sowny.net | The Southern Ontario/WNY Radio-TV Forum


You are not logged in. Would you like to login or register?

February 25, 2021 8:12 am  #1


The Blue Jays are back on TV this weekend!

The Jays are on Sportsnet this Sunday at 1 pm, as they take on the Yankees, I am not sure if it will be the Yankees feed or ours, but this is a sign of hope, spring is near and Vladdy is 42 pounds lighter.

Here is the link the Sportsnet Schedule for Sunday!


https://www.sportsnet.ca/schedule/2021-02-28


The world would be so good if it weren't for some people...
 

February 25, 2021 11:44 am  #2


Re: The Blue Jays are back on TV this weekend!

It'll be the Yankees feed. From what I understood, Sportsnet itself is not planning to produce many games on its own this spring. They'll probably take other teams' feeds for the most part.

 

February 25, 2021 11:51 am  #3


Re: The Blue Jays are back on TV this weekend!

Any Jays radio news?  Who will replace Mike Wilner?  Are there any games on radio this Spring?

 

February 25, 2021 12:40 pm  #4


Re: The Blue Jays are back on TV this weekend!

eladb wrote:

It'll be the Yankees feed. From what I understood, Sportsnet itself is not planning to produce many games on its own this spring. They'll probably take other teams' feeds for the most part.

Are you referring to spring training or the spring portion of the regular season?

I'd be bummed out if there's going to be no Buck Martinez for awhile.

 

February 25, 2021 1:00 pm  #5


Re: The Blue Jays are back on TV this weekend!

Yeah, I was referring just to spring training. Sportsnet should be airing all 162 in the regular season, but I don't think they're planning to produce many spring training games, if any.

As for radio, I don't think they have named Ben Wagner's new on-air partner as of yet. Haven't seen a schedule of radio broadcasts this spring but I would think they would air some games, either on the Fan 590 or online, as they usually do. That's just a guess on my part.

 

February 25, 2021 1:25 pm  #6


Re: The Blue Jays are back on TV this weekend!

The Jays have not hired a replacement yet for Mike Wilner, but they are looking and had interviewed Former Detroit Tigers Broadcaster, Rod Allen, but didn't hire him.

Here's more on that story...

https://www.mlive.com/tigers/2021/02/former-tigers-broadcaster-rod-allen-interviews-for-blue-jays-job.html
 


The world would be so good if it weren't for some people...
     Thread Starter
 

February 25, 2021 2:54 pm  #7


Re: The Blue Jays are back on TV this weekend!

Ale Ont wrote:

Any Jays radio news?  Who will replace Mike Wilner?  Are there any games on radio this Spring?

A little birdie tells me the FAN will not be doing spring games initially, but hope to air a few later in March. My guess is Wilner's replacement has not been firmed up yet.

 

February 26, 2021 12:22 pm  #8


Re: The Blue Jays are back on TV this weekend!

Sportsnet has released its spring training TV schedule. Hazel Mae tweeted that Sportsnet is producing three of the games on March 21, 22 and 28 so the remaining should be feeds from the other teams' broadcasts.

The interesting tidbit in the press release is this:
"Sportsnet will be streamlining production for the 2021 season by simulcasting TV broadcasts on Sportsnet 590 The FAN and across the Sportsnet Radio Network. Blue Jays fans can now enjoy the legendary voices of Buck Martinez, Dan Shulman, and Pat Tabler on both TV and radio. Ben Wagner remains part of the Blue Jays on Sportsnet broadcast team, joining Jamie Campbell, Joe Siddall, Hazel Mae, and Arash Madani in covering all the bases throughout the season."

Here's the announcement

 

February 26, 2021 12:33 pm  #9


Re: The Blue Jays are back on TV this weekend!

What a strange announcement. There is a huge difference between coverage of baseball on the radio and on TV. A lot of the magic of the former medium will be lost if they simply broadcast television audio. And how, exactly, does Ben Wagner remain part of the team if he's no longer doing play-by-play? 

Sounds like a typical Rogers cost cutting move, that will do nothing to improve the games on the radio. 

 

February 26, 2021 1:06 pm  #10


Re: The Blue Jays are back on TV this weekend!

It depends how it’s done. Dan Schulman did ESPN Radio’s Sunday Night Baseball and calls a great game on radio. If he does radio play by play on TV it’ll be fine. Vin Scully did it for years in Los Angeles.

Last edited by Prod Guy (February 26, 2021 1:07 pm)

 

February 26, 2021 4:48 pm  #11


Re: The Blue Jays are back on TV this weekend!

I'm sorry they are going back to a 3 man team, as I prefer a two man booth.  Buck and Dan did a great job last year. 

The addition of a third person provides little benefit (regardless of who it is) and more often than not just results in too much "noise" and interruption.

Last edited by Media Observer (February 26, 2021 4:53 pm)

 

February 26, 2021 4:51 pm  #12


Re: The Blue Jays are back on TV this weekend!

eladb wrote:

Sportsnet has released its spring training TV schedule. Hazel Mae tweeted that Sportsnet is producing three of the games on March 21, 22 and 28 so the remaining should be feeds from the other teams' broadcasts.

The interesting tidbit in the press release is this:
"Sportsnet will be streamlining production for the 2021 season by simulcasting TV broadcasts on Sportsnet 590 The FAN and across the Sportsnet Radio Network. Blue Jays fans can now enjoy the legendary voices of Buck Martinez, Dan Shulman, and Pat Tabler on both TV and radio. Ben Wagner remains part of the Blue Jays on Sportsnet broadcast team, joining Jamie Campbell, Joe Siddall, Hazel Mae, and Arash Madani in covering all the bases throughout the season."

Here's the announcement

I'd be incensed if Jerry Howarth was still doing games on the radio and was being cut to accommodate this.

 

February 26, 2021 4:53 pm  #13


Re: The Blue Jays are back on TV this weekend!

CKTB's Tom McConnell did an entire segment about this on his Friday afternoon show. His feeling, like mine, is that baseball is made for radio and there's a huge difference in the way it's called on either medium. Baseball on TV doesn't need the descriptions radio does, with too much verbiage on the tube becoming annoying. 

And while I agree that the Vin Scullys of the world may be able to pull it off, there aren't that many of them. (Shulman can probably do it, but I doubt very much Buck Martinez can.)

What was strange about the segment on 610, though, was McConnell's oblique references to the Fan 590, including wondering if Rogers deliberately waited for "Tim & Sid's last show" to drop this 'bombshell.' He referred to it as a possible "Friday dump," a technique politicians use to deliver bad news at the end of the week, while people's attention is elsewhere, and they forget about it on the weekend. 

He also talked about the firing of Mike Wilner, perhaps suggesting this plan has been in the works for a while.  

Whatever side you're on with this issue, though, it's very unusual for a Bell Media radio host to talk about a Rogers radio station for 15 minutes on his show. Just like real radio play-by-play in Toronto this year, it's something you won't hear too often! 

 

February 26, 2021 5:08 pm  #14


Re: The Blue Jays are back on TV this weekend!

RadioActive wrote:

Whatever side you're on with this issue, though, it's very unusual for a Bell Media radio host to talk about a Rogers radio station for 15 minutes on his show. Just like real radio play-by-play in Toronto this year, it's something you won't hear too often! 

I think I mentioned in another thread, but following the Bell Media cuts a couple weeks ago, during a Canucks game on Sportsnet one of the colour commentators basically ripped into Bell and its shutdown of TSN 1040, though it was done as politely as possible. It was very unusual.

Last edited by MJ Vancouver (February 26, 2021 5:09 pm)

 

February 26, 2021 6:27 pm  #15


Re: The Blue Jays are back on TV this weekend!

This Toronto Sun article confirms that under the new plan, there will be very few spring training games at all on the radio. 

"There will be no radio broadcasts through the majority of the 28-game exhibition schedule — either on-air or on the web — leaving a huge void for the fans of one of the most intriguing teams in baseball this spring."

"...Three of those 10 scheduled games will be Sportsnet productions, coming as they do in the final week of the Grapefruit League schedule, which will serve as TD Ballpark dry runs for the regular season. The simulcast of those three will air on radio."


But that's not all. 

"Sportsnet claims the TV/radio simulcast is being done “in an effort to minimize travel and closely adhere to team, league, and government protocols related to the pandemic.”

"This is bunk, of course. It’s being done to save money.

"As near as we can recall, the then radio crew of Ben Wagner and the since released Mike Wilner managed to call a full slate of games from their Toronto studio, just as Shulman and Martinez did on the TV side.

"Besides selling short the intellect of their fan base, it’s insulting and a development that could set a worrying precedent going forward." 

Blue Jays fans left in the dark as Sportsnet blows up broadcast plans 

The Star indicates those few spring games will be the March 21st contest against the Yankees, the following day's test with the Tigers and Detroit again on March 28th. I will always remember shovelling snow out of my driveway while listening to a spring training game. It always made the chore just a little bit easier, knowing the Boys of Summer were just around the corner. Sadly, that won't happen this year. 

Another memory ruined by the penury of Rogers. 

From Blog T.O.:

Fans Furious After Team Says Its Ending Radio Broadcasts Of Games 

 

February 26, 2021 6:39 pm  #16


Re: The Blue Jays are back on TV this weekend!

RadioActive wrote:

pandemic

The world's most convenient excuse these days.

 

February 26, 2021 10:09 pm  #17


Re: The Blue Jays are back on TV this weekend!

I don't watch much sports anymore but when I did I always preferred it the other way around. I'd turn down the volume on my TV and listen to the radio while watching the game instead. I always found radio play-by-play more descriptive and interesting and doing it this way meant I could "watch" the game while doing other things because, with baseball especially, who wants to stare at a screen for 3 or 4 hours when not much is happening for much of the time. Unless the TV play-by-play announcers actually announce with a radio audience in mind (and they won't because it will annoy the TB audience) this will disappoint a lot of people and lead to fewer listeners. 

Last edited by Hansa (February 26, 2021 10:12 pm)

 

February 27, 2021 9:20 pm  #18


Re: The Blue Jays are back on TV this weekend!

How fitting that this story from the Toronto Star was written by none other than their newest baseball reporter, Mike Wilner.

Sportsnet’s Blue Jays radio call is short-sighted — and hopefully short-lived

The Star is also conducting a poll on this. Not surprisingly, the no's are leading. 

 

March 8, 2021 6:52 pm  #19


Re: The Blue Jays are back on TV this weekend!

Blind, partly blind Blue Jays fans upset with call to replace radio broadcasts with TV simulcast
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/blind-blue-jays-fans-radio-broadcast-1.5941249

 

March 9, 2021 1:09 pm  #20


Re: The Blue Jays are back on TV this weekend!

This afternoon, the Blue Jays will be offering a live video stream of their game against the Phillies....it'll just be the on-field cameras with no audio. Better than nothing I suppose.

Here's the link to watch