Costas has been a consistent contributor to MLB Network over the past decadeGetty Images
Bob Costas' profile at NBC has decreased in recent months, but he said one thing he wants to "keep doing is baseball” for MLB Network. Costas, appearing on the "AP Sports Weekly" podcast said he is not retiring but is "picking and choosing only the things you really want that are on the menu.” The Pyeongchang Games were the first Olympics in 30 years Costas did not host, and he reiterated his plan to stay away was forged after the '16 Rio Games. He said, "I didn’t have even one second, one moment where I said to myself, ‘I wish I was in Pyeongchang.’ I think that Mike Tirico did an excellent job" ("AP Sports Weekly," PODCASTONE.com, 4/3).
BRING THE HEAT: In Philadelphia, Rob Tornoe wrote Phillies radio analyst Kevin Stocker "did a solid job calling the team’s opening series" against the Braves in Atlanta. But WIP-FM host Angelo Cataldi said that he "missed the anger and outrage that Larry Andersen, the longtime radio analyst who is only calling home games this season, would have been expected to muster" after new Phillies manager Gabe Kapler's rough start. FS Southeast Braves broadcaster Joe Simpson "basically turned" the broadcast of a Phillies-Braves game "into a roast of Kapler" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 4/3).
REMEMBERING GOOD TIMES: THE ATHLETIC's Jim Margalus wrote it is "weird" to watch a White Sox broadcast without longtime announcer Hawk Harrelson. Harrelson became "more of an amplifier than a broadcaster over his last 10 years or so, making the good times better and the bad times more miserable." It is a "shame that he’s exiting before the White Sox’s upswing truly comes to fruition, because they didn’t give him enough highlights for his twilight, and future ones will be missing the indelible stamp" (THEATHLETIC.com, 4/2).
THE REPLACEMENTS? GOLFWEEK's Martin Kaufmann noted Mark O’Meara "served as lead analyst" last Thursday on Golf Channel's coverage of the PGA Tour Houston Open, followed by Tom Lehman on Friday. It is "safe to speculate" that the Golf Channel/NBC team was "using the tournament as an opportunity to do some due diligence on prospective candidates to replace Johnny Miller should he choose to retire." Both O'Meara and Lehman are are former Open Championship winners, and it would not be a surprise if one or both 'have a role in coverage of this summer’s Open" (GOLFWEEK.com, 4/1).
BEST TALKING HEAD AROUND: In Charlotte, Langston Wertz Jr. wrote FS1's Shannon Sharpe "knows football" and he has "improved his knowledge of other sports" since joining the net's "Undisputed" in '16. Sharpe’s "down-home humor and southern drawl have worked well" with Skip Bayless. Sharpe comes across as "thoughtful, likeable, funny and well-prepared" and he is "entertaining as all get out." Wertz: "I want to know, 'What is Shannon gonna say?'" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 4/3).
