Watchdog

WatchDog has learned that SNY will make New York TV history July 18 when it shows Game 1 of the 1969 World Series.

It's part of SNY's celebration of the '69 Mets' 40th anniversary, which also will include showings of Game 2, 3, 4 and 5.

What's so special about showing Game 1? It will be the first time a baseball-team-owned New York regional sports network will show a loss by its favorite team as part of a classic games show.

To this point, the Yankees are undefeated on "Yankees Classics" on YES and the Mets are undefeated on "Mets Classics" on SNY, apparently based on the assumption fans are unaware their team loses on occasion.

Advance kudos to SNY for making this brave stand and checking off the third of the three goals I set long ago as pestering priorities for the network: road games in HD, closed captions for the hard of hearing and now this.

There's still time to beat SNY to it, YES. Start with something simple, as SNY is: a World Series game in a Series the Yankees won anyway.

I've got it: Game 3 of the 2000 Series!

Photo: Getty

What do I think of the Ca-Boom simulcast on SNY today?

Well, it's certainly something I'd be more apt to watch than whatever SNY normally shows in that slot. Re-runs of news shows? Classic games from the mid-2000s? Bass-o-Matic commercials?

It's also more visually interesting than YES' simulcast of WFAN's afternoon show. (But the Mike Francesa simulcast figures to get a jazzier new look when the FAN finally gets around to moving to its new Manhattan studios.)

I just saw news reader Tracy Burgess doing a pole dance wearing a Mets jersey, which is not something you see every day on local radio simulcasts.

So, should WFAN and SNY get together and make this a regular partnership? Sure, why not?

SNY has more festivities planned to lead into the series involving the two New York teams that just got smacked around by their arch rivals, including big fun in the plaza outside the studios from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Most amusing thing about all this is how the simulcast is identified on my Cablevision channel guide: "Boomer Spcl." Sorry, Craig.

Photo: NBC

Here is the main element of my Friday column, in which I get insights into the recent series of home run reviews involving the Mets from a guy closely involved in generating the videos used in those reviews - SNY producer Gregg Picker.

Interesting, and timely!

One element I did not discuss in the piece is that unlike in the NFL, where all game telecasts are done by national networks, MLB relies on local TV entities.

Some of those, including SNY and YES, are partly owned by the teams themselves.

Doesn't this leave the system open to conspiracy theorists who might wonder if TV types would withhold a replay that goes against the interests of their team?

Sort of. It should help that both telecasts' replays are made available to the umps, and both telecasts usually have access to one another's replays.

But that won't stop people from wondering.

Stay tuned. This new rule gets interestinger by the day.

Photo: AP

Sure, technically I should complain about SNY's Kevin Burkhardt interviewing Edie Falco in the stands about some new nurse show she's doing for "Showtime" while important things were going on in the third inning of Wednesday night's Mets game, but . . .

I'm not going to be disloyal to a fellow Northport High School alum (Class of '81), plus, Ms. Falco did a fine job with the ceremonial first pitch, almost throwing a strike from behind the pitching rubber.

Speaking of SNY, at 1 p.m. Thursday it will carry a Buffalo Bisons game.

I attended a Bisons game at Pilot Field in 1991, before Camden Yards opened. That stadium, not Camden Yards, began the retro fad of the 1990s and early 2000s. You could look it up.

Photo: Getty

A laurel and hearty handshake to SNY's Gary Cohen, deserving winner of our inaugural TV Voice of Reason Award for this exchange with Ron Darling entering the bottom of the eighth Friday in Boston:

Cohen, after listening to almost everyone in Fenway singing together:

"Fenway Park, where the fans actually like the song 'Sweet Caroline.'"

Darling: "Everyone participates. So loud. One of the million things that are great about this ballpark."

Gary, saying his words slowly for emphasis: "Maybe the folks at Citi Field can find a different song . . . That's what it's supposed to sound like."

Darling: "That was loud."

The second season of "Beer Money" debuts at 9 p.m. Tuesday on SNY, featuring new co-host Alexi Panos and Chris Carlin.

WatchDog has learned exclusively of two new games on the show:

"Clues for Brews," in which contestants can win $100 by identifying a famous athlete after one clue, then $80 after two clues, then $60 after three, and so on.

And "Shootout," in which two contestants go head-to-head on a particular topic - i.e. naming members of the 1969 Mets - until one can't come up with a correct answer.

Breaking this news has me a little tired, and there's a lot going on in the sports media world that I should be writing about for the newspaper.

See ya. Enjoy the 1989 Holly Farms 400 at 6 p.m. on ESPN Classic.

SNY got funky again Thursday, sending Keith Hernandez around Citi Field to watch the Phils-Mets tilt from various locations, including the restaurant in deep leftfield and next to the home dugout.

I understand why some purists don't like this sort of thing, but I thought it worked well and made me watch what was at the time an apparent blowout longer than I normally would have on a night when "30 Rock" and the imploding Yankees were on.

For example, .Hernandez made an interesting, I-never-would-have-thought-of-that point about how as a player he preferred dugouts closer to the plate than the one at Citi so he could better analyze the action.

There are 162 of these games, so what's wrong with mixing it up at times?

Your thoughts?

Photo: Getty

As promised, SNY debuted closed captioning for Mets games this Friday night - a move three-plus years in the making and a victory for fan and media pressure.

I have been getting emails from grateful viewers with hearing loss, and am happy to have played a part in this. But SNY deserves credit, too, for finally budging.

What's next? The Yankees reducing tickets prices? Oh, wait . . . never mind.

The person doing the job for whatever company SNY hired has some work to do in terms of speed, accuracy and identifying speakers.

But, hey, it's the first time out, so we'll cut him or her some slack.

(YES' captioning is far superior on the Yankees game, but they've been doing this for seven years now.)

Time for a new cause. Any suggestions, WatchDog Nation?

(UPDATE: The emails Saturday morning continue to be unanimously ecstatic simply to have the service, so so far no one is complaining about the quality but me. But I had Mrs. WatchDog check it out Friday to make sure I wasn't crazy. She confirmed I am not. At least on this matter. I'll keep monitoring the situation.)

SNY and the Jets announced a renewal of their programming partnership, one that will give SNY even more access to the team. Which is fine, I suppose, as long as we lowly print scribes without partnership agreements still get what we need.

But, of course, the best thing to happen to SNY's Jets coverage is the replacement of Eric Mangini as head coach with the far more media friendly Rex Ryan.

Anyway, click below for the SNY release on this matter.

Continue reading "SNY and Jets extend partnership to 2009 and beyond" »

Fantastic news for Mets fans who suffer from hearing loss:

Effective May 1 (when the Mets visit the Phillies), SNY plans to offer closed captioning - for Mets games only.

It is a belated move three-plus seasons after the network launched, and it would have been nice to have all programming captioned.

But it is much better than nothing, and will serve as a bridge to March 16, 2010, when FCC rules will require the network to be all-captioned.

Thank yous are in order for those who have aggressively pursued this matter with SNY, me and others over the past three years to make this happen - and especially to those who were quoted in my column on this topic last month, which helped kick-start the process.

Now I can check of the second off my three SNY goals - HD for all Mets games, and closed captioning for Mets games.

Next and last:

Prodding SNY to show Game 1 of the 1969 World Series, thus becoming the first baseball-team-owned cable network in New York to show a loss by its favorite squad.

(Unless YES beats them to it.)

(UPDATE: So sorry about ongoing problems with our commenting function this Thursday. People supposedly working on it.)

I turned on the Mets game Sunday in the sixth inning, and within five minutes Ralph Kiner had told stories about Marty Marion and Rogers Hornsby that were interesting and relevant to the action in the game at hand.

At age 86, the guy remains a sharp story teller. At the risk of sounding like a nostalgic baby boomer . . . SNY really should use more of him.

SNY's Ron Darling is to appear on Comedy Central's "Daily Show" Tuesday night.

SNY announced Monday night's Citi Field opener averaged 4.65 percent of area homes and 434,500 viewers, making it the highest-rated and most-watched Mets home opener on a regional cable sports network.

It helped that the opener was in prime time, which most are not. On the other hand, the game also was on ESPN, which attracted 1.1 percent of homes, drawing away some viewers that otherwise would have watched SNY.

(UPDATE: SNY's 2.26 rating for its pregame show surpassed YES' 2.08 game rating Monday night.)

The NFL Network will devote two hours Tuesday night to the announcement of the '09 schedule. When I was a Giants beat writer in the olden times of the 1990s, we received this information in the form of a simple news release. Sigh.

Interesting commentary on Lance Armstrong from Bryant Gumbel on HBO's "Real Sports" that debuts Tuesday night. Bryant uses some French words. Click below for that.

Continue reading "SNY draws healthy audience for Mets' home opener" »

Sources close to Dave Lennon tell me the start of Saturday's Mets-Marlins game has been moved from 6:10 to 6:25 p.m., meaning only the first 40 minutes will be blacked out to protect Fox's exclusive broadcast window.

MLB says it will look into avoiding such situations in the future.

I'm no expert on the legalese when it comes to the intricacies of schedule making, but here is a wording I would suggest that just might take care of this:

Yo, teams of Major League Baseball: No scheduling games that start between 4 and 7 on a Saturday! Thank you.

Problem solved.

When I inquired last week about the possibility of MLB getting the Marlins to move the start of their game against Mets from 6:10 p.m. Saturday to avoid having the first 50 minutes of it blacked out on SNY, MLB left open the door a crack to that possibility.

It since has slammed shut officially.

Anything that can be done to prevent this sort of thing henceforth?

"We're looking at how we can best avoid such scheduling conflicts in the future," an MLB spokesman said.

The Mets and their fans have had some unfortunate experiences with the Florida Marlins in recent seasons. Now they are facing another early in the 2009 campaign.

Here's the problem: The Marlins have scheduled their meeting with the Mets next Saturday for 6:10 p.m. to accommodate a post-game concert.

But Fox has exclusive national rights to MLB from 4 to 7 p.m. on Saturdays, except for games scheduled early in the afternoon that happen to run past 4.

That means that as it now stands, the first 50 minutes or so of the game cannot be televised by SNY, or anyone else but Fox. (It is not scheduled to be shown in south Florida at all.)

Major League Baseball issued this statement when asked whether anything can be done about it:

"The game is scheduled for 6 p.m. The matter has been brought to our attention and the entire issue is under consideration."

It appears if there is to be a change, it will have to be made by the Marlins, as Fox has no incentive to give up the New York market from 6 to 7 p.m. by waiving its exclusivity.

Is there anything MLB can do to avoid such scheduling problems before they occur in the future? It's not as if it's a secret the Marlins' schedule states the game is at 6:10.

Said MLB: "This is a scenario that we will continue to explore."

The main element of my Friday newspaper column is a look at SNY's new Mets studio team of Bob Ojeda and Chris Carlin.

You can read about that here if you are interested.

Due to a technical glitch, the other elements of my page in the preview section do not appear on the Web site, so I can't link to them.

Click below for the original, unedited versions preserved in my laptop of items about Steve Phillips joining the ESPN Sunday night booth, John Sterling's seniority among MLB announcers and the MLB Network's studio show plans.

Continue reading "Bob Ojeda, Chris Carlin are SNY's new Mets studio duo" »

I have nothing against Chris Carlin as the host of the Mets' studio shows this season, but then again I had nothing against the job Matt Yallof did in that role before SNY decided to replace him.

What did Yaloff - a distant cousin of mine - think of the move?

He took the high road:

"As a New York kid who lived for the Mets from the day I was born and worked my way up in the business and back to New York, this was a dream job.

"I believe that the fans knew I was one of them, because I did share the pain of the brutal losses and also enjoyed the amazing wins. It was fun."

Yallof's old boss, Curt Gowdy Jr.: "Matt Yallof and Lee Mazzili did a very good job establishing our pre and post. We just saw a window where we could try to improve it with Chris and Bob . . . I want to reiterate there was nothing lacking, but anytime we have an opportunity to improve you pursue that."

I spoke to Chris Carlin last week about his new gig co-hosting the Mets' studio shows with Bob Ojeda as well as appearing on SNY's "Loud Mouths" and "Beer Money," the latter with new co-host Alexi Panos (right).

"I'm just kind of like every guy out there watching sports; I mean, look at me," he said. "If they were looking for a classic TV anchor, they barked up the wrong tree . . . Not only physically but in terms of what I say I relate to the fan because I’m just an average guy."

Continue reading "Chris Carlin does not miss rising at 4 in the morning" »

I spoke to SNY's Keith Hernandez last week about a variety of topics, one of them the World Baseball Classic.

I assume at some point Hernandez has offered his thoughts on whether he would have participated during his playing days, but you don't expect me actually to watch spring training games, do you?

"I would not have played," he said. "I would not have risked it. I’m getting paid to play for the New York Mets and I just think that’s what you’re paying me for."

"The timing’s all wrong and it gets in the way of preparation for the season and that's ultimately what it’s all about. Suppose I had a career-ending injury? I would not have played."

I finally got around to writing my long-planned newspaper column on the ongoing lack of closed captioning at SNY.

At one point I promised to dwell on this subject on the blog every day of the Mets' regular season, but I've decided to break that promise so as to avoid unnecessarily annoying readers.

As of now, it is what it is. SNY is sensitive to the complaints of viewers who are hard of hearing, but evidently not sensitive enough to do something about it.

That leaves fans one more frustrating season to endure before FCC regulations force the network to do the right thing and provide captioning.

1050 ESPN made it official this Wednesday: Brandon Tierney is the new 10 a.m. to noon man, in advance of two hours of Colin Cowherd's national show.

(Uh, oh. Colin and bloggers not playing nicely again!)

SNY is close to announcing its new studio team for Mets games, but I'd advise betting the house on Chris Carlin and Bob Ojeda, as I attended their rehearsal today at SNY's studios.

Julie Alexandria, best known as Chris Carlin's much better half on SNY's "Beer Money," will take over this season for Jocelyn Pierce - Antonio's Mrs. - as host of "Mets Weekly."

I'm assuming this counts as a promotion.

Ms. Alexandria debuts at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, with encores at 5:30 p.m. Sunday and 6:30 p.m. Monday.

Alexandria's successor - according to industry sources I have been pestering for weeks, because I have too much time on my hands: Alexi Panos.

That is Ms. Panos in the picture.

The second season of "Beer Money" starts later this spring. (Yes, Carlin will be back. No picture available. Well, none that I care to use.)

SNY had the misfortune to strike its partnership with the Jets just in time for the famously loquacious Herman Edwards to leave and the famously tight-lipped (and restrictive) Eric Mangini to arrive.

Now that Rex Ryan is in the house, there already are signs the media reins are loosening around Gang Green, including for SNY, which lately has gotten more access than usual.

Speaking of which, owner Woody Johnson sits down with Adam Schein on the "Jets Nation" episode debuting at noon Saturday.

SNY sent a transcript, the most intriguing part of which is Mr. Johnson's take on the advantage the new training facility provides in free agency:

"Well, I think that anybody that comes out to Florham Park, doesn't leave the premises."

Let's hope he meant no one leaves without agreeing to a contract, as opposed to players being detained against their will.

CLICK BELOW FOR MORE FROM THE INTERVIEW. FOR SOME REASON SNY SENT THE HIGHLIGHTS IN ALL CAPS. I DIDN'T HAVE THE PATIENCE TO CHANGE IT TO UPPER AND LOWER CASE!

Photo: Getty

Continue reading "Woody Johnson hosts free agents, won't let them leave" »

Recently I bored and confused readers with ratings data comparing YES' "Mike'd Up" simulcast with SNY's three debate shows during the 5 to 6:30 p.m. period.

Here is an update from the February numbers:

Mike Francesa's show remains ahead of SNY's lineup among all 7.4 million or so households in the New York area, averaging 0.24 percent relative to SNY's 0.16.

But SNY's slate was ahead in February in the key demographic of men ages 25-54, attracting 0.45 percent of the viewers in that group relative to YES' 0.27. (If you include both men and women ages 25-54 the gap was larger, 0.29 to 0.14.)

It would appear that based on these numbers Francesa's YES audience is relatively older than SNY's.

Francesa's simulcast continues to show gains relative to last year, when Chris Russo still was around.

For the entire 1 to 6:30 p.m. period his household average was up more than 41 percent in February compared to last February.

YES is believed to be paying around $13 million over five years under the terms of its recently renewed contract with WFAN for Francesa's show.

(UPDATE: Francesa still not feeling well, apparently. He's out this Thursday for a second day in a row after leaving early Tuesday.)

I hadn't noticed this until an alert reader pointed it out, but Scott Ferrall no longer is on SNY's "Wheelhouse," a debate show that appears at 5:30 p.m. daily.

A network spokesman declined to comment other than to confirm Ferrall is off the show.

From what I understand, the scratchy-voiced Mr. Ferrall's contract was up, and SNY decided to explore other personalities for that role.

No permanent replacement has been named yet.

Glad I could clear that up. Carry on.

SNY will produce a postgame show for every Mets game this season, including those on Ch. 11, Fox or ESPN.

The network's new main studio team is Chris Carlin and Bob Ojeda.

My Friday newspaper column mentions that the MLB Network will offer two Yankees and one Mets game that won't be carried by YES or SNY.

They will feature the opposing team's telecast and be seen on the following dates:

March 22, Yanks-Rays; March 24, Mets-Astros; March 28, Yanks-Braves.

(For all you HD types out there, all of YES' preseason games will be shown in hi-def. SNY's are in standard. I still am not sold on the necessity of getting myself set up for HDTV. And I am not yet convinced that this color TV fad is here to stay, either.)

Thursday's Yanks-Rays game drew 1.19 percent of New York-area households, which YES said was the "highest-rated weekday daytime spring training telecast ever on YES." Is there a category for that in the Guinness Book of World Records?

Click below for more from Ron Darling on his rapid rise up the TV analyst ranks.

I will take a break now to do my expenses. It turns out that unlike newspapers (see three posts down), companies that operate trains and gas stations and restaurants expect customers to pay for stuff, and the customers generally understand that they must do so in order for those products and services to exist.

Radical concept!

Photo: Getty

Continue reading "MLB Network offers bonus Yanks, Mets practice games" »

There was no surer sign TV baseball was back Thursday than when SNY’s (and Sag Harbor’s) Keith Hernandez threw out his first official, not-so-veiled reference to living in Florida more than half the year for tax purposes.

“I was here 183 days, as a matter of fact,’’ he said after complaining early in the Mets-Marlins game about a colder-than-normal winter in Florida.

Said Gary Cohen: “That would leave only 182 to be anywhere else.’’

This caused much laughing among SNY's booth trio.

Added Ron Darling: "That's kind of an inside joke."

SNY will show 12 Mets spring training games and WPIX four, beginning Feb. 26 on SNY against the Marlins, a team that played a bit of a role late in the Metropolitans' past two regular seasons.

The highlight: The first game at Citi Field, against the Red Sox April 3.

Here is the small story I wrote for the newspaper about Keith Hernandez's harsh words for A-Rod and other performance-enhancing-drug takers. He believes none should get into the Hall of Fame.

Hernandez also wonders whether taking steroids might have bulked him up just enough to put him over the top as an HOF candidate.

Yes, I am aware of Mr. Hernandez's own sordid history with drugs. But the ones he took in the 1980s were performance detractors, not enhancers.

Neither is a good idea, but it's two entirely different topics.

SNY will carry the Eric Mangini firing presser live at 10 a.m.

I assume WFAN and 1050 ESPN will, too.

Newsday will have reporters on the scene as well.

TV industry elves tell WatchDog that Matt Yallof won't be hosting the Mets' pre- and post-game shows in 2009, joining former partner Lee Mazzilli on the sidelines.

Their replacements? Bob Ojeda widely has been assumed to be a leading candidate to step in for Maz and, well, the station just hired Chris Carlin away from WFAN full time and needs something big for the big guy to do, so . . . draw your own conclusions, people.

Hmm. I always thought Yallof did a good job. (Full disclosure: He is my cousin.)

Chris Carlin, a fixture at WFAN for the past 13 years - first as a producer for "Mike and the Mad Dog" and later as an on-air personality - will leave when his contract expires in two weeks and join SNY full time, an industry source familiar with his plans said.

Carlin served as a morning update man for both Don Imus and the show that replaced it, starring Craig Carton and Boomer Esiason, while also hosting a 5 a.m. to 6 a.m. show and serving as a fill-in host at other times of the day.

He has been the co-host of two SNY shows, "Loudmouths" and "Beer Money." He is expected to continue with those shows and add other appearances.

He also is expected to continue in his role as the radio play-by-play man for Rutgers football and basketball.

Carlin's last scheduled show at WFAN is Friday morning, Jan. 2, alongside Kim Jones.

(UPDATE: It appears the New York Radio Message Board first reported this Friday night.)

The Boston Herald (via Fang's Bites via Boston Sports Media Watch) reports former SNY reporter Julie Donaldson has left Ch. 7 in Boston after a difficult period in her personal life.

An apoplectic reader asked a very valid question about Thursday night's much-closer-than-it-was-expected-to-be game between UConn and Buffalo:

Why the heck was it on an hour tape delay on SNY?

An SNY spokesman explained thusly:

At 7 p.m., the network's priority was showing "Mets Hot Stove" live in its regular time slot. For technical reasons, it then delayed the UConn game by another half hour and inserted a "Beer Money" episode.

The decision would have seemed less awkward had not Buffalo put a scare into the Huskies.

Then again, it would have seemed much more awkward if Buffalo actually had won.

By the way, SNY next week will have "Hot Stove" shows every day Monday through Thursday to cover the winter meetings.

So sorry to be slow in posting this Friday.

Chicago Norm of The Final Score, who moonlights as our Sunday editor, gave me an extra assignment for the newspaper in a cynical attempt to slow down my pace and give his blog a chance to make some headway.

So I will share a couple of free ads for our local TV friends regarding offerings Friday night, then get back to other duties:

SNY will debut its Big East hoops slate with Kevin Burkhardt calling Northeastern vs. St. John's women and LIU vs. St. John's men as the Red Storm warms up for Monday's showdown with Cornell.

(WatchDog kudos to first reader to identify the St. John's player in the picture, with bonus points for explaining the significance of the picture.)

YES, meanwhile, debuts "Forbes SportsMoney" after the Nets game, which covers topics of interest to, well, me, because it's my job to follow sports business stuff. Among the subjects to be discussed is the impact on sports business of the larger problems with our economy.

Have a nice weekend. Enjoy Ray Lewis trying to tackle Brandon Jacobs.

And Saturday night's Islanders pregame show on MSG Plus 2, of course!

In addition to my look at Bob Papa and the NFL Network, my Friday newspaper column includes interesting items on Bob Knight's expanded role with ESPN, and Kenny Smith's and Lee Mazzilli's expired roles with MSG and SNY.

Thanks for reading all this stuff.

Starting Sunday, Newsday is going to offer a selection of WatchDog items from the week to enlighten old-school loyalists who continue to purchase and read only the print edition and enable me to continue paying for poodle food and dark beer.

You are excused from reading that roundup because of your diligence all week, but you still should read my newspaper articles - online or in print - as well as those of all my capable Newsday sports colleagues.

Gotta go now. Enjoy "Xtreme Hunts" on Versus at 3:30 p.m.

Reminds me of the beefy beetles I sometimes have to track down behind the dehumidifier in the basement.

SNY will replace Lee Mazzilli as its lead studio analyst next season, industry sources say, and fellow 1986 Met Bob Ojeda appears to be the leading candidate to replace him.

Maz spent the past two seasons in the role alongside Matt Yallof, performing capably but not exactly breaking through as a TV personality.

Ojeda coached with the Brooklyn Cyclones and Binghamton Mets earlier this decade.

One more thing related to my Friday newspaper column, which includes an item on 22-year-old Ron Darling saying this about a post-playing career in broadcasting:

"Maybe when I'm 70. I like to think I'll have more useful things to do from the time I'm 40 until I'm 70."

Another line from Darling in that 1982 Newsday article, in which he discusses the money that might be in his future if he gets promoted from Tidewater to the big club:

"The money is secondary, really. I'm a pretty frugal guy, although in New York my frugalities might include a Cadillac."

My Friday newspaper column has items about Ron Darling and Steve Scafa, the latter of whom is best known for his heroics against Darling in the St. John's vs. Yale NCAA regional playoff game of 1981.

Scafa broke up Darling's no-hitter in the 12th, then stole second, third and home for the game's lone run.

This is the famous story that Roger Angell wrote about watching the game with Smokey Joe Wood, who went 34-5 for the 1912 Boston American League club. He later coached at Yale.

Angell refers to Scafa as a "stubby, ebullient second baseman."

Jonas Schwartz said on SNY this afternoon that Bob Sheppard had told "a publication" he would be unable to attend the last game at Yankee Stadium Sunday but that he hoped to be there for the opening of the new stadium in the spring.

Hmm. I wonder if Jim Baumbach works for the "publication" in question?

(By the way, the SNY graphics crew misspelled Bob's name "Shepherd" as Schwartz spoke.)

On what show did Schwartz say this? "A Publication Live," of course!

Nice line on SNY Tuesday night from Ron Darling regarding the improbably, insanely, ridonkulously hot Carlos Delgado:

"Maybe Carlos did not get the memo that you cannot implode a stadium [according to city regulations]. He's going to try to implode it himself, knock it all down."

The Phils-Mets tilt that was supposed to be on Fox Saturday afternoon now is on SNY Sunday afternoon.

The wrinkle is that SNY hadn't been planning on showing any of the games in the series, and now has had one dumped into its lap. What to do?

The network will show the first 5 1/2 innings with limited commercial interruption and from the bottom of the sixth on with no commercial interruption.

SNY will fill the gaps with additional content such as Gary Cohen and Ron Darling answering viewer e-mails.

No word yet on whether ESPN plans to go commercial free for the Sunday night game between the teams.

Really, it's time for the major sports league to direct teams to include announcers on their injury lists, lest fans not understand and appreciate the context of their performances.

Take Monday night's Mets game. A source in the Shea Stadium press lounge said SNY's Kevin Burkhardt injured his tongue by biting it during the pregame meal, negatively affecting his ability to pronounce the letter "S" all night.

It's a good thing Santana didn't pitch for the Mets.

Burkhardt battled through the injury, making his the third most impressive effort of the night after Pelfrey and Delgado.