales panned “Need To Know” in his review, saying that Stewart “looked as though she would have been much more comfortable in [show guest Bill] Clinton’s lap.”

That drew a sharp rebuke from Stewart, who told TVNewser:

Mr. Shales’ is certainly entitled to his own views about our program but in most work places it would be simply unacceptable to make this kind of public suggestive insinuation about a colleague. I’m surprised it got by his editors.

Shales also responded to accusations that he is sexist.

Read more

mediabistro.com is throwing a party in Washington, D.C. tomorrow night to celebrate election day, the World Series (if it’s still being played), Tom Shales‘ birthday and whatever else you want to toast to.

One of your TVNewsers will be there. You’ll have to show up to find out who.

Click here if you can stop by…

According to the overnight ratings, Katie Couric‘s 8pm newscast drew 6.45 million Total Viewers, good enough for second place in the time slot. The half hour came in fifth in younger viewers (A18-49 & A25-54) and the Total Viewership was less than what Couric has been averaging at her normal time — 7.22M over the last six weeks. Interestingly, there was a drop-off in viewers at 8:30, when a rerun of “The New Adventures of Old Christine” aired.

Meanwhile, the Washington Post’s Tom Shales chatted with Couric yesterday as she prepped for her newscasts. Couric talked about how she handled the now-fading drumbeat that signaled an imminent departure from the Evening News.

“I’ve always been a pretty happy person, but there have been days when it’s been somewhat discouraging to me professionally. I just put on blinders and do my job and try not to let it bother me. I always feel that quality wins out in the end.”

Shales writes, “Couric has a warmer, more benevolent presence than her two competitors; she brought to the program nearly 16 years of goodwill from doing ‘Today’ and becoming America’s sweetheart, or very close to it. And that goodwill is still there.”

But, was it a cosmetic change that has led to a rise in the ratings?

Read more

Fox News Channel airs the fifth episode in the periodic series, “Television & the Presidency,” tonight at 9pmET, looking at the years 1997-2000 and President Bill Clinton.

The series began in 1984, and it has been eight years since the last original episode aired. Confused? The Washington Post’s Tom Shales saw the new episode, and explains. “The first documentary was produced for the regular old Fox network by media maestro Roger Ailes, who is now the mischievous CEO of Fox News,” writes Shales. “He no longer produces the specials himself, however; tonight’s was done by Clay Rawson and Peter Russo.”

Chris Wallace anchors, and everyone from former Clinton press secretary Mike McCurry to Karl Rove appear.

“It seems like pure and simple party-pooping for Fox to rewash this dirty linen now,” writes Shales, but he concludes, “The hour is skillfully edited, written and assembled, and Wallace does an effortlessly authoritative job.”

The past installments air each subsequent Saturday.

The Washington Post’s Tom Shales on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, on Anderson Cooper: “I thought he handled it about as well as you could. He said at the beginning, we don’t really know what we’re doing here, which was a good way to kind of make an excuse before anything went wrong. And a lot of things did go wrong technically.”

Variety’s Ted Johnson: “the questions presented an often provactive twist to a format already growing a bit stale.”

Tim Cuprisin of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “The Internet makes everybody a critic — social critic, political critic or entertainment critic. But it doesn’t necessarily make those questioners good interrogators.”