People & Personalities: Changes Underway At SportsNet N.Y.
On Long Island, Neil Best reported SportsNet N.Y. is in “full shakeup mode.” SNY “has not announced what it will do with Chris Carlin after he leaves WFAN next week to work full-time at the network, but he is expected to host Mets pre- and postgame shows, succeeding Matt Yallof.” That would mean an “all-new team, as Lee Mazzilli is out, perhaps to be replaced by Bob Ojeda.” Best wrote it “appears the network is looking for more pizzazz from the studio shows” (NEWSDAY, 12/26). In N.Y., Phil Mushnick also noted Jonas Schwartz will replace Chris Cotter in the studio, and Michelle Yu has joined SNY as an anchor/reporter (N.Y. POST, 12/26). Meanwhile, former NBAer Charles Smith and former Providence College coach Tim Welsh will serve as analysts for SNY’s pregame, halftime and postgame coverage of Big East basketball (SNY).
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Writer Says It Would Be "Astonishing"
If Mangini Lands TV Gig |
COACH'S CORNER: In N.Y., Richard Sandomir writes if Eric Mangini, who was fired by the Jets as coach Monday, “resurfaces in a television studio or a stadium booth, as many former coaches do, it would be astonishing.” Mangini's “blandness is legendary,” and unless an “alien, ebullient version of Mangini surfaces in auditions with network producers, he will be looking for a coaching job.” A network producer said Mangini has the “looks and a decent smile," but he "needs more experience as a coach to be considered credible." The producer: "With a [Mike] Ditka, you get a sense of his personality. When you say ‘Mangini,’ you don’t know what his personality truly is. ... You have to have a pulse” (N.Y. TIMES, 12/30).
NOTES: Former MLBer Lou Merloni said of becoming an on-air personality at WEEI-AM, “Being a reporter, going in there and asking them questions, I still feel uncomfortable. I like being an analyst, watching the game, analyzing the game. The reporting side is a little bit of a stretch still.” Merloni: “One of the things that people have said to me is that they appreciate that I don’t hold back. I give my opinion. If someone’s not doing something right, I’ll talk about it” (PROVIDENCE JOURNAL, 12/26)....Minneapolis Star Tribune sports columnist Patrick Reusse has been named host of KSTP-AM’s weekday radio morning show, effective January 12. Reusse will continue his column each Thursday and Sunday in the Star Tribune sports section (STAR TRIBUNE, 12/28).
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