VERNON WAS MR. NICE GUY

October 5, 2008 - WHEN Mickey Vernon, a baseball lifer who twice led the AL in batting while with the Senators, died last week, it mostly made smallish news. That stood to reason. Vernon was 90. When accomplished big leaguers pass at 90, their death notices don't make for the same news as if they had died at 70 or 75. If fewer editors and producers are familiar with a player's name, game and fame, the...

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PRIMETIME

PUTTING LIPSTICK ON OLBERMANN

October 5, 2008 - I suppose the following will be read by some-to-many as a pandering defense of Rupert Murdoch, my boss. I'll risk it. MSNBC's Keith Olbermann, on countless occasions, has ripped Murdoch...more >
LET'S BE FRANK: TBS IS IN FULL PLUG MODE

October 3, 2008 - IT's TV. Anything worth doing is worth overdoing. Last year at this time, TBS made its debut as an MLB postseason network. In doing so, TBS clearly had one goal: Let every viewer know, over and...more >
WILD CARD STILL OFF THE MARK

September 29, 2008 - FOX'S Mark Grace is another Ball Street analyst to applaud those sub-prime mortgages MLB keeps handing out. During Saturday's Cubs-Brewers game, he testified that at first he didn't like...more >
NETWORKS STILL DON'T UNDERSTAND GAME

September 28, 2008 - IF only TV people genu inely tried to under stand football. If only they'd encourage us to appreciate the game instead of throwing a bunch of stats and more tired images of post-play dancing...more >
PRIMETIME

SPRAY IT ISN’T SO

September 28, 2008 - How pleased do you suppose Bill Gates would be if he arrived at his Microsoft headquarters tomorrow morning to find the front of the building covered with spray-painted graffiti - his building hit...more >
LYNCH HELPED PUT IT IN PERSPECTIVE

September 26, 2008 - DICK LYNCH, who died Wednesday, made for one of the most unforgettable moments in my newspaper career, which next month turns 35. It's a bit of a long story, so please, if you can, indulge this...more >
GREED OVERTAKES COMMON DECENCY

September 22, 2008 - THAT the New York sports and news media would quietly allow the last game in Yankee Stadium to be a late start on a Sunday night, that Bud Selig was not shamed for trading common decency and common...more >
MNF, LET THE GAME BREATHE!

September 21, 2008 - DEAR Mike, Ron and Tony: Let's give this one more shot before it's too late, before another season of Monday Night Football on ESPN is ruined. Find the time, this week, fellas, to sit down...more >
PRIMETIME

BLOCK THAT KICKER

September 21, 2008 - Several years ago, TV began to present in-show, pop-up promos, graphics that would appear mostly along the bottom of the screen, pop-ups designed to remind viewers what's up next or to bang the...more >
SEPARATE, BUT STILL EQUALLY LOATHSOME

September 19, 2008 - DOESN'T matter if they're alone, together or alone together at the same time on the radio, Mike Francesa and Chris Russo, to paraphrase both Brian McNamee and Popeye - only one escaped the...more >