Jim Williams: Comcast SportsNet has cable covered

Jim Williams, The Examiner
Aug 25, 2006 5:00 AM (2 hrs 4 mins ago)
Current rank: # 3 of 7,046 articles

WASHINGTON - We have talked a great deal over the past two days about the depth of talent we have covering sports on TV here in Washington.

All four broadcast stations have a different style and do their best in what is a confined time. In most cases they have to battle the weatherman for minutes as the newscast heads to a close.

But the gold standard in Washington for regional cable sports news is clearly Comcast SportsNet.

They have four shows a day starting with “SportsNite” at 6:30 p.m. through “SportsRise” that plays in the morning block daily from 6-9 a.m.

The shows are fast-paced and filled with the type of long-form reporting you just can’t get on the broadcast outlets due to time constraints.

Chick Hernandez, Michael Jenkins and Jill Sorenson are the main anchors while top-notch reporters Brent Harris, Kelli Johnson, Sage Steele, and Russ Thaler all turn out quality work.

CSN cleverly uses the “SportsNite” at 6:30 p.m. as a combo news program-lead in to primetime games of the Wizards, Caps and D.C. United.

Then the 10 p.m. show is often the news plus postgame coverage, a great combo other stations in the Washington-Baltimore market can’t do consistently.

I have seen regional sports network newscasts and far and away CSN has the best of them all, with the best staff of reporters, anchors and technical people in the country.

Jim Williams is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning TV producer, director and writer.

Examiner