Media | ESPN - Mark McGwire - MLB Network
by Memphis Bengal on Monday, January 11th, 2010 at 08:25pm
Not only did MLB Network just air the Costas/McGwire interview, but they were able to follow-up with Bob Costas in the aftermath while getting commentary from studio analysts Tom Verducci (si.com), Ken Rosenthal (fox sports) and Peter Gammons (now of MLB). Actual decent and interesting conversation for conversations sake. A blessing to listen to.
Or, you could flip to ESPN and get John Kruk’s take…
Baseball, Media | Bob Costas - MLB Network - MLB Tonight
by Memphis Bengal on Sunday, February 22nd, 2009 at 10:02am
Still pretty damn awesome. The studio shows have been well produced and informative. The former player analysts they have been trying out have been by and large very good (special props to Al Leiter), and the sets look great. Running Ken Burns’ Baseball series on Tuesday nights has been a nice touch. Last night they had live college baseball. And their access has been solid, I just got done watching a piece where Barry Larkin and Harold Reynolds discussed with Ricky Henderson his approach to stealing third base. Unlike espn’s or cbs’s or fox’s use of mini-football field to allegedly demonstrate how plays work, MLB Network’s mini-stadium has been used to good effect. Yeah, I am a fan already of what they are doing.
On top of that, they passed the hurdle early of whether they would be able to report unpleasant news about the sport with the dogged and professional way they pursued the Alex Rodriguez steroid story. Having Bob Costas at the helm doesn’t hurt. He had the first interview with si.com’s Selena Roberts and it, unlike the piece of shit Peter Gammons “interview” of Alex Rodriguez, was one where tough questions were asked and answered. Joe Lemire of si.com with a nice article about how the channel is developing. A taste:
The network’s on-air talent is already that advanced in their zeal for the sport. Reynolds says he and Petitti play a daily game of catch, late-night wiffleball games among the pros-turned-commentators routinely break out in Studio 42, and Reynolds and Vasgersian have even ushered in a kangaroo court. At Reynolds’ urging, he implemented a fun, self-policing system — mostly inspired by his experience with the 1993 Orioles — in which minor offenses (talent mispronouncing a word, a researcher getting a fact wrong, a producer cutting to the wrong camera, etc.) incur a fine of $1 or $2. Vasgersian is the arbiter and record keeper, with the fines to be collected for a charity such as B.A.T. (the Baseball Assistance Team, which aids down-on-their-luck former ballplayers, coaches and scouts).
Whiffle ball on the Studio 42 set would be fun.
They debut their MLB Tonight show Monday, which they are billing as, once games begin, a comprehensive update, live look-in, and news show. ESPN should be on notice. And the channel already puts the NFL Network to shame.
