In any event, for sure, it’s a shame that you don’t see “It Don’t Come Easy” broadcast all that much – if ever?

You would think that’s something that the YES Network could (and would want to) work into their scheduling.

You know…the older he gets…Sterling’s starting to look a little like Jerry Springer. Just a tad, but, it’s there – at least to me.

I just hope it doesn’t reach the stage where Nick Swisher and A.J. Burnett start liftng up their shirts for “Sterling Beads.”

New York Yankees fans who subscribe to Verizon FIOS TV will be able to stream live Yankees games via their computer as part of a deal reached between the YES Network and the telco.

As part of a multiyear agreement between Verizon and the YES Network, Verizon Internet customers who subscribe to FiOS TV and also are receiving the YES Network as part of their TV package will be able to buy access to live, streaming coverage of Yankees games throughout the remainder of the 2009 regular season.

Verizon customers will have to pay a one-time price of $29.95 or a monthly fee of $19.95 from now until the end of the season in October. The package begins with the YES network’s Aug. 14 Yankees-Seattle Mariners game

The deal is the second in-market, broadband distribution agreement for YES, following a similar arrangement with Cablevision Systems Corp. announced in June. Neither YES network or the operator will reveal how many Cablevision subscribers have taken advantage of the broadband offer.

Hey, for another $1,500 on top of the $29.95, you can watch the games on your PC while sitting in a pair of seats from the old Stadium!

Call me up when you can something Yankees-related for free…

And, this got me thinking about how I feel about the Waldman and Sterling duo. And, to be candid, overall, I guess I’m not a fan of their work.

Don’t get me wrong: I’m somewhat sure they are both extremely nice people – the kind that you would want to have as your next door neighbor, etc. And, they’re both baseball lifers – having worked in the game for so many years. Lastly, the two of them do seem to care, very much, about the Yankees and their fans. So, those are three big things in the favor.

And, I’ll admit, at times, I do laugh at Sterling’s over the top calls, etc.

However, that all said, there’s just “something” there – regarding their work – that rubs me the wrong way. At first, I thought it was whole “Pinstriped Pollyanna” approach of theirs – where no Yankees player or member of the organization can do wrong. Anyone who knows me knows I think that’s that just living with Yankees blinders on…

More so, for me, I think the issue is that Suzyn Waldman and John Sterling “dumb it down” when they speak to you – assuming that you know less about the game (than them), and, in a sense, they “talk down” to the listener while covering the game. And, while maybe this works for some listeners…say… many of those under the age of ten or over the age of seventy…it really doesn’t work for me.

Further, I would think that most people do not enjoy being “talked down to” by anyone who knows less about a subject than they do…no matter what the subject…but, maybe it’s just me?

After all, many baseball fans today are pretty savvy. And, perhaps it’s time for broadcasters, in general, to stop playing to what they think is the lowest common denominator and start talking to listeners with the assumption that the audience has a clue as to which players are good or bad (overall or in certain situations) and that they understand what’s important or not in baseball games…ya think?

Again, this is no knock, personally, towards Suzyn Waldman and John Sterling. It’s just that I wish their broadcasts came from somewhere other than from an ivory tower – this make sense?

Part of the fun of Manny Ramirez’ return to the Dodgers, scheduled for Friday night, will be the exposure of Charley Steiner as a hypocrite. Michael Kay was the first to go down, and Charley’s next.

At the height of Barry Bonds’ pursuit of the home-run records, Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow made lively, enthusiastic calls on the Giants’ network. They always loved Bonds as a ballplayer. They knew that whatever the extent of his plunge into steroids, it didn’t tarnish his reputation as one of the greatest and most entertaining hitters of all time. Most of the Giants’ fans knew this, as well, and they cheered their hearts out whenever he went deep. Kuiper’s home-run calls, in particular, go down with the most inspiring of modern-day broadcasting.

It seems this didn’t go over too well in other cities. Kay, who anchors the Yankees’ telecasts, ripped Krukow and Kuiper in a public forum for getting so excited over a steroid guy. Steiner, part of the Dodgers’ radio team, made some equally rude comments (off the air), establishing himself as a real high-and-mighty beacon of integrity.

Except it doesn’t work that way. Alex Rodriguez opened the season in disgrace after the steroid-related embarrassment of spring training, but that didn’t stop Kay from going nuts when A-Rod slugged his first home run. Presto — instant hypocrite! Now we get to hear Steiner when Manny rocks Dodger Stadium for the first time. What, he’s going to treat it like a funeral while the place is going crazy?

I’ve known Kay since his days as a Yankee beat writer in New York, and he’s a good guy. So is Steiner, who livened up many an ESPN “SportsCenter” before he joined the Dodgers. Ripping the Giants’ broadcasting team, to say the least, was not their finest hour.

I cannot blame a broadcaster for getting excited about a player on “his team” hitting a homer, etc., even if the player was caught for using PEDs. That’s pretty much their job. That said, Jenkins has a point here – in that said broadcasters should not have thrown stones, if they really did, at another time.

Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see if Kay responds to this claim. Nothing like a little coast-to-coast media tinkling contest to throw another log on the Yankeeland entertainment/circus fire, right?

The YES Network, the most-watched regional sports network in the country for the past six years, and Verizon, the only major provider that delivers all-digital TV service over an advanced all-fiber network straight to customers’ homes, have reached a multiyear video-on-demand agreement.

The agreement will provide Verizon’s FiOS TV digital subscribers throughout New York state and in north and central New Jersey access for the first time to telecasts of New York Yankees games and other YES programming on demand. The YES on-demand programming will be available beginning Wednesday (April 8). This makes Verizon the first distributor to offer Yankees games on demand.

In addition to YES’ Yankees telecasts, FiOS TV customers will have access to other YES programming such as the network’s Emmy Award-winning Yankees post-game shows and “Yankees On Deck” series, the Emmy-nominated “CenterStage” interview show, “The Joe Girardi Show” and “Yankees Magazine.”

Sweet…makes those 13 hours now worth it.

Alex Rodriguez believes the other 103 positive tests from Major League Baseball’s 2003 survey program should remain anonymous, the Yankees slugger told the YES Network in an interview to be aired Tuesday.

Speaking with host Michael Kay for a segment taped before the slugger’s March 9 right hip surgery, Rodriguez said that he does not think releasing the identities of that year’s other positive tests for performance-enhancing drugs would help his own situation.

“This is really about my mistake,” Rodriguez told Kay. “You know, many nights I fell asleep thinking about who I can blame, and this guy, or that guy. And when I woke up I kept coming back to the same person; it’s me. I mean, there’s no one to blame. I hope those 103 names never come out.”

In the interview, Rodriguez again apologized for his use of banned substances during his three seasons with the Rangers from 2001-03.

“I’m very sorry,” Rodriguez said. “You know, we’re role models, and I think athletics plays a big part in our culture, especially in the world we’re in today. There’s so much negativity and sadness going on around the world and the U.S. … people look at baseball for a savior or for inspiration, and I know that I’ve let a lot of people down.

“I know there’s kids out there that I’ve never met before, and I probably never will, that I’ve hurt them, and for that, I’m very sorry. I’m not very good with words, but no matter what I sit here and tell you today, it’s not going to express how truly sorry I feel for what I have done.”

Given all the other press that Alex has received in the last two weeks, since A-Rod taped this interview with Kay, would it have killed YES to delete this interview from their Tuesday night special? At this point in time, do we really need to see and/or hear from Rodriguez at all – even if the content is favorable? Wouldn’t it be nice to have a full week in Yankeeland where we didn’t hear something about Alex Rodriguez that was off-the-field related? Really, just seven days in a row…that are “A-Rod Free”…wouldn’t that be sweet?

By the way, I thought this movie rocked…

It was right up there with this one.

Via the Sports Business Journal -

The YES Network this week plans to relaunch its Web site, with the enhanced online presence influenced significantly by a new three-year agreement with MLB Advanced Media.

While there is no leaguewide agreement yet on live in-market streaming of games — an issue that has been actively debated within baseball for several years — YES’s moves are emblematic of regional sports networks seeking to maximize their online profiles within the current framework.

The new-look yesnetwork.com will feature three video highlights per game, up from two in the prior accord with MLBAM; a new design that resembles MLB.com and the Yankees.com team site; an extensive series of text and video blogs from both network personnel and outside sources such as the River Ave. Blues blog; and greatly expanded social-networking capabilities.

“We want this to be a complement to Yankees.com,” said Michael Spirito, YES vice president of business development and digital media. “We certainly don’t want to duplicate what they’re doing and think we can bring forth a lot more content and value to the fans.”

Despite the anemic advertising market, YES sold several title-sponsor deals for the updated site, including Chevrolet returning for a player-of-the-game segment, and Papa John’s and Avis buying into text-messaging functions supported by YES and MLBAM.

Financial terms of the YES-MLBAM pact were not disclosed, but the deal includes revenue-sharing provisions.

Other new content initiatives for the YES site include a weekly video feature that explores the intersection of sports and entertainment culture, and in-game chats with former YES announcer Jim Kaat.

“The idea is to go way beyond just that [Derek] Jeter went two-for-three last night, and have a full range of experiences,” said Kevin Sullivan, yesnetwork.com managing editor.

YES Network is not alone in retooling its Web site. Other RSNs have been similarly active over the winter, ramping up for the 2009 baseball season.

SportsNet New York: New interactive elements for the RSN, home to the New York Mets, include an online, postgame radio call-in show; several Twitter feeds designed to exploit the exponential rise of that real-time social-networking platform; and expanded analytical coverage both in video and text form. SNY also holds a deal with MLBAM that grants it use of two online video highlights per game, and a video-sharing deal for non-game material with the New York Daily News extends the network’s reach to the newspaper Web site.

SNY, seeking to take on a more universally New York tone than some of its local competitors, also last fall added a second prominent Yankees-related blog, Bronx Banter, to its emerging blog network. The blog joins Yankees-themed WasWatching.com on the site.

“We’ve always endeavored to be the home of New York sports and never simply a Mets network,” said Fred Harner, SNY general manager of digital media. “You’ll see us as the season begins and evolves continue to expand our coverage of the Yankees and the other teams in town.”

NESN, MASN: Each of these two team-controlled RSNs, whose owners have been among the more active and vocal on the online streaming issue, will broaden and deepen their pre- and postgame content, with on-air and studio personalities such as Dennis Eckersley, Jim Rice and Buck Martinez contributing regular segments, and behind-the-scenes and feature material also targeted for significant expansion. Neither NESN, serving New England, nor MASN in the mid-Atlantic corridor, holds game highlights deals with MLBAM, but each will trade heavily on its extensive access to players, managers and coaches.

The MLB Network is looking to open the new Yankee Stadium in style, unleashing a formidable trio of voices who have never shared the same broadcast booth.

When the Bombers crack the regular-season seal on the new joint, April 16 against Cleveland, Bob (Rapping Roberto) Costas will handle the play-by-play, joined by analysts Harold Reynolds and Jim Kaat.

The surprise here is Kitty’s return to the Bronx. The other surprise is that Kaat wanted to return to the Yankees Entertainment & Sports Network booth, but YES suits put the kibosh on it.

Kaat “retired” from broadcasting following the 2006 campaign after 12 consecutive seasons (13 overall) behind a Yankees’ TV microphone. In July of 2008, his wife, Mary Ann, died after suffering complications from bladder cancer.

In an interview last November, Kaat expressed displeasure with the state of the game. Watching a game as a “civilian” revealed warts he didn’t see as a broadcaster.

The fact that he’s headed back to broadcasting likely means Kaat became tired of being just a “viewer.” Kaat’s first return engagement was with MLB International during its coverage of the World Baseball Classic. Spies say Kaat is also likely to work more games for MLB Network and pop up in the studio on select occasions.

Acquiring Kaat, even on a part-time basis, is a coup for MLBN suits. Already recognized as one of the top analysts in the game, a rejuvenated Kaat, during the WBC, had plenty to say.

Although he is back in the mix, Kaat won’t be returning to YES’ Yankees booth. MLB sources said Kaat reached out to YES suits, offering his services on a limited basis at a reasonable price.

Sources said Kaat, who was not looking for major dough or a monster schedule, was told YES had no room for him because of budgetary constraints and scheduling.

Budgetary constraints? Sounds like a whitewash job to me. Sure, its an economic downturn. But, there’s no way to squeeze Kitty in? Really?