With all due respect to Joe Micheletti, Rangers broadcasts on MSG Network just aren’t the same this season.
For the first time since the mid-’80s, John Davidson is not doing color commentary behind play-by-player Sam Rosen – and oh, baby, a lot of fans sure miss Davidson’s signature oh, baby!
Davidson left the broadcast booth over the summer when he was named president of the St. Louis Blues, who visit the Garden on March 3 for the first time since Davidson took over.
Davidson expects to make the trip – and it figures to be an emotional one for him.
“It’s going to be tough, let’s put it that way,” he told NYP TV Sports this week. “It’s going to be very difficult for me.
“I’ve got a lot of friends to see and a lot of people I’ve gotten to know there over the decades that are real nice people. I don’t have a single negative memory of Madison Square Garden or New York.”
As far as his new career as an exec, Davidson says he’s enjoying himself, but at times wishes he were back in the booth.
“I miss it,” he said. “Even this week, watching the Westminster Kennel Club Show, you miss the ambiance and spirit of the building. I will always miss New York. I watch Sam and Joe on MSG all the time.”
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Is ESPN on the verge of cutting ties with NFL analyst Michael Irvin?
One industry source believes the decision has already been made, and that some at the network view the outspoken Irvin as a ticking time bomb, ready to explode into a public-relations nightmare.
ESPN did not confirm or deny the report, but issued a statement, saying: “We are currently in the process of discussing studio assignments for next season.”
There is speculation that newly retired Bill Parcells could end up at the network, but there is no indication that a deal is imminent.
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TNT sideline reporter Craig Sager committed an embarrassing faux pas during the network’s telecast of last Thursday night’s Lakers-Pistons game.
During the third quarter, viewers were treated to an interview with a man Sager claimed was Chris Webber’s father, Mayce. It was, in fact, one of Webber’s former AAU coaches.
The man went along with the false identification, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary until a few minutes later, when Sager apologized for the error and interviewed the real Mayce Webber.