Baseball-Related Program Activities

1:00 -- Atlanta Braves at Los Angeles Dodgers (FSN Prime Ticket)
1:00 -- Detroit Tigers at Kansas City Royals (FSN Detroit)
1:00 -- It's final in New York: Mets 3, Nationals 2. That DirecTV logo is still there. And that means it's time to, yes, activate the blackout on ESPN. I'm being forced to watch the Dodgers on FSN Prime Ticket...
1:01 -- ...so let's see if we can get this straight. First there was a local cable movie network called Z Channel. Eventually, they added Dodgers games and became Z Plus. Then they got rid of the movies and became Prime Ticket. I've got a Los Angeles TV Guide from 1995 that calls it "Prime Sports," but that doesn't necessarily mean that was their actual name. Then they became part of the Fox Sports family and became Fox Sports West. Then Fox added a second channel, which they called Fox Sports West 2, and moved the Dodgers to the second channel so they could get both carried by cable operators. Then Fox thought people might not know they were a network, so they became Fox Sports Net West and Fox Sports Net West 2. Then Fox got tired of always saying "Fox Sports Net," so they became FSN West and FSN West 2. And as of today, FSN West is still FSN West, but FSN West 2 has become, yes, FSN Prime Ticket. Fox Sports' web site acknowledges this in that they don't show any listings for today for FSN West 2, but they don't seem to offer listings for FSN Prime Ticket.
1:08 -- While I was typing up that long explanation that probably put everyone but me to sleep, the Devil Rays went up 4-2 in the top of the third. I like them again.
1:13 -- FSN Prime Ticket's audio level is about as low as MASN's, which is making it hard to hear Vin Scully as he talks about the umpires getting a flat tire on the way to the game. But you don't have to hear Vin Scully to see the new pastel color scheme at Dodger Stadium -- it's 1962 all over again!
1:16 -- Also, for some reason, although they've successfully got the FSN Prime Ticket logo at the top of the screen in some of the camera shots, they don't have the score strip at the top of the screen. It's 1962 all over again!
1:18 -- The Milwaukee Braves -- I mean, the Atlanta Braves; I somehow got the impression that it was 1962 -- have a 4-0 lead in the top of the first.
1:20 -- While I was trying to figure out the FSN Prime Ticket situation, the Cubs went up 11-5 in Cincinnati, and they still have the bases loaded with no outs in the top of the sixth. Clearly, part of a plan to outdo their crosstown rivals and the 10 runs in their opener last night.
1:25 -- Alas, a check of my e-mail informs me that friend of baseballrelated.com and Cardinals fan Rachel (she was one of the attendees at this Angels-Devil Rays game last year) will soon be moving out of Los Angeles and back to her home state of Illinois.
1:30 -- FSN Prime Ticket got their score strip working. There is no need to panic. What their logo actually says is "Prime FSN Ticket," I notice, so perhaps that's what I'll call them from now on.
1:31 -- As always, every time Vin Scully finishes a sentence, I expect someone else to start talking, but no one ever does. It is quite a refreshing change from every other baseball game, particularly those featuring Tim McCarver.
1:33 -- Back on February 22, Vin Scully signed a contract extension that will keep him as the Dodgers broadcaster through the 2008 season, when he claims he'll retire. At the press conference to announce this, he said he liked it better when the Dodgers had the names on the back of their uniforms. Team chairman Frank McCourt immediately vowed that the names would be back in 2007. There must be some bizarre reason why he couldn't bring the names back for 2006 -- probably part of the same agreement that required that "used with permission" disclaimer I remarked upon back at 10:18 A.M.
1:35 -- Wait a minute, it's pronounced "Nessen" and not "N-E-S-N"? Yikes.
1:43 -- Luis Matos and Melvin Mora hit back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the fifth, and the Orioles now lead 5-4. There's the Devil Rays we know and love!
1:48 -- The top of the third in the Dodgers game begins with a look at the new new seats in Dodger Stadium, which are literal box seats, complete with a little table.
1:50 -- Long line for Dodger Dogs at the concession stand. Mmm, a Dodger Dog would be even tastier than those potato chips and onion dip I had an hour and a half ago. But I have no hot dogs, just ground beef for tacos.
1:52 -- Now it's looking sunny in Milwaukee, except for the Pirates, who are down 3-2 in the bottom of the eighth. I assume the Miller Park roof is closed, but the sunlight is coming through the glass. That's something Tropicana Field could use -- windows! But it'd probably be impossible to cut into the walls to add them now.
1:54 -- An ad for "Scary Movie 4," directed by David Zucker -- and starring Craig Bierko, who I've closed-captioned on "Days of Our Lives." Um, I think I'll wait until it's on HBO or perhaps Showtime, where I'm sure it will be shown while DirecTV is having a free weekend (that's how I saw "Scary Movie 3" recently).
1:58 -- Clearly, baseball hasn't been engrossing me enough if I'm thinking about Craig Bierko.

The new Prime FSN Ticket logo (seen at upper right) scares kids in the stands at Dodger Stadium...

Labels: Opening Day, tv