« June 2007 | Main | August 2007 »
During ESPN 1300's broadcast of the Hall of Fame ceremonies yesterday, the station just barely made it back to Cooperstown in time for the start of Cal Ripken Jr.'s speech. The station had left ESPN Radio's coverage for commercials, missing Bud Selig's introduction, switching back as Ripken spoke his first words. Still, that's better than what was being heard on the version of ESPN Radio via Sirius, where commercials were still running as Ripken was talking.
Were my ears playing tricks on me late at night or was that instant deja vu? During last night's Orioles telecast, as the Mariners' Raul Ibanez was batting, Jim Palmer mentioned that Ibanez had driven in 123 runs last season. Moments later, as Ibanez stood on first base, Jim Hunter mentioned that Ibanez had 123 RBIs last season.
# # #
The horse racing industry should be happy with anything that publicizes the sport, so it should be considered a boost that former sitcom star Scott Baio is seen going to the track with his buddies in the first episode of his new reality show on VH1. I guess it would be even better if Baio didn't come off as such a jerk.
Baltimore is in the spotlight Wednesday on ESPNews' City by City tour of the top 30 American sports cities. Look for Baltimore content between 3 and 6 p.m. and 7 and 10 p.m. Sun columnist Peter Schmuck will pop up in the final two hours, so don't adjust your sets.
Hot enough for you? The answer, in this case, appears to be yes.
ESPN debuts its miniseries The Bronx is Burning tonight at 10 (followed by seven episodes each Tuesday at 10 p.m. starting next week), and Yankees lovers and haters alike shouldn't miss it. Billy Martin, George Steinbrenner and Reggie Jackson have indelible public images for every baseball fan, but the actors playing the respective roles -- John Turturro, Oliver Platt and Daniel Sunjata -- have nailed them.
The series tells the story of the 1977 Yankees, put in the context of a long, hot summer when New York was shaken by the Son of Sam killings, endured a blackout and took a bumpy ride on a mayoral campaign. It's mostly Yankees, though, and the other elements might end up having the feel of being tacked on. (As in when two young women in Queens are shot after taunting a staring Son of Sam by telling him to "take a pitchuh -- it'll last longuh.'')
When MASN recorded those Orioles promos before the season, it surely couldn't have forseen how the year would unfold for the subjects. However, that does make for some odd juxtapositions. For example, the Miguel Tejada spots -- highlighting his power hitting -- kept running while his homer drought stretched on and on. On Saturday during the pre-game show, the Chris Ray promo that talked about his stellar performance out of the bullpen last season ran just before a segment where Jim Hunter, Rick Dempsey and Amber Theoharis were discussing how Ray was yielding his role as the sole closer.
Also on Saturday, I heard a radio spot -- and this is something that surely could have been avoided -- for an upcoming Orioles series that said it was an opportunity to see Tejada. The shortstop already had been on the disabled list for a week before that commercial aired.
# # #
On his radio show Friday, ESPN's Dan Patrick said he had been contacted about possibly replacing Bob Barker on The Price Is Right. Other than needing some new catch phrases and dying his hair gray, it seems like a match.
Subscribe to this feed
