A SportsNet N.Y. TV technician played an "insulting audio clip from the show 'Family Guy' over shots" of the Mets walking off the field after their season-opening loss to the Marlins on Friday, according to Venezia & Mushnick of the N.Y. POST. In the "Family Guy" scene, the Stewie Griffin character is "upset that he's not having fun on Halloween, and says the holiday is 'a bigger letdown than being a Mets fan.'" It "then cuts to Stewie sitting at a Mets game," and an announcer says, "It's Opening Day, and here's the first pitch ... and the season's over!" Venezia & Mushnick noted the portion of the clip in which the announcer "says 'Opening Day, and here's the first pitch,' could clearly be heard over images of players." A spokesperson for Mets-owned SNY said, "It was a very poor decision by an employee. The matter is being dealt with internally." But a source said that the incident was "unintentional and that it's not clear if the employee will be fired" (N.Y. POST, 4/3). In N.Y., Andy Martino notes an SNY official "described the incident as a mistake that was being handled internally." Mets VP/Media Relations Jay Horwitz: "It's New York. You can't overreact. It gets to the point where you're almost immune to it all. I'm sure that what happened was accidental, not malicious, and I'm sure the person who did it felt terrible." Martino notes the incident occurred "a night after Mets fan Chris Rock eviscerated the team on 'The Late Show with David Letterman'" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 4/4).
