MASN ready to play ball with Nats, Orioles

Jim Williams, The Examiner
Feb 10, 2007 3:00 AM (7 hrs ago)
Current rank: # 2 of 17,559 articles
WASHINGTON - We have about a week until pitchers and catchers report to camp and MASN has released its schedule for both the Orioles and Nationals Spring Training telecasts.

Since both Orioles and Nationals are partners in the network, viewers can expect a great deal of access not available before.

The Nats-Orioles tilt on March 3 marks the first of over 300 baseball telecasts MASN will have in 2007. The Nationals broadcast crew of Bob Carpenter and newly-signed Don Sutton will call the game.

“I can’t wait to get to Spring Training,” Carpenter said. “As for being the broadcast team that does the first telecast of the network in Baltimore it will be an honor and I know that while O’s fans will cheer for their team I hope that since we are all part of the family that they will also tune in to watch Don and me from time to time.”

MASN will debut its new pre-game and post-game shows — “O’s Xtra” and “Nats Xtra” — for three of the last games in March. These 30-minute programs will showcase Nationals and Orioles news, analysis, highlights, and interviews.

We do know Jim Palmer will return to the Orioles broadcast team, giving MASN the distinction of being the only regional cable network to have two Hall-of-Fame pitchers in their broadcast stable. The rest of Baltimore’s broadcast team is not set. Expect an announcement on that soon, perhaps next week. It seems the network is deciding whether it wants separate TV and radio teams like a few years ago.

Jim Hunter, Fred Manfra and Joe Angel will continue to call the O’s games WTEM in Washington.

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

TELEVISION RIGHTS

Here are the list of Nationals preseason games on MASN:

» Saturday, March 3, 1:05 p.m. —

Orioles @ Nationals, Viera, Fla.

» Thursday, March 8, 1:05 p.m. —

Astros @ Nationals, Viera, Fla.

» Friday, March 9, 1:05 p.m. — Nationals @ Orioles, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

» Monday, March 12, 1:05 p.m. — Mets @ Nationals, Viera, Fla.

» Wednesday, March 21, 7:05 p.m. — Braves @ Nationals, Viera, Fla.

» Tuesday, March 27, 7:05 p.m. — Mets @ Nationals, Viera, Fla. **

» Friday, March 30, 2:05 p.m. —

Nationals @ Orioles, Norfolk, Va.

» Saturday, March 31, 1:05 p.m. — Orioles @ Nationals, RFK Stadium **

Orioles preseason games on MASN:

» Saturday, March 3, 1:05 p.m. —

Orioles @ Nationals, Viera, Fla.

» Friday, March 9, 1:05 p.m. — Nationals @ Orioles, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

» Sunday, March 18, 1:05 p.m. — Red Sox @ Orioles, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

» Saturday, March 24, 1:05 p.m. — Dodgers @ Orioles, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

» Wednesady, March 28, 1:05 p.m. — Cardinals @ Orioles, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. **

» Friday, March 30, 2:05 p.m. — Nationals @ Orioles, Norfolk, Va.

» Saturday, March 31, 1:05 p.m. — Orioles @ Nationals, RFK Stadium **

**Denotes games featuring the new MASN pre- and post-game shows, O’s Xtra and Nats Xtra
Examiner