By: Jim Williams

The Examiner

Kenny Mayne is excited about the 133^rd running of the Preakness and he can’t wait till Saturday to see he action. He and Randy Moss will anchor ESPN’s coverage of all the pre race activities starting Friday and then all day Saturday from noon till 4:30pm when they hand things off to NBC for race coverage.

Mayne on the Preakness: “This is a one horse race. Big Brown is such a wonderful horse to watch and I said before the Kentucky Derby that I thought that he was a real Superstar and so did a great many other people but this horse is really something special and a true Triple Crown contender.”

 Mayne on the future of the Preakness: “Look I love coming to Baltimore and the people at Pimlico have been wonderful to me. That said of the three Triple Crown race tracks they could use a coat of paint out there. But it is the race that matter and what the track looks like is not important simply put the Preakness at Pimlico is special as are the people behind the scenes that make the race come off without a hitch each year. So I hope that the race stays in Baltimore for another 133 years. I also hope that the people of Maryland understand how special that the horse racing industry is to the state and that they appreciate what they have in the Preakness because it can be taken away.”

 Mayne on the death of eight Belles: “That was one of the saddest things that I have ever seen. I know that the Vet and all of the people that cover racing said that they had never seen such a bad break in both legs at the same time. I really don’t know what happened and do think that we need to look into how the horses are bread and how we get them ready to race. I am all for investigating and learning more about why these deaths happen and how we can make the sport safer for horses and the jockeys.”

Anyone wanting to meet Kenny Mayne can today from noon till 2pm at Pimlico where he will be signing copies of his new book An Incomplete and Inaccurate History of Sport. It is a great read and like the author plenty of laughs. 

 You can also get the book from www.kennymaynehaswrittenabook.com

What can Big Brown — named for UPSbecause of his owner’s ties to the company

—    do for you? Apparently make money.

Dave Johnson who has spent over 40 years following the Triple Crown and 25 of them calling the race for ABC Sports says that "Is is Big Brown and all the little browns. I really think that he is an impressive a favorite as we have seen in years."

Johnson will go over all the entries in the crowed 20 horse field this morning on his show at 10am on Sirius 127.    

 Another view comes fom  NBC on-track reporter Donna Barton- Brothers: “Big Brown has proven he’s the fastest while Pyro and Colonel John have been battle-tested. I can’t see any of the remaining 17 horses that will be running in the Derby as being good enough to beat any of these top three.”

Today things get underway at 11am on ESPN2 with Churchill Downs Today then the show to ESPN at noon. There will be a special at 3pm the network will air a special on The Derby.  

Kenny Mayne and Rece Davis, analysts Jerry Bailey, Randy Moss and Jeannine Edwards, handicapper Hank Goldberg and reporters Jay Privman and Steve Cyphers will handle the broadcasting duties. 

At 4pm NBC takes over with former area radio personality and Access Hollywood host Billy Bush doing red carpet show Access at the Kentucky Derby

"The Derby is a legendary event," said Bush.  "My goal will be to add fun and help build excitement for the race without distracting from the tradition of Derby day and people's passion for it.  That said, there should be some moments."

At 5 p.m. NBC Sports race coverage begins with Tom Hammond and Bob Costas co-hosting the Derby alongside three-time Derby winner Gary Stevens.  NBC Sports' broadcast team also includes race-caller Tom Durkin; contributing analysts Mike Battaglia and Bob Neumeier; reporter Kenny Rice and on-track reporter Donna Barton Brothers, who retired in 1998 after an impressive 11-year career as a jockey.

NBC will also have post race coverage and the trophy presentation.

Dave Johnson will have a special edition of Down The Stretch airing from 10am till noon on Sirius 127 and then at 5pm ESPN Radio will cover all the pre race, race and post race action live.

Brian Billick to FOX

By: Jim Williams

The Examiner

Former Ravens head coach Brian Billick will be joining FOX as a game analyst this season starting September 7^th.

After working this past weekend with the NFL Network as a Draft Day analyst he wasted no time in signing a one year deal to work the NFC games for FOX.

The first half of the season Billick will have a partner (yet to be named) and then for the second half of the season he will join existing FOX broadcast crews as the third man in the booth.

In a prepared statement Billick talked about joining FOX.

“I am very pleased to have the opportunity to work with FOX and the outstanding members of the NFL on FOX broadcast team,” said Billick. “Having spent nearly 30 years coaching football, I look forward to providing analysis from this new vantage point.”

Anyone who has ever heard Billick knows that he is broadcasting natural and FOX beat out CBS for the coaches services.

FOX Sports President Ed Goren on Billick joining the network: “We have always tried to hire analysts that have a certain presence or confidence - an edge if you will, and Coach Billick is the latest example of our philosophy," said Goren. "Partner that passion with a tremendous knowledge of the game, and you have the makings of a top game analyst."

Look for the former Ravens coach on more than a few Redskins games. 

Chris Landry will be on most of the day Saturday nationally on Fox Sports Radio following the draft from his own War Room in LA. Locally he can be heard on Sports Talk 980AM in Washington and on WNST 15600AM in Baltimore.

Chris took a few minutes out of his busy Friday schedule to talk draft with me and what might happen with the Ravens and the Redskins.

Landry on the draft: “Fans of both teams know that they have multiple needs and not one player is going to solve the issues that these teams have. So look for them both to stay with their Draft Boards.”  

Landry on the Ravens getting prize QB Matt Ryan: “I don’t see him falling to the #8 spot and I also do not see Ozzie Newsome (the Ravens GM) making a trade to move up. It is not his style and few people are truer to their draft board than the Ravens and that has served them well over the years.”

Landry on a possible trade: “If they see a chance to trade down and get extra picks and a chance to land Michigan QB Chad Henne who they like then that is a trade I can see Ozzie making.”

Landry on if the Ravens stay at #8 “If they stay where they are then Leodis McKelvin of Troy is a CB that I know they like and he could play day one. Then they could hope to score a QB in the second round like a Brian Brohm or a John David Booty.”

Locally the draft can be followed in Baltimore on WBAL 1090AM and on ESPN 1300AM as well as on WNST-AM 1570

How about the Redskins?

Landry on a trade: “You can never rule out a trade when it comes to the Redskins. But I really think that not getting Chad Johnson was a very good thing. He would not have helped them and could have been a major distraction.”

Landry on the #21 pick: “The Redskins have needs and there are plenty of good line both on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. However, I know they want a WR and if they simply can’t wait the best one who should be there at #21 is Michigan State star Devin Thomas. But they may trade down if he is not there and stock up and picks and surprise us all by looking to fill a number of needs.”

Chris Landry and the Fox Sports radio gang will be on all day on Sports Talk 980AM and of course Triple X ESPN radio.

The TV side is already on with ESPN and the NFL Network looking pulling long day’s of wall to wall coverage.

Floyd Reese knows all about getting ready for the NFL Draft pouring over the scouting reports and looking over the personal notes he made watching and talking to perspective picks.

Reese, the Former Tennessee Titans General Manager (1994 - 2006) is currently a writer for ESPN.com and television commentator on NFL Live on ESPN. He is known for drafting 3 NFL Rookies of the Year with only 11 first round draft choices. Eddie George (1996), Jevon Kearse (1999) and Vince Young (2006) he also drafted Steve McNair as well as Adam Packman Jones.

Examiner: What is it going to be like in the Ravens War Room Saturday?

Reese: “They will be praying that Matt Ryan drops to them. I don’t see the Ravens trading up to get Ryan however that is always a possibility. The more likely route is to stay where they are and take a corner and then pick up a quarterback in the second round.”      

Examiner: Do the Ravens have a legitimate starting QB on their roster?

Reese: “Not that I see. Troy Brown is not ready yet and it will be up to the organization to decide just where he is in their future plans. As for Kyle Boller the thing that worries me is that they signed Steve McNair to be their #1 guy and that sent the signal to Kyle that you aren’t our guy. Now there is a new head coach and a new offensive coordinator and they are saying to him that you are our guy. It is my experience that those mixed signals seldom work. It is only human nature for Boller to always be looking over his shoulder.”   

Examiner: Talk about two guys you know well Steve McNair and Packman Jones?

Reese: “I watched Steve’s retirement press conference and he went out with class just like he came in with us at the Titans. I remember telling the press that he would sit for a couple of years and then we would work him into the system. In his 5^th year I said that he would take us to the playoffs. I was wrong. In his 5^th year we won the Super Bowl and then for the next six years we were the winningest franchise in the NFL. Ravens fans know in his last full season at Baltimore he set a franchise record for wins. Steve was a player that never gave up and played 100% every down he ever played and he made every one that he ever played with him a better player. What more can you ask of anyone?

“As for Adam Jones well we saw that he had one small fight in college and it did not seem to be a big thing. We drafted him and all hell broke loose once he had money and started hanging out with some friends who really weren’t his true friends. I will tell you this he has the potential to be one of the best cornerback’s in the NFL and if he goes to Dallas and truly wants to play football and gets his act together then the Cowboys will have a true steal. However if his goes there and has any trouble he will be banned for life from the NFL and that would be a very sad thing, so it really is up to Adam and I hope that he makes the best of this second chance.”

Floyd Reese will be part of ESPN’s Draft day coverage both on TV and online at ESPN.COM starting Saturday at 3p.m.

Last night in dramatic style the Caps beat the Flyers 4-2 in game 6 to force a game 7 tonight in Chinatown at the Phone Booth.

The game takes place tonight at 7pm but there is excitement and talk already going on and no one wants to stop talking hockey anytime soon.

If there was ever any doubt the Caps have taken over Washington.

Sports talk radio in Washington that is dominated by Redskins talk and Wizards – Cleveland playoffs has suddenly been overtaken by the “Little Red Machine.”

In almost 18 years of living in Washington this is the first real time that the Capitals have been the darlings of the town.

All day on Sports Talk 980AM, Triple X ESPN (on MASN), and WJFK-FM the talk is about the Capitals and how this young team has come back from a 3-1 deficit to force a game 7 at home tonight.

CSN will start this afternoon at 5pm with Russ Thaler and a special edition of WPL from the Verizon Center. That will be followed by at 6pm with a special edition of SportsNite and then the pre game show starts at 6:30pm.

WJFK-FM and XM will have Steve Kolbe calling the action at 7pm.

Nationally the game will be on Versus, for Caps fans in Canada TSN and RDS will have the action.

At 10pm San Jose will host Calgary in a big game 7 out west. Sharks fans are all too familiar with an early exit in the playoffs. Coach Ron Wilson‘s job could be on the line if the Sharks lose at home against a tough Calgary team.

The pre game will for the Sharks telecast will be at 6:30pm (PDT) with the telecast starting at 7pm.

As always Sharks radio will be KFOX-FM 98.5 and XM.

Both games will be on Versus and all telecasts both local and national will be in HD.    

By: Jim Williams

The Examiner

On one hand it is great to have the Caps and Wizards in the playoffs but then there are days like today when they both play at the same time. Where to go to see both teams play?

Time for a RED OUT!!!!!

Caps fans will see the all important game 6 against the Flyers on CSN at 7pm with Joe Beninati, Craig Laughlin, Al Koken, and Lisa Hillary doing the game coverage honors.

 Koken, Hillary and Joe Reekie handling the pre game, period breaks and post game show 

Versus will also cover the game on a national level and Cap fans in Canada will see the game on TSN.

The Ice Man Steve Kolbe will handle the radio side starting at 7pm on WJFK-FM 106.7 and also XM radio.

The Wizards – Cav’s game from Cleveland will be on CN8 and Newschannel 8 at 7pm with Steve Buckhantz and Phil Chenier handling the chores in Cleveland with Chris Miller and Ron Thompson taking care of the pre and post game.

Some fans may want to watch the game on TNT or at least the half time report with Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson it is always worth a look.

Game 4 of the series will come on Thursday night from the Verizon Center and should give the CSN crew a little break. The game will be at 7pm on CSN and also will once again be seen nationally on TNT.

Radio will be on Sports Talk 980AM and Sirius with Dave Johnson starting at 6:30pm

If there is a game 7 and we hope that there will be it will come on Tuesday at 7pm and it would be played in Chinatown at the Verizon Center with both CSN and Versus on hand for the coverage.

OK with both teams in the playoffs that means all hands on deck for the Comcast crew.

Russ Thaler and WPL start things off with a pre-game show that begins at 5pm with live up dates from both Philadelphia and Cleveland.

6p.m. SportsNite Chick Hernandez, Michael Jenkins, Kelli Johnson, Jill Sorenson, David Lee and Carol Maloney will all be on hand. The Bethesda studio will be busy with SportsNite and two pre and post game shows all going on within minutes of one another.

It is live TV at its best and this is what the team at CSN lives for and it is why they are the best. They can pull off doing two top network quality broadcasts without a hitch while behind the scenes there is controlled chaos. As someone who has done it before I can tell you it is not as easy as it looks.

You can also bet that both Sports talk 980AM, Triple X ESPN and WJFK-FM will be doing wall to wall Caps and Wizards coverage all Monday and well into the night. It is will be a Manic  Monday.  

Busy sports weekend Yankees-O’s, Wiz-Cav’s , Caps-Flyers and Nat’s-Fish almost all in HD..

(It is an ALL HD weekend for the locals, except for the Nationals)

Saturday at Noon Comcast SportsNet will have the pre game for game 1 of the Wizards – Cavs game from Cleveland. The game can also be seen on ESPN but we suggest that you watch the local gang with Steve Buckhantz and Phil Chenier will as always handle the TV duties with Dave Johnson doing the radio on Sports Talk 980AM/Sirius/ AM600 in Baltimore.

Plenty of pre and post game action live from Cleveland as the Wizards start the playoff hunt for the third straight year against Cleveland.

Just an hour after things start for the Wizards the Caps face a must win game five Stanley Cup match up in front of the home folks at a sold out Phone Booth in Chinatown.

The game can be seen at 1p.m. on NBC4 in DC and on NBC11 in both Baltimore and the Bay area.

Radio for the Caps with the Ice Man Steve Kolbe will be on WJFK-FM 106.7 and also on their flagship station 3WT 1500AM/107.7FM which does not have a Nationals conflict.

After the game CSN will have extensive coverage of both the Caps and the Wizards games filling up the majority of Saturday afternoon.

A special edition of SportsNite will air from 3p.m. till 7p.m. to cover the days playoff action from both Cleveland and Chinatown.

Busy night for the Orioles and Nationals…

MASNHD-WJZ has all there home games of the Orioles and the Yankees in HD this weekend. That is channel 226 on Comcast (MOJO-HD).

Saturday’s game will start at 7p.m. with Jim Hunter and Jim Palmer doing the booth honors and Amber Theoharis as the in game reporter.

Tom Davis and Rick Dempsey will doing their pre and post game shows from the Yard at 6:30pm Saturday night and Sunday the boys will be on at 1pm.

MASN2 has the Nationals will be in Florida with a 7pm start as always Bob Carpenter, Don Sutton and Debbi Taylor will do the in game reports. Sunday’s start time will be 1pm. Nats Xtra will air Saturday night at 6:30pm and Sunday at 1pm with Johnny Holiday and Ray Knight doing the honors.

Best of the rest of the weekend…

The NBA playoffs on ABC and ESPN has the Saturday it is the Suns at the Spurs on ABC7  and ABC2 at 3pm. Then the Mavs and the Hornets at 3pm on ESPN and the nightcap is also on ESPN with Jazz and Rockets at 9:30pm

Sunday has the action moving to TNT with Toronto taking on Orlando at 12:30pm, ABC will have Denver at the Lakers (get used to seeing them) at 3:30pm, then it is back to TNT for a double header of Philly at Detroit starting time will be 6pm followed by Atlanta at Boston around 8:30pm.            

Fisrt things first...

Coverage of the Caps-Flyers begins with WPL and host Russ Thaler at 5pm and moves on to SportsNite at 6pm, then Caps Pre-Game live at 6:30pm all on CSN and out side the area on Versus at 7pm.   

The Ice man Steve Kolbe will have the action on WJFK-FM 106.7 and XM at 7pm.

Now to the big news.

The love of the Washington Capitals is for real and the signs are that the Stanley Cup Playoff run… no matter how long it last has launched in some cases a new found love of hockey.

The love of the red and the sellout crowds at the Phone Booth are proof that hockey has gotten a grip on the Nation’s Capital and with the young like the duo of Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom, on this team the future is very, very bright.

The Tuesday telecast was the highest-rated Capitals game on Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic in five seasons and the highest-rated Flyers game on Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia in two seasons.  Comcast SportsNet’s post-season audience gains follow strong regular season ratings growth for both the Flyers and the Capitals.  Capitals ratings on Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic increased 75% over last season and Flyers coverage on Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia increased 47% over last season.

The game drew a peak audience of 247,000 households (8.3 rating) and averaged 161,000 households (5.4 rating) on Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, and on Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic, attracted a peak audience of 87,400 (3.8 rating) and an average viewership of 59,800 (2.6 rating) in Washington, D.C., and peaked at 23,100 households (2.1 rating) and averaged 13,200 households (1.2 rating) in Baltimore.  The audience peaked in all three markets during the 9:30-9:45 quarter hour.

Trust me these are big numbers for hockey and music to the ears of the team because plenty of new fans are watching all over the Washington-Baltimore area. When you can draw more than your base and the Caps have done that, it is very good news for the franchise.

Also kudos to the wonderful coverage that CSN has provided throughout the final games of the season and then into the race for the Stanley Cup it clear that the Washington CSN coverage, game and post game team is much better than the Philly CSN squad and once again proves that when it comes to big game coverage the men and women of CSN – Bethesda are best in regional sports.

Jill Sorensen, Michael Jenkins, Lisa Hillary, Al Koken, and Ex Cap Joe Reekie have been awesome in their pre and post game coverage. Meanwhile Joe Beninati and his partner Craig Laughlin form one of the best broadcast trams in the NHL.

Comcast SportNet just keeps rising to the occasion when it comes to event coverage and giving the fans every storyline possible both the good and the bad – it is what sports television is all about following the story and CSN always delivers.

On the radio side thanks to WJFK-FM 106.7 and XM we are able to hear the games with underrated Steve Kolbe. He does a fine job on the broadcasts and if you haven’t listen to a Caps game on the radio give it a try.    

Bryant Gumbel has decided to give up his duties as the play-by-play voice for the NFL Network’s eight-game package of NFL games, NFL Network late Friday afternoon.

 What started off as a ground breaking, a 21^st century style of broadcasting where Gumbel was to engage partner Cris Collinsworth in a conversation about football. Well it is exactly what the executives at NFL Network wanted it turned out that the fans hated it.

NFL fans want traditional play by play and color do not confuse them with innovative broadcasting they simply can’t handle it.

 So Gumbel one of the most accomplished sports and news hosts in TV history was left to take the heat and in the end give up. He told the brass at NFL Network that he had never had done play by play in his life and took the job because he was told not to worry about it.            

 “I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to call NFL Network games the past two years, which was a new experience for me,” said Gumbel.  “But we've agreed that we'd all be better served going in different directions. There are a lot of talented people at NFL Network. I thank them, I wish them well, and I have no doubt that they will be very successful going forward.”

NFL Network will begin a search for a new play-by-play announcer to work alongside Collinsworth immediately. But first a short thank you from the his boss.

 “We appreciate everything Bryant did in helping us launch our NFL Network game telecasts,” said NFL Network President and CEO Steve Bornstein.  “Bryant helped create interest in our first foray into televising NFL regular-season games. He is one of the great broadcasters of our time and we are honored to have worked with him.”

NFL fans do not like anything new they just down distance and some color mixed in and that is it, just ask Gumbel.

(The quotes in this column were provided by the NFL Network)

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