Jim Williams: A full slate of sports on the tube, radio this week

Jim Williams, The Examiner
Aug 16, 2006 5:00 AM (3 hrs ago)
Current rank: # 5 of 5,896 articles

BALTIMORE - The WBAL/98 Rock crew of Gerry Sandusky, Stan White and Rob Burnett got off to a solid start as the new Ravens broadcast team during Baltimore’s first preseason game against the Giants. University of Maryland men’s basketball coach Gary Williams as the guest sideline reporter was very good; he clearly has a future broadcasting career after a few more national titles in College Park. I must admit that I was skeptical about the sideline reporter, but if WBAL/98 Rock can keep the quality high and the gimmickry low, they’ll have a winner.

Thursday is a Baltimore sports fan’s dream — a full day of sports action starting with the Orioles facing the Yankees in the Bronx at 12:30 p.m. Right after the game, around 5:30, fans can shift into football mode to get ready for the Ravens-Eagles preseason game at M&T Bank Stadium.

Once again, WBAL and 98 Rock will have different pre-game shows — WBAL for the hard-core fan and 98 Rock mixing football, music and fun. So fans can pick their favorite style. The kickoff is 8 p.m., and WBAL/98 Rock will have the action radio-wise.

On TV, FOX 45 sports director Bruce Cunningham will host Ravens Pre-game at 7:30 p.m. At 8, FOX 45 in Baltimore and MASN has the game action, with Dick Stockton, Daryl Johnston and Tony Siragusa handling the telecast.

WJZ 13 and TNT will be the home this weekend for the PGA Championship. TNT will carry the early rounds with bonus early Saturday and Sunday morning coverage. WJZ will have all the prime coverage on the weekend from Medina Country Club in Medina, Ill.

Saturday on both FOX Soccer Channel and SIRIUS satellite radio, the English Premiership action gets underway for soccer fans. There will be a triple-header Saturday starting at 10 a.m., followed by Chelsea vs. Manchester City on Sunday at 11 a.m.

Finally, FOX NFL Sunday has a brand new host. Joe Buck will handle the dual role of lead play-by-play man while also replacing James Brown. Buck will join the team of Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long and Jimmy Johnson in the studio.

The show will travel each week to the game site and do the program from the stadium parking lot. Also, Curt Menefee will handle the FOX NFL Sunday’s halftime and post-game duties on site with Bradshaw, Long and Johnson. The first show will air Sept. 10. They will do studio shows from Los Angeles. Curt Menefee subs in for three Sundays in October while Joe Buck works the World Series.

Jim Williams is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning TV producer, director and writer. You can e-mail Jim at jwilliamsexaminer@gmail.com.

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