I think shortly after Apple iTunes started offering Podcasts from ESPN I begged (maybe a bit strong) for ESPN to add “Pardon the Interruption,” the mano a mano verbal sportsfest between Tony Kornheiser (he of the new MNF broadcast team) and Michael Wilbon (he the ghostwriter for Sir Charles among other notable accomplishments). So, I see PTI is now available as a Podcast from the iTunes home, but it leads me to wonder…”Where’s the video?” Would it kill ESPN to put the moving pictures with the voice? Heck, if you want to drop a commercial in the download, I won’t object—especially if it’s those funny Guinness ads. Brilliant!

 

While we’re at it, I had to quibble, but I don’t like how Apple iTunes mixes “regular’ Podcasts with video Podcasts in its directory. They are not the same, no matter how you look at it. Video ones, such as the hilarious one with Jack Black from the set of “Nacho Libre,” deserve their own categorization and even own name. My take, at least.

Who on earth would have thunk it? The USA team took a beating from Canada, losing 8-6, and the came actually wasn’t that close. The USA team scored all of its runs in one inning, four of them coming on a Jason Varitek grand slam. Canada came out and pummeled the US pitching, sending Dontrelle Willis and Al Leiter to the showers. It took Huston Street to stop the bleeding and put up the first scoreless inning to give the US squad a chance to get back into the game. The US team came within a whisker of winning in the 8th when Chase Utley faced Phillies teammate Scott Mathieson with two men on and launched a rocket to dead center which fell a few feet short of winning the game. The loss gives Canada an automatic next round invite and puts the US and Mexico both a 1-2. Mexico plays Canada today and the US can lick its wounds one full day before playing South Africa on Friday in a must annihilate game. If Mexico beats Canada, all sorts of odd tiebreaker rules go into effect. Stay tuned.

I am not sure what to think of the new Monday Night Football crew. Individually, the announcers (Tirico, Kornheiser, Theismann) are good, but I am not sure how the team dynamic works. Joe Theismann, a former player, has decent insight, but tends to fall in love with the sound of his own voice and talk over his colleagues. How he mixes with Kornheiser (a favorite of mine as a columnist, radio personality and TV commentator) might not work and fall flat. Tony Kornheiser, as a judge on that reality ESPN wanna-be-a-Sportscneter anchor show, was way out of his element. But on radio, his extemporaneous comments were brilliant and often controversial. In fact, once he was suspended for an on-air comment.

 

Mike Tirico is quietly one of the best play-by-play men around (he does NBA and college sports). He has class, a smooth style and knows how to let the moment be the star. My sense is he’ll be able to bring out the best in his new colleagues. Tirico did a good job bringing out the limited warmth from Patriots’ coach Bill Belichick during the Super Bowl XL coverage.

 

Well, it’s no Dandy Don and Howard Cosell, but it could be interesting…

I think it’s great that MLB has hooked up with ESPN for a long-term contract. No other network—cable or otherwise—has done a better job with baseball coverage (live games, highlight shows, etc...) than ESPN.

 

It leads you to wonder what ESPN has in store for MLB over the next several years…beyond the TV screen, that is. Will ESPN broadcast games to mobile phones? Will ESPN broadcast games to the PC via the ESPN 360 widget? Will ESPN brew some sort of interactive experience where fans can interact via IM during games (hence more oomph behind the open IM platform)…at the same time will it build some sort of baseball “social network” that allows fans to build personal sites and communicate ala Myspace?

 

All of these are possibilities as is the notion the network will help MLB usher the game into additional foreign markets. I look to ESPN to be innovative and not afraid to try and fail. It’s a great marriage.