Multiple sources say that Google and mobile ad startup AdMob (the former recently agreed to buy the latter) fully expect the Federal Trade Commission to try to block the deal, Boom Town reports. Many speculated that Apple’s entrance into the nascent mobile ad market would settle the FTC’s nerves. On the contrary, “Sources said that the lack of any kind of indication of clear direction of the inquiry this late in the game by FTC staff -- which recommends action to its five commissioners -- is a bad sign,â€� writes Boom Town. Says one source: “The federal government is …

Blake Eskin, The New Yorker’s first (and present) Web editor, says Internet trends haven’t affected the magazine one bit… oh, expect for that “Critteratiâ€� contest, which encouraged readers to dress up their pets as their favorite literary character. “We’re aware that people like looking at pictures of dogs and cats on the Internet,â€� Eskin says in a Q&A with Sparksheet -- a “custom contentâ€� blog run by WPP. Still, Eskin admits, “If we threw all our energies into this stuff we obviously couldn’t support the kind of journalism we do … You can’t send someone to Rwanda for a …

From skateboarding dogs and viral marketing coups to personal video blogs and election-year disputes, YouTube continues to push the limits of video content and online programming. According to The New York Times, the next frontier for the Google subsidiary could involve streaming live sporting events. The first major sporting event streamed live on YouTube -- an 8-team cricket tournament -- proved to be a big hit for Google India. YouTube carried the league’s 60 matches live around the world, except in the United States. About 50 million viewers tuned in to YouTube’s I.P.L. channel -- 25% more than Google …

The Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission are presently negotiating over which of the watchdogs will pursue an antitrust inquiry into Apple, and its new policy of requiring software developers -- who make applications for devices such as the iPhone and iPad -- to use only Apple’s programming tools. That according to The New York Post, citing a single unnamed source “familiar with the matter.â€� Regulators, according to the source, are just days away from making a decision about which agency will launch the inquiry, which will focus on whether the policy -- which took effect last month …

Lynn Redgrave, a vital and popular member of Britain's Redgrave dynasty, died Sunday night. She was 67 and had waged a lengthy battle with breast cancer. She appeared in a long-running series of TV ads for Heinz Foods, then the manufacturer of the weight loss foods for Weight Watchers, a Heinz subsidiary. Her signature line for the ads was "This Is Living" She wrote a book of her life experiences with the same title, which included a selection of Weight Watcher recipes. --Nina Lentini

Fox Sports president Ed Goren on the chances the NFL and other leagues will move too aggressively into online and mobile streaming of their games, which could hurt traditional viewership: "Our ratings will go down, our ad sales will go down and the leagues can find another sucker," Goren said. In other words, Fox may not be so eager to pay the billions in rights fees it currently does. But Fox has had the NFL since 1994, which helped establish its viability as a network. Would it really ever go without Sunday double-headers?

Fox Sports has a new CMO in Eric Markgraf, a veteran in the unit's marketing operations. …

Google has acquired BumpTop, a company that makes 3-D software tools for organizing Mac and Windows desktops. The company made the Google announcement on the BumpTop blog. "Today, we have a big announcement to make: we're excited to announce that we've been acquired by Google! This means that BumpTop (for both Windows and Mac) will no longer be available for sale. Additionally, no updates to the products are planned." For the next week, BumpTop fans have the ability to download the tool for free.

The Interactive Advertising Bureau this morning released a new guide outlining how data is used to serve online ads.  The 19-page document includes definitions of different types of targeting, including behavioral targeting, contextual targeting and search retargeting.

Apple announced this morning it has sold 1 million iPads as of Friday, less than a month after the tablet device hit stores April 3. Users have downloaded more than 12 million apps from the App Store and more than 1.5 million e-books from its new iBookstore. Some 5,000 apps are now available for the iPad. "One million iPads in 28 days—that's less than half of the 74 days it took to achieve this milestone with iPhone," said Apple CEO Steve Jobs in a statement. "Demand continues to exceed supply and we're working hard to get this magical product into …