Monday June 6

Los Angeles Dodgers @ Philadelphia Phillies (ESPN 7PM) Sean McDonough, Rick Sutcliffe, Aaron Boone

Tuesday June 7

Boston Red Sox @ New York Yankees (MLBN 7PM) Bob Costas, David Cone [Alternate: LA Dodgers @ Philadelphia ]

Wednesday June 8

Chicago Cubs @ Cincinnati Reds (MLBN 12:30PM) Local Broadcast [Alternate: Minnesota @ Cleveland - Noon]
Boston Red Sox @ New York Yankees (ESPN 7PM) Dave O'Brien, Nomar Garciaparra

Thursday June 9

Boston Red Sox @ New York Yankees (MLBN 7PM) Bob Costas, David Cone [Alternate: Chicago Cubs @ Philadelphia]
Chicago Cubs @ Philadelphia Phillies (WGNA 7PM) Len Kasper, Bob Brenly

Friday June 10

Chicago Cubs @ Philadelphia Phillies (MLBN 7PM) Local Broadcast [Alternate: Boston @ Toronto]

Saturday June 11

Chicago Cubs @ Philadelphia Phillies (FOX 4PM) Kenny Albert, Tim McCarver
Cincinnati Reds @San Francisco Giants (FOX 4PM) Thom Brennaman, Eric Karros
Texas Rangers @ Minnesota Twins (FOX 4PM) Dick Stockton, Mark Grace
St. Louis Cardinals @ Milwaukee Brewers (MLBN 7PM) Local Broadcast [Alternate: NY Mets @ Pittsburgh]
Oakland A's @ Chicago White Sox (WGNA 7PM) Ken Harrelson, Steve Stone

Sunday June 12

Cleveland Indians @ New York Yankees (TBS 1PM) Dick Stockton, Ron Darling, David Wells
Chicago Cubs @ Philadelphia Phillies (WGNA 1:30PM) Len Kasper, Bob Brenly
Cincinnati Reds @ San Francisco Giants (ESPN 8PM) Dan Shulman, Orel Hershiser, Bobby Valentine

H/T Sammy!

Vancouver defeated Boston on Saturday night to take a 2-0 lead in the Stanley Cup Finals on a goal by Alex Burrows, who may be more famous for his dental work than his goal scoring prowess.  Of course, with the furor over Burrows biting the hand of Patrice Bergeron in Game 1 and NOT being suspended... you had to figure that Burrows would be the hero for a Game 2 Vancouver win.  He registered 2 goals and an assist in a 3-2 win, including the OT winner 11 seconds into the period. 

But there was also another bite-related incident in Game 2 (what, is Mike Tyson in this series?), certainly an impressive streak for these Stanley Cup Finals.  Vancouver's Max Lapierre decided to have some fun with all the controversy out of Game 1 by taking part in this taunt of Bergeron.  As you listen in, the Canadian CBC announcers decide to take the light-hearted, joyful, aww he's just having fun route.  "Have a bite, come on."



On the other hand, the NBC studio broadcast crew decided to eviscerate Lapierre for his behavior, with the spearhead being led by former Bruin Mike Milbury.  "Look at the punks out to play like Lapierre."  The only denigration of the game was the NHL not suspending Burrows for the bite, when there was complete historical precedence to do so.  



I suppose it's all about perspective isn't it?  I doubt the Canadian and American broadcasts are specifically and overtly slanted towards Vancouver and Boston like some sort of local broadcast.  If that was the case, at least NBC could get commentary from Jack Edwards!  It is an interesting comparison to make though... is one broadcast right, and one wrong?  Or, is Lapierre's actions just not that big of a deal?  By the way, I find it quite ironic for Miike Milbury to criticize anyone for their questionable, offensive behavior and denigrating the game... seeing as how he was the guy that beat up a fan with his own shoe.

[H/T Deadspin] 
 

For the second straight week, NASCAR had a thrilling last lap finish come down to fuel mileage.  This time, it was in the Nationwide Series race at Chicago.  Leader Carl Edwards and 2nd place driver Justin Allgaier were racing for the win.  Edwards went to empty first down the backstretch, then Allgaier passed him and ran out of gas coming out of Turn 4 like Dale Earnhardt Jr. last week.  Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne was in 3rd.  Watch as ESPN play by play man Marty Reid's voice rises in excitement and anticipation for a photo finish with Bayne and Allgaier.  As thrilling as the finish sounds, that white car that passed Allgaier was not Trevor Bayne, it was a lapped car.  Allgaier coasted home first in front of Edwards... and then Bayne.  Oops.



That's unfortunate.  It's tough to be too hard on Marty Reid because at least he got the Indy 500 finish right last week with Dan Wheldon passing a wrecked JR Hildebrand (and if you had to pick one finish to get right it's Indy, not a random Nationwide race... I suppose the alternative is to get both correct though).  The circus-like finish and botched call makes this announcing moment an early nominee for the 2011 Ruben Rivera Award for the funniest screw-up of the year... basically it's a lame excuse and a made-up award to show you this clip of Ruben Rivera running around like a madman.  I think it compares well to the action in the ESPN NASCAR booth.  Plus, this clip never gets old...



[As usual, thanks to @bubbaprog for the video!]
 

Mike Milbury (former NHL player, coach, and general manager) is an analyst for NBC's Stanley Cup coverage, and for game two of the Bruins/Canucks series tonight in Vancouver, he's wearing this tie:

Ah, the old "purple flowers surrounding a river of urine" look. Great Stanley Cup wear.

I think it's rare that Craig Sager could shake his head in disapproval of somebody's tie, but this may be one of those times.

H/T: 30FPS; @bubbaprog (an absolute must-follow on Twitter)

Earlier this week, Matt Millen made a stop on College Football Live.  He's made some periodic appearances on the "family of networks" to discuss football, including being asked to put on his "GM hat" when discussing the future NFL stock of Terrelle Pryor.  Lions fans are surely dreaming about Pryor's athleticism at wide out standing next to Charles Rogers and Mike Williams.  Millen also made an appearance to discuss the situation at South Carolina and specifically quarterback Stephen Garcia.  His analysis was rather unique.  Sportsgrid has the video...



The best part to me is how giddy Matt Millen was to use that line... or whatever line he was planning on using until "makeup on a turd" exited his wordhole.  The whole, "it still looks good" comment makes absolutely no sense, implying that somehow the makeup should make the turd look worse... "it still looks good" means that the turd still looks amazing in spite of the makeup.  I never thought we would have so much turd makeup analysis, but c'est la vie.  Anyways, the bright side is that we now have the title to Millen's upcoming book about his stint as General Manager for the Lions... or his broadcasting marriage with Joe Theismann.  

[Sportsgrid]
 

ESPN was all Shaq all the time yesterday, preparing for the newly Christened Big AARP's retirement press conference slash celebration event of the season.  With Shaq's retirement came all sorts of historical segments and conversations about Shaq's place in history.  This included SportsCenter anchor John Buccigross with a slightly weird and incredibly complementary interview of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, repeatedly referring to him as the best player of all-time.  With SportsCenter and the Shaq coverage also happening live, it means anchors have to be especially careful of Freudian slips.  While going through the Top 5 scoring centers in NBA history, Buccigross gave Wilt Chamberlain a new, well, interesting nickname.  Perhaps Buccigross was thinking about certain exploits of Wilt's impressive career.  Listen closely...

So I'm flipping through TV channels tonight, and see "Friday Night Fights" is starting on ESPN 2. I rarely view boxing unless it's a fight featuring big names, but my Cubs are getting destroyed as usual, and there's no NBA or NHL Finals action tonight, so I figured what the hell. 

Well, what I immediately see on the broadcast is ESPN boxing analyst Teddy Atlas trying to compare the upcoming boxing match to the Dallas Mavericks/Miami Heat NBA Finals series:

I had the exact same facial expression that Joe Tessitore did following Teddy's "analysis".

Mike Breen has been the voice of the NBA Finals on ABC since 2006 and is currently ESPN's number one play by play man for the NBA.  Besides his work for ESPN, he is also the central play by play man for the Knicks on the MSG Network and has also announced basketball in several Olympic Games for NBC.  He's called some of the most memorable NBA games in recent years including the 2002 Celtics comeback against the Nets, Malice in the Palace, 2008 Celtics/Lakers, and of course, last night's thrilling Mavericks comeback in Miami.  Mike is one of the top play by play announcers in sports, but also has a humorous side that may surprise viewers.  In this interview with AA, Mike talks about last night's game, these NBA Finals, working with Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy, and Bill... from White Plains.

Q: Our traditional first question is how you got your start in the business, what got you interested in sports broadcasting, and how you got to announcing the Finals on ABC?

A: Like a lot of kids, I had a love of sports.  I grew up in a family of 6 boys and it was sports 24/7.  I quickly knew I wasn't going to be good enough to play at the next level and wanted to find a way somehow to stay involved.  I went to college specifically for sports broadcasting.  I went to Fordham and they have a top notch student radio station, I broadcasted men's and women's basketball and baseball and hosted a talk show.  Right away I caught the bug.  After I graduated I took a typical small market route working at tiny radio stations in Poughkeepsie, NY, did Marist College basketball when Rik Smits was there... a few years later I was fortunate to get the pre and postgame radio job for the Knicks and that was my first venture into the NBA.

Q: I remember the first time I saw you on national television was actually as the sports reporter on Imus in the Morning and how funny you were.  I didn't know until today that you were actually Bill from White Plains.

A: (Laughs)  I've never actually officially confirmed that.  Every once in a while I'll still meet somebody who will say I used to listen to you on Imus, and they'll say "did you ever meet that guy Bill from White Plains who used to call in," and I can't break their hearts so I always say, "yea I never met him but he seems like a good guy."  So there are some people that actually believe it was a different person.

Q: How much of your personality and humor is brought into your announcing?

A: A lot depends on who your partner is... with Jeff and Mark it's so easy to have some fun on the broadcast.  Jeff is so funny and I think Mark is hilarious as well so I play more the straight man with those guys.  Every once and a while I'll try to have some fun with them, but those guys are so funny that my role is the straight man.  

Q: How has the chemistry of that booth developed and what are some of your challenges working in a 3 man booth?

A: Matt, it started 20 years ago when I first started broadcasting Knick games on the radio.  Jeff was an assistant coach and Mark was a player, so we've known each other for 20 years and quite honestly we've grown up in the NBA together.  Very early on we knew each other, we were all around the same age, and I learned so much about the NBA game from Jeff when he was the head coach and Mark obviously played for him.  The familiarity and knowing the guys for so long has made a difference.  To me, the coolest part is the dynamic between Jeff and Mark.  To have two analysts in the same booth and one guy coached the other guy, I find that really interesting.  Because we've been good friends for so long we can pretty much say anything, even if it's completely disagreeing with what the other guy said, nobody's feelings get hurt and that's a real fun part of it.

Q: So you guys won't be appearing in the ESPN book paperback with some comments about each other?

A: Fortunately none of us are in that book. (Laughs)  I think it came before we got there.  

Q: What's it like to be the play by play man for the Finals?

A: It sounds corny, but it's a dream come true.  I always pinch myself before Game 1 every year because I can't believe I get this opportunity.  Ever since I was a little kid I've loved basketball.  I really do feel blessed because for me it's a privilege to be able to call these games.

Q: Last night's game was one of the most improbable comebacks in Finals history.  When you're announcing a game like that, is there a point where you look to Jeff and Mark and say to yourselves, wow this is one of those games that will be remembered for a long time?

A: During the game, because you have so much to concern yourself with, you don't really think that much.  After the game, you think that may be one of the all-time games.  During the game you're so focused on making sure you document everything the right way, but at the same time you have to put into perspective where this game stands.  We knew it was pretty special because it really seemed like it was over.  Miami was dominant in that stretch from it being a close game to all of a sudden they're up 15, all the momentum was gone, Dallas' body language wasn't right, and it was like the flip of a switch how incredible it happened.  It happened so quickly, they cut off 7 points in like a minute and a half.  You're thinking oh wow, they did that quickly.  It was stunning from the standpoint of how dominant Miami was when the comeback began...

Our favorite hockey play by play man, Crazy Jack Edwards, is at his traditionally crazy antics yet again.  I'm sure many of you are asking - "why, with the Bruins in the Stanley Cup Finals and Edwards not broadcasting games, there could be no such outlet for Crazy Jack Edwards and his crazy antics, could there be?"  And to that I say thank you to the good folks at WEEI for giving Jack Edwards an outlet for his unique sense of wisdom and mentally disturbed ranting.  This audio from Jack addresses Vancouver's Alex Burrows biting the hand of Boston's Patrice Bergeron.  Surprisingly, Burrows was not suspended by the NHL.  Thankfully though, the entire incident has given us this video of Jack Torrance... err... I mean Edwards, providing a poignant social commentary on the matter complete with some kind of circus music.  By the way, congrats if you spun the Jack Edwards Wheel of Insanity and landed on Breastfeeding.



H/T Fang's Bites

I have DirectT and it's not even really a choice. I am addicted to programming like the NFL Sunday Ticket, The Big Ten Network, and some other sports channels and packages they offer. They're also a lot more reliable than the big cable companies and in particular are not as mentally challenged in the customer service area where cable companies typically dominate the worst ranked Fortune 500 list. 

But DirectTV is expensive which leads me to my annual fabricated production where I call and threaten to leave in order to procure discounted rates for the coming year. For those looking to save some bucks, this is the blue print to achieve this. 

- Call DirectTV and immediately say you want to talk to customer retention. Don't futz around with the front line of customer service people. Customer retention can give you discounts and won't give you the runaround.

- Say you're going to leave and that U-verse, Fios, or whomever is coming to install the new system in a week. DirectTV is too expensive and you're getting a sweetheart deal to leave. Cite that they've added a lot of channels that used to be exclusive to DirectTV (Big Ten Network, Red Zone Channel). Also give them some crap for not having AMC in HD because that's just dumb. Make sure you let them know it's too expensive to stay. 

- They'll then start offering you discounts. Don't give in right away. They don't want you to walk and even if you can't come to an agreement they still have to send you to another person to terminate your account so you can always just hang up if they call your bluff which they won't. You can usually get around 25% off of your annual bill. Last year I achieved a good discount and it took under 7 minutes. 

Anyways, this year my strategy was to really bemoan the fact that it wasn't even a sure thing that there would be football this year. DirectTV makes it a habit to auto renew your package out of "convenience". You can cancel the auto renew, but not a lot of people are that meticulous. 

Lo and behold DirectTV has wisely decided to not bill anyone for the Sunday Ticket until the labor situation clears up. 

"In a mass e-mail sent to all Sunday Ticket subscribers, DirecTV has informed customers that “[t]here will be absolutely no charge for your NFL SUNDAY TICKET subscription until it is confirmed that the 2011 NFL season will begin.”

Probably a wise move given a lot of people are looking for ways to cut back and are finding that their DirectTV bill is 50%-100% more than some other providers. By removing a very obvious pitfall for customer retention, DirectTV is effectively shutting the barn door that could have led to a mass exodus of football subscribers.

Getting a big discount is still very doable but unforunately the main point of emphasis has been wiped and now I'll have to fake outrage from another source.