
CBS carries the SEC Game of the Week into living rooms across the nation every weekend. CBS' deal is the only national broadcast of any collegiate conference. (Independent Notre Dame, of course, has an eight-game deal with NBC.) ABC also carries football games on network television. But the ABC games, featuring Big Ten, ACC, Big 12, Pac-10, and Big East teams are carried regionally. That means ABC carries teams split geographically, which would theoretically lead to higher overall ratings. That's been the case every year.
Until now.
For the first time since CBS added the SEC in 1996, the SEC games are outdrawing their regional counterparts on ABC. This season's SEC ratings are up 29 percent over comparable ratings last season. Given that CBS still has Alabama-Auburn and what will probably be the highest rated game of the season prior to the BCS bowls, Florida-Alabama in the SEC championship game, CBS and the SEC are likely to triumph over ABC for the season.
Should the SEC thank Tim Tebow? Maybe so. But even without Tebow, does this represent a fascinating turn in the ratings game? I think so. Read on for seven reasons why this is incredibly significant.


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ESPN football analyst Bob Griese apologized twice Saturday for a comment he made about NASCAR driver Juan Pablo Montoya during ESPN's telecast of Ohio State and Minnesota.
TAMPA, Fla. -- 
FanHouse Big East writer and Tampa Tribune staff writer Brett McMurphy will provide his Associated Press
ESPN put a new Twitter policy in place this summer designed to urge its reporters to think before they tweet. But this weekend, the policy didn't stop ESPN the Magazine senior writer Bruce Feldman from ripping Sports Reporters panelist Mike Lupica -- then later thinking better of it and deleting the tweet.

























