Sarni's Scrolls: McDonough: A man for ALL seasons
By Jim Sarni
How's this for a broadcaster's schedule:
Tuesday-Wednesday -- Texas Rangers at Tampa Bay Rays, AL Wild Card Series.
Saturday night -- No. 20 Kentucky at No. 1 Georgia.
Next Tuesday -- Chicago Blackhawks at Pittsburgh Penguins, No. 1 Draft Choice Connor Bedard's first NHL game.
This high-profile TV hat trick belongs to Sean McDonough. ESPN's premier announcer has never met a sport he couldn't master on the microphone. I would assign him to log-rolling.
"I knew I wanted to be a play-by-play announcer when I was five," McDonough, the son of the late, legendary Boston Globe sportswriter and CBS and NBC reporter Will McDonough, told Chris Russo on "High Heat."
"And I didn't want to do just one sport. I wanted to do them all."
And, over the space of eight days, he has. From the diamond to the gridiron to the ice.
***
Newly retired St. Louis pitcher Adam Wainwright is returning to Fox Sports for the MLB Division Series.
This is Wainwright's third foray into broadcasting. He worked the 2020 NLDS and the 2021 ALDS.
Wainwright will rejoin Adam Amin and A.J. Pierzyncki for the Minnesota Twins-Houston Astros series.
"I love watching the game and I love talking pitching," Wainwright told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Wainwright will be a fulltime broadcaster next season.
***
The other announcing teams, no changes from last year:
Texas Rangers-Baltimore Orioles (Fox/FS1) -- Joe Davis, John Smoltz
Philadelphia Phillies-Atlanta Braves (TBS) -- Brian Anderson, Jeff Francour
Arizona Diamondbacks-Los Angeles Dodgers (TBS) -- Bob Costas, Ron Darling
Studios
TBS -- Ernie Johnson, Curtis Granderson, Pedro Martinez, Jimmy Rollins.
Fox -- Kevin Burkhart, Alex Rodriguez, David Ortiz, Derek Jeter (replacing Frank Thomas).
***
All best-of-five series start on Saturday. ALDS Game 2s on Sunday... NLDS Game 2s on Monday... ALDS Game 3s on Tuesday.
***
The WNBA Finals, as everyone expected, is the clash of Superteams... defending champion Las Vegas Aces (-220) and New York Liberty (+175).
The best-of-five series begins Sunday at 3 on ABC. Game 2 is Wednesday at 9 on ESPN. Game 3 is the following Sunday at 3 on ABC. Three days between games? That's so ABC will get two telecasts.
Announcers: Ryan Ruocco, Rebecca Lobo, Holly Rowe, Andraya Carter.
Countdown: LaChina Robinson, Carter, Carolyn Peck, Chiney Ogwumike.
ESPN will use 20 cameras and a lot of fancy technical stuff.
***
The WNBA will add its 13th team in the Bay Area in 2025.
The 14th team is expected to be Portland.
***
The 2030 men's World Cup will be played in six countries across three continents to mark the 100th anniversary of the first edition.
Spain, Portugal and Morocco will co-host the tournament, while Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina will all stage an opening match to mark 100 years since the first World Cup was held. The 1930 tournament was hosted and won by Uruguay.
Saudi Arabia will likely get the 2034 World Cup over Australia.
***
"Toy Story Funday Football" delivered the largest audience for any live event to date on Disney+
The success could lead Disney to utilize other franchises from Star Wars to Marvel in future telecasts.
The traditional Jags-Falcons broadcast was the most-viewed event ever on ESPN+
Another London game this Sunday morning: Jags vs. Bills at 9:30 on NFL Channel.
Stat: Jacksonville is playing its 11th London game. The Jags are 5-5.
***
Deion Sanders is on the cover of "Time"... "The Believer: How Deion Sanders is Changing Football Forever" by Sean Gregory...
"Time's" Next Generation Leaders include race car driver Jamie Chadwick, golfer Matt Fitzgerald and Iranian chess master Sara Khadem...
Signs point to Lionel Messi playing for Inter Miami against Cincinnati on Saturday...
Now that the Minnesota Twins have ended their playoff drought, the largest active playoff losing streak now belongs to the Detroit Pistons, 14 games dating back to 2008...
Notre Dame will play its third undefeated team in a row when it takes on Louisville on Saturday. The Irish faced Ohio State and Duke the past two weeks. Will it be four in a row with USC on the schedule on Oct. 14?...
Actor Joe Manganiello will host the game-show spinoff "Deal Or No Deal Island" on NBC in 2024...
Netflix is planning a real-life "Squid Game" immersive experience in Los Angeles...
The Endangered Species Act turns 50 in December. Are there any endangered mascots?
***
QUOTES
*"I think it’s fun when they show who was at the game. I think it brings a little bit more to the atmosphere, brings a little bit more to what you’re watching. But at the same time I think they’re overdoing it a little bit for sure, especially my situation. [But] I think they’re just trying to have fun with it." -- Travis Kelce on how the NFL is handling his relationship with Taylor Swift.
*"We've never lived in an age with more great sports writing talent." -- "The Athletic’s" Richard Deitsch, who edited "The Year's Best Sports Writing 2023."
*"The Jets' jokes are back. -- "Late Night's" Seth Meyers, after making fun of Aaron Rodgers.
***
Jim Sarni, BC Class of '69, is a former sportswriter for The Boston Globe and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He resides in Fort Lauderdale and watches a lot of television.