New York, New York: Media Capital Of The World

Ah, New York City, the greatest city in the world. We have it all here in New York, and we have more of it than anywhere else. Not only do we have two teams, but we have the most expansive media in the world. Where else do you hear of players taking into consideration whether they can handle the media and the attention before they decide to play somewhere?

It is always a question if a newcomer can "handle New York." We want, no, we demand the best. With all of this going on, you expect New York to have the highest quality media, and they do.

Now, I am not one to come out here and tell you that someone is horrible, or their work stinks. They are professionals after all, and deserve respect. That being said, I have my preferences. There is so much media here in New York though, that I couldn't possibly cover it all.  Below are the highlights.

There are basically two channels in New York sports talk radio, the long standing 660 WFAN and 1050 ESPN Radio. Being a person who is in the car a lot, and a lover of sports talk radio, I have my set schedule of what I listen to each day.  The 10am-1pm slot is a tough call between The Brandon Tierney show on 1050 and Joe Beningo and Evan Roberts on The Fan.

Being a city with two teams, we get personalities who are fans of both teams. Being a fan of neither, it doesn't really effect my decision on who to listen to. Although I am a fan of Mr. Tierney, I find myself listening to Joe and Evan everyday. They have a great chemistry between them and are both rabid Mets and Jets fans.

It is often fun to listen to their frustration towards the moves their teams make, but also the passion that comes through for their teams. Joe's famous comment when talking about how his teams make him feel is "Oh, the pain!".  They are fans just like you and me. Evan Roberts is in his early 20's, and Joe Beningo got on the station through a contest for listeners and he won a job. The funny thing is he calls everybody "bro".  Whenever he is asking a guest a question, you always know he is finished with his point because it will go something like this:  "David Wright has really been struggling, it looks like he's pressing too much.......how about that?"  These guys are the common fan, and they are a lot of fun to listen to. Even though they are Mets fans, they don't always go out of their way to bad mouth the Yankees. In fact, they often appear jealous of their richer, smarter, crosstown rivals.

The afternoon drive is a fierce battle between the legend of New York radio, Mike Francesca on WFAN, and The Michael Kay Show on ESPN Radio. To me, this isn't even a choice. Francesca has long had a reputation as a great radio man, but is often rude to the callers. He seems to always want to prove to them that he knows more than they do, and it is impossible for anyone to disagree with him. 

The Michael Kay show is everything a radio talk show should be. There is a tremendous chemistry between all of the personalities on the show. His cohost is 1050 veteran Don LaGreca, who has been with the show since the first day, Joey Salvia, the resident musician and the guy who takes every discussion into the gutter, and the beautiful and talented Michelle Beadle, who is the Sportscenter anchor (and who contributes throughout the show). 

A show joke is that the show has been on air since 1947, and besides the fact that no one was born yet by that time, you could believe it. It is obvious that they enjoy being around each other, and the content of the show is top notch.  Of course they cover the local teams, but with the power of ESPN they get other great guests like Peter Gammons, Steve Phillips, Chris Mortensen for football, and Kay's college friend and voice of the NBA, Mike Breen.

We have so many newspapers here in New York that I can only cover a few columnists. Mike Lupica is the most well known and has been with the Daily News for over 30 years. He has been a fixture in that paper, but he has expanded his career to reach many avenues. Lupica has been on ESPN regularly, has been published in numerous magazines, and has now branched out into novels. I think he would be considered the most respected columnist in New York.

Mike Vaccaro has been the lead columnist for the New York Post for the better part of seven years.  His style is easy to read, and his ability to paint a picture for you makes his columns captivating. He writes about both the Yanks and the Mets, and doesn't appear to have an agenda. To call him solid would be an understatement.

Besides being a columnist, Joel Sherman of the New York Post, also has the "Hardball" blog on the Post online. His daily Three Up, Three Down posting on the blog is a quick look at the what is going on with both teams. They tend to focus on the negative aspects of the New York baseball teams, but so far in 2009, there hasn't been a great deal of positive things to report.

Bill Madden has been with the NY Daily News for over 25 years, and has also had multiple books published. Madden not only covers the New York teams, but will also write about others when it is relevant. He is one of my favorites to read, and always has a fresh take on the latest news in New York.

William Rhoden has been with the New York Times since 1983, and is another of the most respected columnists across the country.  He has also been a frequent guest on many ESPN TV shows, including the Sports Reporters, and has written a few books.  Rhoden often writes on the subject of race, including his book Forty Million Dollar Slaves.

This book compares the relationship of black athletes to team owners and agents to white plantation owners and slaves of the Antebellum period. It also deals with the complexities of societal implications on black athletes.

We also have two regional sports networks, the YES Network, owned by the Yankees, and SNY, owned by the Mets. Both do a great job of covering their respected teams, and both have good people in the booth.

The YES Network is led by Michael Kay as their play-by-play man. Kay is a lifelong Yankee fan who always dreamed of having this exact job. He does a fantastic job, and has a great chemistry with his color men. Al Leiter, Ken Singleton, and Paul O'Neill all man the booth on different games, and all bring their own insight to the game.

By having former players, the YES Network booth is able to give viewers the inside information that non players couldn't bring. Of course they are homers, but it is bearable. As a person with the Extra Innings package, I am able to watch many local broadcasts outside of my area. Most announcers are borderline on embarrassing the way they favor their teams. Kay and the gang are one of the most professional groups in baseball.

SNY is the cable home of the Mets. Gary Cohen is your play-by-play man, after spending 17 years doing Mets' games on the radio. He does a good job not only calling the action, but making the viewer part of the game. He also does a great job at staying even keel. He doesn't overly favor the Mets, and you could think that he doesn't work for the team.

Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling are the Mets' color team and they do a fantastic job. They still embrace the fun-loving nature that the World Champion Met team that they were both a part of in 1986. They are both among the most respected analyists on a regional sports network, and Darling has won an Emmy. Overall, watching a Mets' game on SNY is an enjoyable experience.

It sometimes gets a bad reputation as overbearing or obnoxious, but you can find more extensive media coverage than you do in New York.