Peter Gammons is an amazing reporter, but this ESPN spot (which debuts today) illustrates some of his tricks for getting the information he wants. The main one being the use of carrier pigeons....

Too funny. There are others, featuring Karl Ravech, Steve Phillips and John Kruk, but unless they talk about the Krukster's mullet, they're probably not better than that one.

I was checking out the end of Baseball Tonight last night and they decided to run a recap of the entire week of the show. Since I didn't watch it much, and I knew many of you hadn't either, I pressed record. Not only do you get a recap of all the trades and rumors, but you also get John Kruk slapping Karl Ravech on the ass!

I'm sorry, but the jokes about the Krukster's hair never get old. It looks like Bear Grylls stitched together some grass and moss for a shelter, but it ended up on Kruk's head. Good times, and see how much better Baseball Tonight is ESPN, when you don't have 8,000 on the set? Just Ravech, an analyst and a few writers/reporters, and you're good.

I really didn't want to post either of these on their own (mainly because they're both about Baseball and that's the last thing I want to talk about), but I think they make the perfect post in unison. The MLB Winter Meetings are kicking off this week, which means an inordinate amount of coverage from ESPN. While the network plans to have a handful of people in Las Vegas (seemingly to provide you with up-to-date trade rumors that won't pan out), they'll also be airing a special Baseball Tonight "Hot Stove" editions from 5-6pm on ESPN2 through Thursday night. Karl Ravech and John Kruk will be your hosts and will be joined by a cast of MLB regulars throughout the week.

And speaking of Karl and John, the Krukster sat down with The Morning Call to shed some light on their relationship....

Kruk seems to have a good rapport with ''Baseball Tonight'' host Karl Ravech, but says like with any family, there are some less-than-harmonious moments.

''You better have a good rapport because we're on four days a week from March through October,'' Kruk said. ''If we didn't get along, it would be hard.

''I mean there have been times when I wanted to punch him in the face. And, I'm sure there are times when he'd like to do the same to me. We argue. One time we went three days without speaking to each other, except on the air.

''A lot of it has nothing to do with TV. He might have said something while we were golfing or something like that. It's just like teammates on a baseball team. There were days I wanted to walk into the clubhouse and drop someone and I'm sure someone wanted to do it to me.''

Good times! Seriously though, ESPN does an excellent job covering those meetings. While I could care less about them at the moment, for those that do, it's probably your best option at this point. And last year even had a couple of nice trades to spark your interest as well. Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera both ended up in Detroit during last year's meetings. And while those moves didn't pan out last season, they were certainly exciting at the time.

Kruk the same genuine guy off camera (The Morning Call)

I was really confused about the whole Jonas Brothers intro for the Little League World Series last week, but I have to say that the tune was kind of growing on me. That was until yesterday.

ESPN decided to rock out to the tune and splice in some lip-syncing/rapping from some of the network's brightest stars. I give you the ESPN Crew, Gary Thorne, Stacey Dales, Karl Ravech and THE Brent Musburger singing "Burning Up" by the Jonas Bros....REMIX!!!!!!

Good....God. I really have no idea where to start with this. First of all, it's one of those clips that is so terrible that it's actually pretty entertaining. I actually belly laughed when Musburger came on the screen. Second, the absolute best part of the whole thing is how pissed Karl Ravech looks during his spot. He did not appear to be having fun at all.

Sure it's ridiculously cheesy, and any thought of Gary Thorne dancing and/or saying "I'm Hot", makes me throw up in my mouth, but who cares? It's the Little League World Series. Those people in the truck and behind the scenes are usually working their asses off and probably rarely on camera. It's good they had a little fun with the whole thing. It's also much more PG than Orestes Destrade giving Pedro Gomez a massage while Pedro was sitting on his leg like "Santa Claus".

Now if you decide to do this for Monday Night Football....I might have a different response.

Really ESPN? The Jonas Brothers On The LLWS Intro??? (Awful Announcing)

I'm an unabashed fan of the LLWS, and I don't necessarily think broadcasting every game of it is a bad thing, but thirty two games across three platforms seems like a lot. Either way, that's the exact same total they did last year and they even have an entire show devoted to LLWS "Web Gems" this go around!

Welcome back to Williamsport, Brent Musburger, Gary Thorne, Karl Ravech, Orel Hershiser, and Orestes Destrade. Also say hi to Stacey Dales and Pedro Gomez (still getting the choice assignments now that Bonds isn't playing).

Here's your schedule in case you care to check out your state's game(s)....

Pool Play Round

Fri., Aug. 15

Midwest (Rapid City, S.D.) vs. Southeast (Tampa, Fla.)- Karl Ravech and Orestes Destrade (ESPN, 2pm)
Canada vs. Latin America- Gary Thorne and Orel Hershiser (ESPN2, 4pm)
New England (Shelton, Conn.) vs. West (Waipahu, Hawaii)- Karl Ravech and Orestes Destrade (ESPN2, 6pm)
Mid-Atlantic (Hagerstown, Md.) vs. Great Lakes (Jeffersonville, Ind.)- Gary Thorne and Orel Hershiser (ESPN, 8pm)

Sat., Aug. 16

Caribbean vs. Mexico- Gary Thorne and Orel Hershiser (ESPN, 11am)
Europe vs. Asia-Pacific- Karl Ravech and Orestes Destrade (ESPN, 1pm)
Midwest (Rapid City, S.D.) vs. New England (Shelton, Conn.)- Gary Thorne and Orel Hershiser (ABC, 3:30pm)
Japan vs. Middle East and Africa- Karl Ravech and Orestes Destrade (ESPN, 6pm)
Southwest (Lake Charles, La.) vs. Northwest (Mill Creek, Wash.)- Gary Thorne and Orel Hershiser (ESPN, 8pm)

Sun., Aug. 17

Europe vs. Mexico- Gary Thorne and Orel Hershiser (ESPN Classic, Noon)
Canada vs. Japan- Karl Ravech and Orestes Destrade (ESPN2, 1pm)
Great Lakes (Jeffersonville, Ind.) vs. Southwest (Lake Charles, La.)- Gary Thorne and Orel Hershiser (ABC, 3:30pm)
Latin America vs. Middle East and Africa- Karl Ravech and Orestes Destrade (ESPN2, 6pm)
Southeast (Tampa, Fla.) vs. West (Waipahu, Hawaii)- Gary Thorne and Orel Hershiser (ESPN2, 8pm)

Mon., Aug. 18

Northwest (Mill Creek, Wash.) vs. Mid-Atlantic (Hagerstown, Md.)- Gary Thorne and Orel Hershiser (ESPN2, Noon)
Asia-Pacific vs. Mexico- Karl Ravech and Orestes Destrade (ESPN, 1pm)
Midwest (Rapid City, S.D.) vs. West (Waipahu, Hawaii)- Gary Thorne and Orel Hershiser (ESPN2, 3pm)
Caribbean vs. Europe- Karl Ravech and Orestes Destrade (ESPN, 4pm)
Southeast (Tampa, Fla.) vs. New England (Shelton, Conn.)- Gary Thorne and Orel Hershiser (ESPN2, 6pm)

Tue., Aug. 19

Latin America vs. Japan- Gary Thorne and Orel Hershiser (ESPN2, Noon)
Northwest (Mill Creek, Wash.) vs. Great Lakes (Jeffersonville, Ind.)- Karl Ravech and Orestes Destrade (ESPN, 2pm)
Canada vs. Middle East and Africa- Gary Thorne and Orel Hershiser (ESPN, 4pm)
Caribbean vs. Asia-Pacific- Karl Ravech and Orestes Destrade (ESPN2, 6pm)
Southwest (Lake Charles, La.) vs. Mid-Atlantic (Hagerstown, Md.)- Gary Thorne and Orel Hershiser (ESPN2, 8pm)

Single Elimination Round

Wed., Aug. 20

International Semifinal #1- Gary Thorne, Orestes Destrade and Pedro Gomez (ESPN, 4pm)
U.S. Semifinal #1- Brent Musburger, Orel Hershiser and Stacey Dales (ESPN, 8pm)

Thu., Aug. 21

International Semifinal #2- Gary Thorne, Orestes Destrade and Pedro Gomez (ESPN, 4pm)
U.S. Semifinal #2- Brent Musburger, Orel Hershiser and Stacey Dales (ESPN, 8pm)

Sat., Aug. 23

International Championship- Brent Musburger, Orel Hershiser, Orestes Destrade, Stacey Dales and Pedro Gomez (ABC, 12:30pm)
U.S. Championship- Brent Musburger, Orel Hershiser and Stacey Dales (ABC, 3pm)

Sun., Aug. 24

Consolation Game- Karl Ravech, Orestes Destrade and Pedro Gomez (ESPN, Noon)
Little League Web Gems Special (ESPN, 2pm)
Little League World Series Preview (ESPN, 2:30pm)
World Series Championship- Brent Musburger, Orel Hershiser, Stacey Dales and Pedro Gomez (ABC, 3:30pm)
________________________

I'm also hoping that this umpire is involved in the games somehow....

Saw this late last night on Baseball Tonight and it was just unbelievable enough to pass along here....plus Karl Ravech gets hit in the head with a Baseball (he had a helmet on). The BT Crew was discussing triple plays this season including Asdrubal Cabrera unassisted one earlier in the year. Afterwards Buck Showalter shared this story from his days in the minors....

I'm not calling Showalter a liar, but that's virtually impossible. Great story though and nice touch with the Red Sox and Yankees batting helmets ESPN.

If you thought the first one was cheesy....

Occasionally cheesy can be good but these are just downright bad. It's not really the acting or the dramatization itself, but more the writing. A buried suitcase and hot sauce turning into "bringing the heat"? Okaaaaay. I did enjoy the Steve Phillips slam of the rosin bag and Karl Ravech winking at me though.

I was wondering what Wade Boggs has been up to and thanks to ESPN we'll get to find out. He and other HOFers will be added to Baseball Tonight on certain dates through July.

ESPN’s Baseball Tonight – the only nightly national studio show devoted solely to MLB highlights, news and information – will feature Hall of Famers as guest analysts on select Sundays throughout the 2008 season beginning with 18-year MLB veteran Wade Boggs on Sunday, April 13. Boggs will appear on the 12:30 and 7 p.m. ET shows, leading into the Sunday Night Baseball Presented by Taco Bell telecast featuring two of his former teams – the New York Yankees (1993-97) at Boston Red Sox (1982-1992) – at 8 p.m.

Additional Hall of Fame players to appear on Baseball Tonight will include Juan Marichal (May 11), Phil Niekro (May 25) and Rod Carew (July 13).

Boggs will be on with Karl Ravech, John Kruk, and Steve Phillips for the 12:30 show and he'll be with Chris Berman, Kruk, and Phillips for the 7pm edition. Seems like a fun idea and anything that keeps John Kruk from talking is alright by me (I kid, I kid). But seriously....great idea Baseball Tonight. Oh and I think it's time you renamed the home run segment after EY's "Souvenir City" catchphrase. Just one man's opinion.

Update: Buck Showalter is also back on the program now giving the network 40 different analysts to choose from.

(Via ESPN PR)

There are tons of things that distract me while I'm writing items for this site. Things like work, telephones, outlook notifications, and people just to name a few. Flys though....they usually don't bring my typing to a screech halt.

But for Karl Ravech and Baseball Tonight they do...

Yeah Karl....as big as a bat, and I'm pretty sure John Kruk is used to flies hanging around him. Product in your hair attracts them like...well, flies...to honey.

MLB at Random (Sports at Random)

Don't know if anyone saw Baseball Tonight last night, but it seems that their debating this whole Barry boycotting ESPN games thing. SbB is reporting via The SJ Mercury News that Barry Bonds could possible be boycotting ESPN televised games. He's missed three in a row and people are starting to raise an eyebrow.....

Is Barry Bonds boycotting the Worldwide Leader?

The left fielder has paused his home run chase all three times the Giants have been on ESPN this season, under odd circumstances that might seem odder when taken together. (The Home Run Derby could be considered a fourth instance.) It's just a theory, but we'll be sure to check in on that Sept. 7 game against the Dodgers, or sooner if ESPN picks up any other games.

Well Karl Ravech and the Krukster weighed-in on the subject last night.....

Ravech: "Barry said yesterday, `I don't need a day off.' This is, I believe, Game 3 in a row that the ESPN cameras have been there and he hasn't played. I can't believe there's any connection. That wouldn't be right to the team."

Kruk: "You would hope not."

Ravech: "There's no way."

Kruk: "You would hope he doesn't dislike us that much that he would sit out games."

Here's my two cents. Is Barry just going to wait for games that FOX is doing on the weekends, or only local Giants broadcasts? Can't ESPN do live look-ins for every at-bat??? Seems to be a little much ado about nothing.

Here's my theory (that really isn't a theory, but probably fact)....You think he might be waiting for the 8 game homestand coming up after the Milwaukee series this weekend??? That sounds more plausible to me, but anything is possible with Barry....as Brooks points out....

Why would Bonds dislike ESPN? Perhaps he was watching SportsCenter Monday when anchor Steve Levy, upon seeing Bonds behind a chain-link fence, remarked "There's a behind-bars joke there somewhere".

The comment was later edited out of the broadcast for morning replays.

Smooth ESPN....real smooooooth. I guess we might get a clue when FOX covers the Giants' game Saturday against the Brewers.

ESPNERS WONDER IF BONDS IS BOYCOTTING THEIR GAMES (Sports by Brooks)
Bonds theory of revolution (SJ Mercury News)