Coming to you from WKEN: Sports Television and Radio Happenings

Newburgh’s WGNY 1220-AM has switched from an Oldies format to ESPN Radio effective immediately. Also, the 1220 signal will now be repeated on 97.3 FM in the Poughkeepsie and Kingston region later this week.
ESPN Radio is a 24/7 all-sports network based in Bristol, Conn. The network features an all-day talk lineup, and SportsCenter nightly update shows. ESPN Radio is also the home for Major League Baseball games on Sunday nights and Saturday afternoons, plus the post-season; NBA games; college football and basketball games; and, select other live events.

WGNY-AM is a 10,000-watt station from sunrise to sunset, powering down to 100 watts during evenings. The daytime signal is strong through most of Orange County, southern Ulster and eastern Sullivan, and stretches to New York, Newark, Scranton, Binghamton, Oneonta and Danbury. The FM translator should be heard from Kingston, through most of eastern Ulster and western Dutchess – those are the areas that cannot get the ESPN New York 98.7 signal.

WGNY was the Hudson Valley’s first radio station, signing on in Chester in Feb. 1933. The station moved to Newburgh in 1937.

Sunrise Broadcasting will maintain its Oldies format on 94.9-FM in Chester and 98.9-FM in Rosendale - that’s the format 1220-AM was using until Tuesday. Sunrise runs an Adult Contemporary format on WJGK 103.1-FM, and a clubs/dance music format called “Millenial” on 94.1-FM in Chester and 95.7-FM in Highland, covering Dutchess and Ulster counties.

The television networks, announcers and start times for the Sweet Sixteen round of the NCAA tournament have been set. Also, all NCAA games can be heard on DialGlobalSports.com.
Thursday, March 28
7:15 p.m. – Marquette vs. Miami, CBS, Verne Lundquist, Bill Raftery and Rachel Nichols; Radio: Ian Eagle and John Thompson
7:47 p.m. – Arizona vs. Ohio State, TBS, Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller, Len Elmore and Lewis Johnson; Radio: Wayne Larivee and Bill Frieder
9:40 p.m. – Syracuse vs. Indiana, CBS, Lundquist, Raftery and Nichols; Radio: Eagle and Thompson
10:12 p.m. – LaSalle vs. Wichita State, TBS, Harlan, Miller, Elmore and Johnson; Radio: Larivee and Frieder
Friday, March 29
7:15 p.m. – Oregon vs. Louisville, CBS, Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg and Tracy Wolfson; Radio: Kevin Kugler and Pete Gillen
7:37 p.m. – Kansas vs. Michigan, TBS, Marv Albert, Steve Kerr and Craig Sager; Radio: Brad Sham and Fran Fraschilla
9:40 p.m. – Michigan State vs. Duke, CBS, Nantz, Kellogg and Wolfson; Radio: Kugler and Gillen
10:02 p.m. – Florida Gulf Coast vs. Florida, TBS, Albert, Kerr and Sager; Radio: Sham and Fraschilla

The NCAA men’s basketball tournament gets underway Tuesday and Wednesday with first-round games. The tournament will be televised by CBS, TBS, TNT and TruTV, and all games can be heard online at DialGlobalSports.com. Here is the schedule, with the announcer assignments:

Friday schedule
Albany-Duke, 12:15 p.m. (CBS) – Kevin Harlan, Len Elmore, Reggie Miller and Lewis Johnson; Radio: Scott Graham, John Thompson
Mississippi-Wisconsin, 12:40 p.m. (TruTV) – Marv Albert, Steve Kerr and Craig Sager; Radio: Kevin Calabro, Will Perdue
Temple-North Carolina State, 1:40 p.m. (TBS) – Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg and Tracy Wolfson; Radio: Gary Cohen, Pete Gillen
Pacific-Miami, 2:10 p.m. (TNT) – Tim Brando, Mike Gminski and Otis Livingston; Radio: Will Larravee, Reid Gettys
Cincinnati-Creighton, 2:40 p.m. (CBS) – Harlan, Elmore, Miller and Johnson; Radio: Graham, Thompson
Boise State/LaSalle winner vs. Kansas State, 3:05 p.m. (TruTV) – Albert, Kerr and Sager; Radio: Calabro, Perdue
Long Island/James Madison winner vs. Indiana, 4:05 p.m. (TBS) – Nantz, Kellogg and Wolfson; Radio: Cohen, Gillen
Colorado-Illinois, 4:35 p.m. (TNT) – Brando, Gminski and Livingston; Radio: Larravee, Gettys
Florida Gulf Coast-Georgetown, 6:50 p.m. (TBS) – Harlan, Elmore, Miller and Johnson; Radio: Graham, Thompson
Iona-Ohio State, 7:15 p.m. (CBS) – Nantz, Kellogg and Wolfson; Radio: Cohen, Gillen
Villanova-North Carolina, 7:20 p.m. (TNT) – Albert, Kerr and Sager; Radio: Calabro, Perdue
Northwestern State-Florida, 7:27 p.m. (TruTV) – Brando, Gminski and Livingston; Radio: Larravee, Gettys
Oklahoma-San Diego State, 9:15 p.m. (TBS) – Harlan, Elmore, Miller and Johnson; Radio: Graham, Thompson
Iowa State-Notre Dame, 9:40 p.m. (CBS) – Nantz, Kellogg and Wolfson; Radio: Cohen, Gillen
Western Kentucky-Kansas, 9:45 p.m. (TNT) – Albert, Kerr and Sager; Radio: Calabro, Perdue
Minnesota-UCLA, 9:52 p.m. (TruTV) – Brando, Gminski and Livingston; Radio: Larravee, Gettys

Saturday schedule
Virginia Commonwealth-Michigan, 12 p.m. (CBS) – Verne Lundquist, Bill Raftery and Rachel Nichols; Radio: Tom McCarthy, Kelly Tripucka
Memphis-Michigan State, 2:40 p.m. (CBS) – Lundquist, Raftery and Nichols; Radio: McCarthy, Tripucka
Colorado State-Louisville, 5:15 p.m. (CBS) – Ian Eagle, Jim Spanarkel and Allie LaForce; Radio: Kevin Kugler, Jamal Mashburn
Harvard-Arizona, 6 p.m. (TNT) – Spero Dedes, Doug Gottlieb and Jamie Maggio; Radio: Dave Sims, Kevin Grevey
Oregon-Saint Louis, 7 p.m. (TBS) – Brian Anderson, Dan Bonner and Marty Snider; Radio: Ted Robinson, Bill Frieder
Marquette-Butler, 7:40 p.m. (CBS) – Eagle, Spanarkel and LaForce; Radio: Kugler, Mashburn
Wichita State-Gonzaga, 8:30 p.m. (TNT) – Dedes, Gottlieb and Maggio; Radio: Sims, Grevey
California-Syracuse, 9:35 p.m. (TBS) – Anderson, Bonner and Snider; Radio: Robinson, Frieder

The newest 24-hour national sports channel, FOX Sports 1, will go on the air on Saturday, Aug. 17, and will be available in 90 million homes, making it the largest sports cable network launch in history. Fox Sports 1, which will take over Fox’s Speed Channel, has been discussed publicly for months but only officially announced on Tuesday in New York city.
“Our ‘secret,’ admittedly a very poorly kept one, is now revealed,” said Eric Shanks, co-president of Fox Sports Media Group. “Fans are rady for an alternative to the establishment, and our goal for FS1 is to provide the best in-game experience possible, complemented by informative news, entertaining studio shows and provocative original programming.”
College football and college basketball, featuring the Pac 12, Big 12 and Conference USA, will be an anchor for programming. Major League Baseball begins in 2014 with regular-season games on 26 Saturdays, plus some select League Championship and League Division Series games. Select auto racing events will begin next year, including some NASCAR Sprint Cup events in 2015.
Soccer will be a large component. Fox has rights to UEFA Champions and UEFA Europa League matches, plus the CONCACAF Champions League and Gold Cup events. The World Cup for women will take place in 2015 and 2019 and for the men in 2018 and 2022.
“As a company we haven’t been afraid to innovate and take well-calculated risks,” said FSMG co-president Randy Freer. “We’ve devoted significant resources over the last few years to acquire and/or extend multi-platform rights with a wide variety of leagues and governing bodies well into the next decade, enough to give us a rich schedule right out of the box.”
The new network will roll out “Fox Sports Live,” a sports news program, much like ESPN’s “SportsCenter,” appearing after prime-time events, with a morning newscast launching in January.
Two afternoon components will include Regis Philbin hosting “Rush Hour,” a weekday talk show (5-6 p.m.) and “Fox Football Daily” (6-7 p.m.), featuring NFL talk.
The moves will make Fox Sports 1 an immediate contender with ESPN for the share of the sports cable market.
“We like our position,” said ESPN publicist Mike Humes. “We have always had vigorous competition so there is really nothing substantially new here. Others are, however, beginning to recognize what we have long known: the power of live sports, especially in light of technological advances, is substantial and brings tremendous value in today’s entertainment landscape.”
An NBC Sports spokesperson believes NBC Sports Network has substantial programming to remain a very credible cable sports entity.
Its statement: “With Premier League (soccer), the Summer and Winter Olympics, the National Hockey League, Formula One (auto racing), IndyCar, Tour de France (cycling) and many more live-event properties, NBC Sports Network is properly positioned in the sports media marketplace, particularly given its place within the wider and unique portfolio of assets and properties of the NBC Sports Group, which include broadcast, cable and regional television, as well as digital and radio.”
A CBS Sports spokesman said the network had no comment on the Fox Sports 1 rollout.
The Fox group is also launching FOX Sports GO, a mobile sports exprience for iPhone, iPad, Android devices and the internet. There will be more than 1,000 live games and events offered from Fox Sports, Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports’ 22 regional sports networks.

All 34 regular-season games of the New York Red Bulls will be televised this season. MSG Networks will air 21 contests with ESPN/ESPN2 airing seven and NBC Sports Net/NBC airing six.
Steve Cangialosi will serve as MSG’s play-by-play man for the sixth year and Shep Messing will work his 13th season as analyst.
The entire Major League Soccer television schedule can be found here.

March
Sun. 3 – at Portland, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
Sun. 10 – at San Jose, 10 p.m. (ESPN2)
Sat. 16 – Washington, D.C., 12:30 p.m. (NBC)
Sat. 23 – at Montreal, 4:30 p.m. (MSG)
Sat. 30 – Philadelphia, 3:30 p.m. (NBC Sports Net)
April
Sun. 7 – at Chicago, 5 p.m. (ESPN2)
Sat. 13 – at Washington, D.C., 7 p.m. (MSG 2)
Wed. 17 – Kansas City, 7:30 p.m. (MSG Plus)
Sat. 20 – New England, 7 p.m. (MSG)
Sat. 27 – at Toronto, 2 p.m. (MSG)
May
Sat. 4 – at Columbus, 4 p.m. (NBC Sports Net)
Wed. 8 – Montreal, 7:30 p.m. (MSG)
Sat. 11 – at New England, 7:30 p.m. (MSG)
Sat. 20 – Los Angeles, 1 p.m. (ESPN2)
Sat. 27 – Columbus, 5 p.m. (MSG, UniMas/Spanish)
June
Sat. 1 – Vancouver, 7 p.m. (MSG)
Sun. 23 – at Philadelphia, 5 p.m. (ESPN)
Sun. 30 – Houston, 2 p.m. (ESPN2)
July
Thur. 4 – at Colorado, 9:30 p.m. (MSG)
Sat. 13 – Montreal, 7 p.m. (MSG)
Sat. 20 – at Toronto, 4 p.m. (MSG)
Sat. 27 – Salt Lake, 7 p.m. (MSG)
August
Sat. 3 – at Kansas City, 8 p.m. (NBC Sports Net)
Sat. 10 – at Columbus, 7:30 p.m. (MSG)
Sat. 17 – Philadelphia, 8 p.m. (NBC Sports Net)
Sun. 25 – at Chivas USA, 5 p.m. (MSG, UniMas/Spanish)
Sat. 31 – Washington, D.C., 8 p.m. (NBC Sports Net)
September
Sun. 8 – at Houston, 5 p.m. (MSG, UniMas/Spanish)
Sat. 14 – Toronto, 7 p.m. (MSG)
Sun. 22 – Dallas, 5 p.m. (MSG, UniMas/Spanish)
Sun. 29 – at Seattle, 9 p.m. (ESPN)
October
Sat. 5 – New England, 7 p.m. (MSG)
Sun. 20 – at Houston, 5 p.m. (MSG, UniMas/Spanish)
Sun. 27 – Chicago, 5 p.m. (MSG, UniMas/Spanish)

The Arena Football League opens play a month from now, with CBS Sports Network airing a 19-game Saturday night package and two semifinal games. CBS Sports will televise the Arena Bowl final on Sat. August 17.
The schedule:
March 23 – Philadelphia at Arizona, 8 p.m.
March 30 – Iowa at New Orleans, 7 p.m.
April 6 – San Jose at Arizona, 8:30 p.m.
April 13 – Philadelphia at Iowa, 7 p.m.
April 20 – Chicago at Utah, 10 p.m.
April 27 – Tampa Bay at Spokane, 10 p.m.
May 4 – Philadelphia at Chicago, 9 p.m.
May 11 – Jacksonville at San Antonio, 9:30 p.m.
May 18 – Orlando at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
May 25 – Chicago at New Orleans, 9 p.m.
June 1 – San Jose at Spokane, 10 p.m.
June 8 – Orlando at Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m.
June 15 – Jacksonville at Utah, 9 p.m.
June 22 – Arizona at San Jose, 10:30 p.m.
June 29 – Orlando at Jacksonville, 7 p.m.
July 6 – Arizona at Orlando, 7:30 p.m.
July 13 – San Jose at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.
July 20 – Orlando at Cleveland, 7 p.m.
July 27 – Philadelphia at San Antonio, 9 p.m.
TBA – Quarterfinals
TBA – Semifinals
Aug. 17 – ArenaBowl, 1 p.m. (CBS)

The league used to be televised by NBC from 2003-06, with the Outdoor Life Network (now NBC Sports Network) adding some cable games in 2006. From 2007-09, the league appearned on ESPN networks, with ArenaBowl on ABC. The NFL Network carried AFL games from 2010-12.

The March 30 exhibition between Army and the New York Yankees will be the last of a record-high 19 spring training telecasts on the YES Network. Most Yankees afternoon telecasts will be replayed in prime time (or late night, following a Nets telecast) and the next morning.
There will also be six Yankees telecasts available on MLB Network (two live, four delayed) and three on ESPN. Seven games will be broadcast on flagship radio station WCBS 880-AM.
The schedule:
Sun. Feb. 24 – Toronto, 1 p.m. (also WCBS) (MLB Network-blacked out in N.Y. market)
Mon. Feb. 25 – Baltimore, delay at 9 p.m. (MLB Network only)
Tues. Feb. 26 – Philadelphia, 1 p.m. (MLB Network only)
Wed. Feb. 27 – Baltimore, 1 p.m.
Thur. Feb. 28 – Toronto (split squad), 1 p.m.
Thur. Feb. 28 – Houston (split squad), delay at Sat. 2 a.m. (MLB Network only)
Fri. March 1 – Philadelphia, 1 p.m.
Sat. March 2 – Detroit, 1 p.m. (also WCBS)
Sun. March 3 – Boston, 1:30 p.m.
Tues. March 5 – Atlanta, 7 p.m. (also WCBS)
Wed. March 6 – Dominican Republic, 1 p.m. (also MLB Network)
Sat. March 9 – Atlanta, 1 p.m. (also WCBS)
Sun. March 10 – Toronto, delay at Mon. 3 a.m. (MLB Network only)
Mon. March 11 – St. Louis, 1 p.m. (also ESPN)
Wed. March 13 – Philadelphia, 7 p.m. (also WCBS)
Fri. March 15 – Miami, 1 p.m.
Sat. March 16 – Philadelphia (split squad), 12 p.m. (also WCBS)
Sat. March 16 – Atlanta (split squad), delay at Sat. 6 a.m. (MLB Network only)
Tues. March 19 – Philadelphia, 1 p.m. (ESPN only)
Wed. March 20 – Boston, 1 p.m. (also ESPN)
Thur. March 21 – Minnesota, 7 p.m.
Sun. March 24 – Tampa Bay, 1 p.m. (also WCBS)
Tues. March 26 – Houston, 7 p.m.
Wed. March 27 – Baltimore, 7 p.m. (MLB Network only)
Fri. March 29 – at Washington, 2 p.m.
Sat. March 30 – at Army, 2 p.m.

Sports broadcaster Kenny Albert will have the radio call of New York University’s Div. III basketball doubleheader with visiting Washington University on Friday.
Albert is a 1990 graduate of NYU, and is famously known as the radio voice of the New York Rangers and a football broadcaster for Fox Sports.
“I have great memories of calling men’s and women’s basketball games on WNYU Radio from 1986 through 1990,” Albert said. “I look forward to returning on February 15!”
The live videocast will be available at: http://nyuathletics.tv.

I am one game out in my NFL game picks pool for this season, and if I want to force a tie for the championship, I need to get my Super Bowl pick correct (and hope Los Cabrones – whoever he or she is – picks the other way). So I turn to my sports broadcasting friends to seek their thoughts on the big game.

Rich Demarco, Army football and basketball radio play-by-play
San Francisco 24, Baltimore 17: The Ravens have had a great run, going through Andrew Luck, and then both Peyton Manning and Tom Brady on the road – and they very well could win this game – but I think the run comes to an end. I think San Francisco will able to move the football on Baltimore, and as long as they don’t give up an early turnover for an easy score (like they did at Atlanta), I think the 49ers will be able to control this game. I think the 49ers secondary will frustrate Joe Flacco. Key player for the Ravens I think will be Bernard Pierce. Ray Rice hasn’t been himself in the playoffs, and Pierce has made plays each week. I wouldn’t be surprised to see San Francisco dig deep into its playbook to keep the Ravens off-balance. I can see both Randy Moss and LaMichael James surprisingly make big plays in this game.

Dean Darling, Army football radio analyst, Marist basketball radio play-by-play
San Francisco 27, Baltimore 20: Kaepernick and Gore come up big. Vernon Davis is a tough cover for the Ravens. The 49ers’ run game grinds out a win in the Big Easy!

Mike Ferraro, Marist football and basketball radio announcer
Baltimore 20, San Francisco 17: I think we’re going to have a really good game on our hands. Ultimately, I like the Ravens for two reasons: Their defensive discipline will handle whatever the 49ers throw at them, and I trust Justin Tucker more than David Akers to hit a big kick.

Freddie Coleman, ESPN Radio host, former Marist basketball TV analyst and Cablevision sports anchor
San Francisco 24, Baltimore 16: Both teams are mirror images of each other. I think it comes down to the last five minutes when the 49ers get a big run from Frank Gore to set up a late touchdown.

Ed Coleman, WFAN sports host, NFL on The Fan host, Mets baseball radio host and play-by-play
Baltimore 27, San Francisco 24: San Francisco’s got all the numbers, which should portend to a 49er blowout. But Flacco’s clicking with his underrated receivers, mix in a steady dose of local fave Ray Rice and the overlooked Bernard Pierce equals a Baltimore win.

J.W. Stewart, former ESPNews anchor, Sports1 host
Baltimore 20, San Francisco 17: I think the Ravens, who have gotten hot at the right time of year, will win a low-scoring game. I believe Baltimore will find a way to contain Colin Kaepernick, sending Ray Lewis out a winner.

Rick Zolzer, WPDH 101.5-FM Poughkeepsie sports anchor
San Francisco 24, Baltimore 21: And we never have to look at that Bible thumping, murdering dancing fool again!!!

Jason Barrett, former WALL-WEOK sports talk host, program director for San Francisco sports talk radio station
San Francisco 31, Baltimore 27: The Niners are a more well-rounded team and I believe Flacco will make a mistake that hurts the Ravens.

Rob Adams, sports anchor at WGCH, former Mount Saint Mary men’s basketball radio announcer
San Francisco 27, Baltimore 23: I don’t like that score, but it was the first thing that came into my mind. I think that Joe Flacco will be able to throw the ball against the Niners’ ‘D.’ I feel like Colin Kaepernick, along with his talented receivers, and Frank Gore running the ball will do enough to get the job done. Just give us a good game!

Kevin Halpenny, WDLC Port Jervis, WYNY Milford sports play-by-play, former WGNY Newburgh sports talk host
Baltimore 30, San Francisco 24

Carl Garofolo, host of WHVW’s “Hudson Valley Sports Talk”
Baltimore 29, San Francisco 26: Too much emotion going for the Ravens.

Kevin Connors, ESPN host, former WTZA/RNN sports anchor
San Francisco 27, Baltimore 17: Jim out-duels John. Colin Kaepernick wins a Super Bowl with the second-fewest career starts behind only (Giants QB) Jeff Hostetler.

Tony Morino, Army football radio sideline reporter, former Cable 6 sports anchor
San Francisco 34, Baltimore 14.

Geoff Brault, Marist football and basketball radio announcer
Baltimore 28, San Francisco 24.

Kirk Gimenez, “Sports Night” anchor on SNY
Baltimore def. San Francisc: I’ve been riding the Ravens since Ray Lewis announced his retirement. That inspiration alone has propelled the birds to new heights, but then you add Joe Flacco’s ability to stretch the field and that equals a Ravens win.

Bram Weinstein, ESPN SportsCenter anchor
Baltimore 24, San Francisco 20: I’m a sucker for the sentimental story. So, Ray Lewis goes out a winner, Ed Reed makes a game-changing play and the Ravens hold on to beat San Francisco.

Tommy Tighe, Dial Global Sports radio football and basketball play-by-play
Baltimore 24, San Francisco 21

Lachlan McLean, WHAS 840 AM Louisville sports talk host
Baltimore 27, San Francisco 26: Ravens are better at QB, RB and WR, and the 49ers defense hasn’t been playing well recently, giving up 29 points per game in the last five. I’m rooting against Ray Lewis but I think he goes out a winner.

Ryan Asselta, WNYW Ch. 5 New York sports anchor
Baltimore 27, San Francisco 23

New Paltz High School graduate Charles Davis was gracious enough to share his thoughts on the Super Bowl this week. You can read some of the highlights in Saturday’s print and web editions.
Here is more of what Davis had to say.

On Baltimore’s impressive playoff run:
To me, what Baltimore has done in the playoffs is so impressive. One home game against Houston, which at one point looked like the best team in the NFL. Then at Denver, in altitude, kick-off somewhere around 13 degrees, somewhere in the low single digits when it ended, you beat Peyton Manning and there was no hotter team in the league than the Broncos who had beaten them in Baltimore a couple weeks earlier. Then you go on the road and beat New England in the AFC championship game, with Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, and do it convincingly? It is one heck of a roll they are on right now.

On Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh:
“To me, John Harbaugh doesn’t get the attention he deserves as a head coach. Look at that record: He’s never missed the playoffs since he has been head coach. Three AFC championship games. One Super Bowl. And this isn’t to denigrate another coach but look at his record, and especially if he wins it, look at what he’s done.
“Mike Tomlin with Pittsburgh has missed it twice now. I wouldn’t say he is a lesser coach but that is pretty impressive deal. (Giants coach) Tom Coughlin is probably going to be in the Hall of Fame one day, and they miss the playoffs under his watch with the Giants. That is how tough it is to make the playoffs every year in the league, and every year John Harbaugh has made the playoffs. And remember what he took over in Baltimore … the last year of Brian Billick, his last year they more than struggled. It wasn’t like he walked into a ready made 12-win situation like the year before. He went in and had some work to do. He deserves some credit, and should be mentioned among the upper echelon of coaches in the league.”