==ESPN's Colin Cowherd said it in LARadio.com about the thought of competing against Patrick in the morning radio time slot:
“There’s no question I can’t wait to face Dan. First of all it is a great challenge. Second of all, I have an incredible staff and great resources at ESPN. And third, I still do radio with a chip on my shoulder because I’m not the biggest name and I still think there are a lot of doubters out there – outside of radio – and I can’t wait to go toe to toe. To me, this is what the industry is all about – real competition – and that’s what fires me up. I can’t wait for it. ...
“I think Dan does a higher quality show but it is a nationally syndicated show. My biggest fear is always facing local shows that are tied into a market. Fred Roggin and T.J. Simers know the market so they can talk Dodgers or Lakers for four hours on a big story and I can’t. I don’t have that freedom as a syndicated host on 340 stations. Dan is going to have a show where it’s just me against Dan and who is the better radio guy."

==KLAC program director Don Martin said it about having the "Roggin and Simers Squared" show disappear after just nine months:
"(When Patrick's people approached him about the new show) about 10 weeks ago, I had no desire or interest. I had a morning show I was proud of. A lot of others had their issues with it, but they did a remarkable job in less than a year. Then TJ went on vacation and came back and talked to me about not wanting to come back in the mornings. It's the toughest day part in radio especially if you have other jobs. But he was the lynchpin. At that point (Patrick's people) came back again, had more talks and we did a deal . I measured it up and if I had to put my own show together again or go with an established show with a name like Dan Patrick, I didn’t have to sleep on it long. "
Martin said Roggin would start filling in for Mychael Thompson on the "Loose Cannons" when the later needed to go to Hawaii to start Lakers radio coverage, and there's a chance the Simers could return to their original Sunday morning show sometime down the road.

==In theory, KSPN-AM (710) carries all the MLB playoffs, supplied by the ESPN Radio network. In reality, the station has Angels pre- and post-game shows that will knock out some games or cut away from others without much warning. That was the case Wednesday, when those listening to the Colorado-Philadelphia Game 1. After Matt Holliday’s home run put the Rockies up 4-2 in the top of the eighth, the game went to commercial — and came back with the hour-long Angels preview with Rory Markas. “We had a few complaints, but there’s nothing we can do because of the Angels’ contract,” said program director Larry Gifford. Expect the same scenario today with the Yankees-Indians game at 2 p.m. running into the start of the Angels-Red Sox at 5:30 p.m.

==Nothing compares to the NPR voice of Don Orsillo (a poor man’s Sean McDonough) doing the promos during TBS’ coverage of the Philadelphia-Colorado NLDS: “Remember to enter People magazine’s Sexiest Fan Alive contest and you – guy or girl – can be in People magazine’s Sexiest Fan Alive issue . . . to enter, go to PeopleSexiestFan.com.” Added the equally droll Joe Simpson: “It’s gonna look bad when they tally the votes and I’ve got one vote and everyone thinks I’ve voted for myself.” Where was the Angels’ Terry Smith as the third man in that booth to add some flair?

==Equally bizarre about TBS' coverage is the uneven pre- and post-game studio shows with Cal Ripken Jr. and Frank Thomas. Asked about the controversial call made at home plate during the 13-inning Padres-Rockies wildcard tiebreaker -- and wouldn't it have been nice if TBS had more than two replays of the play? -- Thomas said: “I’m going to say (Matt Holliday was) safe because (umpire) Tim McClelland made the call and he’s the most consistent umpire at this point.” Ripken correctly responded: "You’re politically correct because you’ve got to go to the plate next year.”
Then there's Ernie Johnson's attempt trying to relate to them as well as he does with Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith on the TNT NBA studio show. Wednesday, over the weird violin music, Johnson teased the upcoming Arizona-Chicago game: "Coming up, Carlos Zambrano is on the hill ... the mercurial Carlos Zambrano... I don't know what that means but it sure sounds smart." It ain't "Baseball Tonight."

==The Sports Business Daily reports that ESPN held its ground and will not run ads promoting the MLB post-season no TBS and Fox, but the network told its regular-season broadcast partner it will "provide network references, including ESPN Radio, as part of reports on the Division Series and LCS,” meaning that specific TBS and Fox games will be referenced during "SportsCenter," "Baseball Tonight" and on ESPN News. In exchange, MLB will allow ESPN’s “Baseball Tonight” to put its set inside the ballpark during the World Series after threatening to disallow the ESPN presense on the field.

==Onion Sports headline of the week:

Yankees Decline Wild Card

The lead:
NEW YORK—Saying the American League wild-card bid is "beneath the dignity of the Yankees organization" and "an affront to everything [we] stand for," New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and manager Joe Torre told reporters during a press conference Wednesday that the Yankees have respectfully declined the opportunity to participate in Major League Baseball's postseason if they have to do so as the American League's wild-card team.

==Our new favorite sideline reporter: Charissa Thompson.
On the Big Ten Network’s coverage of Penn State-Illinois last Saturday, the Illini was leading 21-17 going into halftime when Thompson -- with that great sweep of blonde hair and the tremendous black-rimmed glasses -- stops Penn State coach Joe Paterno before he makes it to the locker room:
Thompson: “You knew Illinois has an explosive offense especially (can’t pick up the rest of the sentence because she’s talking so fast) … How do you protect against that in the second half?”
Paterno, as he’s scratching his head: “You tell me … "
(A laugh from Thom Brenenman from the press box)
"Play better... Be quicker … Line up a little better … React to the ball a little better …”
Thompson: “Stick to the basic structure?”
Paterno: “Absolutely.”
Thompson, best known in the FSN world as a Rocky Mountain regional reporter, can't be found, by the way, with a simple Google search. There's a model/porn star with the same name who isn't wearing TV sports-reporter attire, unless Lisa Guerrero has changed her name.
"A lot of people have pointed that out to me, even my father," Thompson told a Rocky Mountain News reporter recently. "If I could change my name, I would."

==Around the dial for football:
The NFL:
10 a.m.: Seattle at Pittsburgh with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman on Channel 11
10 a.m.: Jacksonville at Kansas City with Gus Johnson and Steve Tasker on Channel 2 (while the NY Jets-NY Giants game has Dick Enberg and Randy Cross and Cleveland-New England has Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf)
1:15 p.m.: San Diego at Denver with Jim Nantz and Phil Simms on Channel 2 (a must-view in LA, as opposed to Baltimore at San Francisco).

Local colleges (with AP rankings)
4 p.m.: Stanford at No. 2 USC with Ron Thulin, Kelly Stouffer and Lewis Johnson on Versus
5 p.m.: Notre Dame at UCLA with Dan Fouts and Tim Brandt on Channel 7 (while the other regional is No. 4 Ohio State at No. 23 Purdue with Brent Musburger and Kirk Herbstreit)

Other college stuff of note: As ESPN or ESPN2 will have college games on six days this week, starting Tuesday and ending Sunday at 5 p.m. with New Mexico State at Boise State, and including No. 8 Kentucky played No. 11 South Carolina on Thursday by some fluke):
7 a.m.: ESPN CollegeGame day from Baton Rogue, La., site of Florida-LSU (meaning Herbstreit jets north off to Indiana after this for his alma mater againts the surprising Boilermakers).
9 a.m.: Northwestern at Michigan State with Wayne Larrivee, Charles Davis and Charissa Thompson on the Big Ten Network
9 a.m.: No. 5 Wisconsin at Illinois with Dave Pasch and Andre Ware on ESPN
9 a.m.: Bowling Green at No. 7 Boston College with Clay Matvick and Larry Coker on ESPNU
12:30 p.m.: No. 10 Oklahoma vs. No. 19 Texas in Dallas with Brad Nessler, Bob Griese and Paul Maguire on Channel 7
12:30 p.m.: Iowa at Penn State with Bob Wischusen and David Norrie on ESPN
12:30 p.m.: No. 12 Georgia at Tennessee with Craig Bloerjack and Steve Beuerlein on Channel 2
12:30 p.m.: North Carolina State at Florida State with Dave Lamont and James Hasty on ESPN2
12:30 p.m.: No. 6 South Florida at Florida Atlantic with Doug Bell and Charles Arbuckle on ESPNU
1 p.m.: No. 18 Arizona State at Washington State with Barry Tompkins and Petros Papadakis on FSN West
3 p.m.: Virginia at No. 22 Clemson with Mike Patrick and Todd Blackledge on ESPN
5 p.m.: No. 9 Florida at No. 1 LSU with Verne Lundquist and Gary Danielson on Channel 2
5 p.m.: No. 20 Cincinnati at No. 21 Rutgers with Mark Jones and Bob Davie on ESPN2
6:15 p.m.: No. 25 Nebraska at No. 17 Missouri with Ron Franklin and Ed Cunningham on ESPN
10:30 p.m. (delayed): Oklahoma State at Texas A&M with Joel Meyers and Dave Lapham, FSN West

Also:
The NFL Network does its first regular-season college football game (it has done several bowl games in the past) when it sends Lakers radio man Spero Dedes and Sterling Sharpe to do Winston-Salem State at Florida A&M -- aka, the Circle City Classic -- at 1 p.m.

==Former UCLA and Rams standout Roman Phifer has agreed to be the subject of a documentary produced by William J. Macdonald (who did the mini-series "Rome") called "Blood Equity," which focuses on the tragic issues NFL players face upon their retirment. Phifer and his personal trainer Rico McClinton will be interviewed, along with ESPN studio analyst Mike Ditka, Harry Carson, Tony Dorsett and Fox Sports NFL analyst Darryl Johnston about the poor medical treatment former NFL players receive from their players' union benefits upon retirment. Phifer and McClinton both live in L.A.

==Fox Sports Radio announced that its entire national programming is available to listen to for free on FoxSports.com. That lineup includes "The Third Shift" with Ben Maller, "The First Team" with Steve Czaban, "Out of Bounds " with Craig Shemon and James Washington, "The Drive" with Chris Myers and Sean Farnham, "Fox GameTime Live" with Andrew Siciliano and Krystal Fernandez and "Fox GameTime React" with JT “The Brick.”

==Ross Porter's "Real Sports Heroes" segments on KLAC-AM (570) has moved to 12:25 p.m. each weekday, and Thursday's story centered on his former Dodgers broadcast partner, Vin Scully and his contributions to retinitis pigmentosa, an inherited eye disease that affects the retina. Next week, Porter does a week-long series on John Wooden.

==Phil Simms also has a guest spot on the CBS soap "As The World Turns" airing Monday. According to the storyline, Katie (Terri Colombino) and Brad (Austin Peck) bring Simms to surprise J.J. (Daniel Manche) at WOAK, Oakdale’s television station. Sorry, don't have a translation as to what that means.

==Finally:
Don't miss ESPN2's two-hour coverage of two Triple Crown of Polo matches from Santa Barbara on Sunday at noon. Not water polo. Horsie polo. Like the guy on the shirt logo. And, on the ESPN family of channels, it'll be broadcast in English, Cantonese, Korean, Portuguese, Hinai, Japanese, Mandarin and Spanish. Who says there's no quality counterprogramming to the NFL?