Baseball Tonight presented by Kevin Winter (first game) and John Brickley (second game) from Bristol, CT
Major League Baseball: American League
Seattle Mariners @ Oakland Athletics (4pm ET) - Roxy Bernstein and Jim Bowden
Texas Rangers @ Kansas City Royals (8pm ET) - Adam Amin and Chris Singleton
During the final weekend of August, ESPN Radio broadcast commentary on both Saturday and Sunday night's Cleveland Indians @ Kansas City Royals games with their usual pairing of Jon Sciambi and Chris Singleton in the booth. Their Baseball Tonight studio hosts were John Ryder on Saturday and Kevin Winter on Sunday.
No such games are listed on the MLB on ESPN Radio webpage yet, but the final month of the MLB regular season will hopefully see ESPN Radio starting to broadcast live commentaries on midweek games. This has happened in all of the previous years since their broadcasts first started being streamed online, what with ESPN Radio's extensive college football coverage on Saturdays pushing the Saturday Game of the Week off many of their affiliate stations.
I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm of the thinking that posts detailing the 2014 county cricket, rugby league, speedway and baseball seasons should remain in this thread. I have always started a new thread at the beginning of November when all of those sports have seen their seasons come to their conclusion. It's only the rugby union and American football seasons that get under way in September, so in the past I have tended to hold fire on starting a new thread until then.
I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm of the thinking that posts detailing the 2014 county cricket, rugby league, speedway and baseball seasons should remain in this thread. I have always started a new thread at the beginning of November when all of those sports have seen their seasons come to their conclusion. It's only the rugby union and American football seasons that get under way in September, so in the past I have tended to hold fire on starting a new thread until then.
I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm of the thinking that posts detailing the 2014 county cricket, rugby league, speedway and baseball seasons should remain in this thread. I have always started a new thread at the beginning of November when all of those sports have seen their seasons come to their conclusion. It's only the rugby union and American football seasons that get under way in September, so in the past I have tended to hold fire on starting a new thread until then.
Have you or anyone else seen anything to confirm there is UK radio coverage this season? I haven't heard a mention of it on absolute radio and can't see anything on their website or the NFL UK website to suggest that there will be. Also Darren Fletcher tweeted a while back that he hasn't been asked to be involved with anything this year.
Have you or anyone else seen anything to confirm there is UK radio coverage this season? I haven't heard a mention of it on absolute radio and can't see anything on their website or the NFL UK website to suggest that there will be. Also Darren Fletcher tweeted a while back that he hasn't been asked to be involved with anything this year.
I haven't heard anything about UK radio coverage of the NFL. I can't find any information about any potential coverage on Absolute Radio 90s, the NFL page of the Absolute website is still there but hasn't been updated since before Super Bowl XLVIII and all I could find on Twitter was a few unanswered questions from listeners sent to Absolute's Twitter account and Will Gavin, the host of their NFL coverage during the second half of last season.
Sadly it looks increasingly likely that the NFL won't be receiving regular live coverage on UK radio this season. In the absence of any live coverage elsewhere, I'd hope BBC Radio 5 Live would think about picking up commentary rights to the Super Bowl itself, as they said they would be doing with the World Series back in the spring despite having ended Radio 5 Live Sports Extra's weekly Major League Baseball coverage this year.
PREMIERSHIP RUGBY
Leicester Tigers v Newcastle - Mike McCarthy presenting from Welford Road, with Bleddyn Jones and Steve Johnson (commentary)
Saracens v Wasps - Russell Hargreaves
BBC Newcastle & BBC Nottingham
Martin Emmerson, Dave Bracegirdle & David Townsend: Durham v Nottinghamshire
BBC Manchester, BBC Lancashire, BBC Yorkshire Stations & BBC 5 Live Sports Extra (Not day 3)
Scott Read, David Sleight, Dave Callaghan & Kevin Howells: Lancashire v Yorkshire
BBC London, BBC Coventry & Warwickshire & BBC WM
Kevin Hand, Clive Eakin (Not day 2), Lizzy Ammon (Day 2) & Brian Halford: Middlesex v Warwickshire
BBC Somerset, BBC Bristol & BBC Northampton
Anthony Gibson & Chris Egerton: Somerset v Northamptonshire
Lv County Championship Cricket Division 2
BBC Derby & BBC Hereford & Worcester
Iain O'Brien & Dave Bradley: Derbyshire v Worcestershire
BBC Solent & BBC Leicester
Kevan James, Allan Mulley & Richard Rea: Hampshire v Leicestershire
BBC Kent & BBC Wales
Peter Guise, Ed Bevan & Lizzy Ammon (Day 3 & 4)
BBC Test Match Special- India v. England, The ODIs (5 match series)
Commentators: Jonathan Agnew (3-5), Charles Dagnall (2-5), Simon Mann (1-2, 5), Ed Smith (1-3), Alison Mitchell (1 & 4), Henry Blofeld (3) and Simon Hughes (4)
Summarisers: Michael Vaughan (1, 4 & 5), Vic Marks (1-4) , Graeme Swann (1 & 2, 4), Phil Tufnell (3 & 4), Ebony Rainford-Brent (1 & 5), Isa Guha (2 & 3), Alec Stewart (4) and Steven Harmison (5)
Alison Mitchell was advertised as commentating on the 2nd game, but did not appear. Malcolm Ashton resumed scoring duties, replacing Andrew Samson.
Have you or anyone else seen anything to confirm there is UK radio coverage this season? I haven't heard a mention of it on absolute radio and can't see anything on their website or the NFL UK website to suggest that there will be. Also Darren Fletcher tweeted a while back that he hasn't been asked to be involved with anything this year.
Not sure if you'll have already seen this Shaun, but you might be interested to learn that Simon Crosse - who as director of USP Content was the producer of BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra's coverage of the NFL and MLB and BBCi's coverage of Monday Night Football in 2012 - will be producing Channel 4's Sunday Night Football coverage this season. He's working for North One, who have taken over the C4 NFL production contract from Sunset + Vine.
Although USP Content produced Absolute Radio 90s' NFL coverage last season, I don't think Crosse was involved - going by his LinkedIn page, he'd left USP Content by the start of the 2013/14 season to produce the Colin Murray & Friends mid-morning show on talkSPORT for the first year of its run, which he's only recently left presumably in order to produce C4 NFL and also shows for BT Sport (with C4's SNF studio coverage due to be will be filmed in their studios apparently). Crosse still produces Fighting Talk on Radio 5 Live according to that page though.
BBC Somerset, BBC Bristol & BBC Northampton
Anthony Gibson, Chris Egerton (Day 1 & 2) & Stephen Lamb (Day 4): Somerset v Northamptonshire
Just read on Twitter that Chris had to go back to the midlands due to a family illness on the morning of day 3 so it was just Anthony there for that day and day 4 it was Stephen who Stood in for Chris and normal follow some of Somerset's games
Cricket: Fourth Test Match
England v India - Jon Norman, with Jack Bannister providing end-of-session summaries
Alan Brazil and Dominic Cork presented that Thursday morning's edition of the Sports Breakfast from Old Trafford ahead of the start of the Test Match.
Thursday 7th to Sunday 10th August
Golf: The US PGA Championship
Valhalla Golf Club, Louisville, Kentucky - Bob Bubka
Friday 15th to Sunday 17th August
Cricket: Fifth Test Match
England v India - Jon Norman (Friday and Sunday) and Guy Swindells (Saturday), with Jack Bannister providing end-of-session summaries
Saturday 23rd August
Cricket: T20 Blast Finals Day
Warwickshire v Surrey, Hampshire v Lancashire & Warwickshire v Lancashire - Russell Hargreaves
Rugby League: Challenge Cup Final
Castleford Tigers v Leeds Rhinos - Richard Shaw-Wright
Sunday 24th August
Formula 1: Belgian Grand Prix
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps - Geoff Peters
Monday 25th August to Monday 8th September
Tennis: US Open
Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, New York - Kate Partridge, Lynsey Hooper and Katy Murrells
As for the daily breakdown of reporters, Kate Patridge covered all five weekdays of the first week and the Monday and Tuesday of the second week. As far as I heard they didn't carry live updates on either day of the first weekend. Lynsey Hooper reported on the second Wednesday, Katy Murrells covered the second Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday's women's singles final, with Hooper returning to cover the men's singles final on Monday.
Wednesday 27th August to Friday 5th September
Cricket: One-Day International Series
England v India - Guy Swindells, with Jack Bannister providing end-of-innings summaries (all four games)
Not sure who would have covered the First One-Day International on Monday 25th August as it was abandoned without a ball being bowled, meaning they did not have call to take a single update. You'd imagine Guy Swindells would have been on reporting duty given that he covered the four other ODIs that took place.
Friday 5th September
Rugby Union: Premiership
Northampton Saints v Gloucester - Simon Ward
Saturday 6th September
Rugby Union: Premiership
Saracens v London Wasps & London Irish v Harlequins (Twickenham) - Russell Hargreaves
Formula 1: Italian Grand Prix Qualifying
Autodromo Nazionale Monza - Graham Courtney
Sunday 7th September
Cricket: Twenty20 International
England v India - Clive Edwards, with Jack Bannister providing end-of-innings summaries
Formula 1: Italian Grand Prix
Autodromo Nazionale Monza - Graham Courtney
Tennis: US Open Women's Singles Final
Serena Williams v Caroline Wozniacki - Katy Murrells
Monday 8th September
Tennis: US Open Men's Singles Final
Kei Nishikori v Marin Cilic - Lynsey Hooper
BBC London & BBC Newcastle
Kevin Hand, Martin Emmerson & David Townsend: Middlesex v Durham
BBC Nottingham, BBC Yorkshire Stations & BBC 5 Live Sport Extra - first 3 days
Dave Bracegirdle, Dave Callaghan, David Fletcher (Day 3), Kevin Howells & Lizzy Ammon (Day 3): Nottinghamshire v Yorkshire
BBC Nottingham Day 4
Dave Bracegirdle & Lizzy Ammon: Nottinghamshire v Yorkshire
BBC Leeds & Yorkshire Stations Day 4
Dave Callaghan & David Fletcher: Nottinghamshire v Yorkshire
BBC 5LSE Day 4
Kevin Howells: Nottinghamshire v Yorkshire
BBC Sussex, BBC Manchester & BBC Lancashire
Adrian Harms, Scott Read, David Sleight & Liz Coster: Sussex v Lancashire
BBC WM, BBC Coventry & Warwickshire & BBC Northampton
Clive Eakin (Not day 4), Mike Taylor (Day 4), Phil Britt, Chris Egerton (Not day 3) & Lizzy Ammon (Day 3)
LV County Championship Cricket Division 2
BBC Essex & BBC Kent
Paul Newton, Dick Davies & Matt Cole: Essex v Kent
BBC Wales & BBC Derby
Ed Bevan & Iain O'Brien: Glamorgan v Derbyshire
BBC Bristol, BBC Gloucestershire & BBC Leicester
Bob Hunt & Richard Rea: Gloucestershire v Leicestershire
BBC Hereford & Worcester & BBC London
Dave Bradley, Mark Church & Johnny Barren: Worcestershire v Surrey
BBC Nottingham, BBC Yorkshire Stations & BBC 5 Live Sport Extra - first 3 days
Dave Bracegirdle, Dave Callaghan, David Fletcher (Day 3), Kevin Howells & Lizzy Ammon (Day 3): Nottinghamshire v Yorkshire
BBC Nottingham Day 4
Dave Bracegirdle & Lizzy Ammon: Nottinghamshire v Yorkshire
BBC Leeds & Yorkshire Stations Day 4
Dave Callaghan & David Fletcher: Nottinghamshire v Yorkshire
BBC 5LSE Day 4
Kevin Howells: Nottinghamshire v Yorkshire
Having listened to BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra's coverage of Nottinghamshire v Yorkshire on Thursday and having just caught up with their Friday broadcast on the iPlayer, to add to your post on this that with Yorkshire's impending County Championship victory looking increasingly likely, it was only decided during play on Thursday that BBC Yorkshire would be providing their own White Rose-slanted commentary on the final day of the match as a separate webstream.
Dave Fletcher - usually BBC Radio Leeds' Bradford City FC commentator - actually arrived at Trent Bridge during the final session of Thursday's play and as you say was heard on 5LSE on day three before being part of the BBC Yorkshire webstream with Dave Callaghan on Friday. On both days they were also joined in the box by a number of Yorkshire players who were not in action, including Andrew Gale and Liam Plunkett.
To slightly correct what you've posted, Lizzy Ammon wasn't part of the joint Notts-Yorks-5LSE team on Thursday, going by her Twitter she was at Warwickshire that day instead, but she did join Dave Bracegirdle for BBC Radio Nottingham's online service on Friday in the absence of their Yorkshire counterparts. On Friday, BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra took the BBC Radio Nottingham online service with Kevin Howells doing continuity around it for part of the morning, before opting out to do their own commentary with Howells and Andy Wilson from The Guardian as Yorkshire clinched the title.
On a general note, I've really enjoyed what I've heard of BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra's county cricket coverage this summer. In many ways I prefer BBC Radio's county cricket broadcasts to Test Match Special, what with its more understated style, the wide array of different voices heard and its regional feel. I think Kevin Howells, the mainstay of 5LSE's coverage, is a particularly excellent broadcaster and with a number of newer voices joining the TMS team over the past 12 months or so, I can't help but feel that the BBC are missing a trick in not having given him the opportunity to commentate on England beyond his studio-based "night watchman" continuity role during their coverage of England's winter tours.
I know we still have a couple of rounds of County Championship matches to go, but I must congratulate you Connor on doing an excellent job in consistently compiling details of BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra and BBC Local Radio's county cricket coverage this summer. I always find it interesting to read who's been covering what game, so your posts have certainly been much appreciated at my end.
Having listened to BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra's coverage of Nottinghamshire v Yorkshire on Thursday and having just caught up with their Friday broadcast on the iPlayer, to add to your post on this that with Yorkshire's impending County Championship victory looking increasingly likely, it was only decided during play on Thursday that BBC Yorkshire would be providing their own White Rose-slanted commentary on the final day of the match as a separate webstream.
Dave Fletcher - usually BBC Radio Leeds' Bradford City FC commentator - actually arrived at Trent Bridge during the final session of Thursday's play and as you say was heard on 5LSE on day three before being part of the BBC Yorkshire webstream with Dave Callaghan on Friday. On both days they were also joined in the box by a number of Yorkshire players who were not in action, including Andrew Gale and Liam Plunkett.
To slightly correct what you've posted, Lizzy Ammon wasn't part of the joint Notts-Yorks-5LSE team on Thursday, going by her Twitter she was at Warwickshire that day instead, but she did join Dave Bracegirdle for BBC Radio Nottingham's online service on Friday in the absence of their Yorkshire counterparts. On Friday, BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra took the BBC Radio Nottingham online service with Kevin Howells doing continuity around it for part of the morning, before opting out to do their own commentary with Howells and Andy Wilson from The Guardian as Yorkshire clinched the title.
On a general note, I've really enjoyed what I've heard of BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra's county cricket coverage this summer. In many ways I prefer BBC Radio's county cricket broadcasts to Test Match Special, what with its more understated style, the wide array of different voices heard and its regional feel. I think Kevin Howells, the mainstay of 5LSE's coverage, is a particularly excellent broadcaster and with a number of newer voices joining the TMS team over the past 12 months or so, I can't help but feel that the BBC are missing a trick in not having given him the opportunity to commentate on England beyond his studio-based "night watchman" continuity role during their coverage of England's winter tours.
I know we still have a couple of rounds of County Championship matches to go, but I must congratulate you Connor on doing an excellent job in consistently compiling details of BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra and BBC Local Radio's county cricket coverage this summer. I always find it interesting to read who's been covering what game, so your posts have certainly been much appreciated at my end.
When I put Lizzy I meant to put not no day 3. Sorry .
I have been enjoying listening to all the BBC local radio stations coverage of county cricket this year. As always the most commentaries I listen to is Warwickshire's but unlike pervious season when I have only listened to other commentaries when they are not playing I have been flicking between them all.
Does anyone if DT (Dave Townsend) covers Yorkshire or Middlesex because for the first part of the season he covered Middlesex then went up north for some of the summer and covered Yorkshire, I don't know if he now lives up north or not; I have heard Kevin Hand say that he is now commentating on Yorkshire but wasn't sure weather he was joking or not. I do like DT, I must be the only one ;-):D.
Talking of KH I do like his work and would like to hear him on TMS one day. As always very good this year from Mike Taylor (BBC WM) and Dave Callaghan (BBC Leeds). When I first heard Lizzy I didn't think she was much good but that was her first game and after I found out that it was her first EVER commentary and slowly I have grown to like her and hope she will be involved next year.
I am very much looking forward to BBC WM & CW's commentary on the RLC final with Chris Wright and I hope Mike Taylor I will been listening with the tv sound down.
BBC Newcastle & BBC Tees
Martin Emmerson & Lizzy Ammon: Durham v Warwickshire
BBC WM & BBC Coventry & Warwickshire
Mike Taylor, Clive Eakin, Chris Wright & Phil Britt: Durham v Warwickshire
In between the 2 innings BBC WM & CW played some clips from the 1993 & 1994 seasons. It was good to hear, including the voices of John Roder, Clive Eakin, A young Richard Wilford and Paul Franks (who I didn't know covered cricket)
I'd like the echo the comments of others regarding the county championship cricket this season. I've particularly enjoyed Dave Callaghan on Yorkshire games. If we were talking about local radio commentators who IMO deserve a go at TMS then I'd like tothrow Mark Church's name in to the hat. I've been listening to his Surrey commentaries for years and love his style-- informative and amusing-- just what I always think cricket commentary should be.
Friday 26th to Sunday 28th September - Live@Ryder Cup Radio
Richard Kaufman is presenting live coverage of The 40th Ryder Cup from Gleneagles Hotel, Perthshire
Commentators: Ron Jones, Sue Thearle, Dave Farrar, Matt Adams, Gordon Brand Jr, Gregory Havret and Paul Eales
Coverage is available on 87.7FM as a restricted service licence radio station in the local area of the course, via live audio streams on RyderCup.com, on the TuneIn radio app, in North America on SiriusXM Radio and in podcast form on production company IMG Sports Radio's Audioboo page.
It's basically the same set-up we get on @TheOpen Radio each year, albeit there are a few different voices involved (with regular Open pundits Robert Lee and Richard Boxall involved in the Sky Sports television coverage). There's no separate on-course interviewer as far as I've heard, a number of the commentators are conducting them instead. I believe Bob Bubka has made a cameo appearance on Live@Ryder Cup Radio, with him primarily being part of talkSPORT's reporting team in Gleneagles along with Rupert Bell and Georgie Bingham.
BBC Lancashire, BBC Manchester, BBC London & BBC 5 Live Sports Extra
Scott Read, Kevin Hand, Steven Mullaney, Kevin Howells & David Townsend (Day 3 & 4): Lancashire v Middlesex
BBC Northampton & BBC Sussex
Chris Egerton & Adrian Harms: Northamptonshire v Sussex
BBC WM, BBC Coventry & Warwickshire & BBC Newcastle
Mike Taylor, Martin Emmerson, Phil Britt & Brian Halford (for the last time ): Warwickshire v Durham
BBC Yorkshire Stations, BBC Bristol & BBC Somerset
Dave Callaghan & Antony Gibson: Yorkshire v Somerset
LV County Championship Cricket Division 2
BBC Derby & BBC Leicester
Iain O'Brien & Richard Rea: Derbyshire v Leicestershire
BBC Essex
Glen Spiller, Paul Newton & Dick Davies: Essex v Worcestershire
BBC Hereford & Worcester
Trevor Owens: Essex v Worcestershire
BBC Wales & BBC Solent
Ed Bevan, Kevan James, Allan Mulley & Lizzy Ammon: Glamorgan v Hampshire
BBC Kent, BBC Bristol & BBC Gloucestershire
Matt Cole & Bob Hunt: Kent v Gloucestershire
BBC WM, BBC Coventry & Warwickshire & BBC Newcastle
Mike Taylor, Martin Emmerson, Phil Britt & Brian Halford (for the last time ): Warwickshire v Durham
Yes, really sad to hear that the Birmingham Mail have made Brian Halford redundant. A regrettable decision but as a Walsall supporter who reads that newspaper from time to time I can't say it comes as a massive surprise. On top of being their cricket correspondent Brian was also their Saddlers reporter and it has been noticeable that the amount of column inches the Mail devotes to my club has gotten progressively fewer over the past 12-15 months. I guess they will just take agency/syndicated copy for Warwickshire and Walsall news and match reports once Brian bows out, with Walsall v Bristol City a week tomorrow being his final game for the newspaper. You might be interested to know that the Birmingham Mail's West Bromwich Albion reporter Chris Lepkowski has also left his post this week.
Hopefully Brian (and Chris for that matter) will continue his sports reporting career on a freelance basis, at least in the short to medium term. We often talk on here about BBC Local Radio commentators who wouldn't sound out of place broadcasting on national radio - with many getting the chance to do just that through Radio 5 Live Sports Extra's County Championship and Football League coverage - and I think we can apply those sentiments to Brian Halford as a written journalist. I've long thought that he's a fantastic writer and for my money his copy wouldn't look out of place on the cricket pages of the national broadsheets, indeed if the national press need a well qualified freelancer on the county cricket circuit next season they could do a lot worse than to call upon Brian - that way, we might hear him back on BBC Radio's county cricket commentaries as well.
Changing tack, on Thursday BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra interrupted their coverage of Lancashire v Middlesex to broadcast the closing stages of Hampshire's Division Two championship clinching match at Glamorgan with two wickets remaining in the home team's second innings. Kevan James, Lizzy Ammon and Edward Bevan were on commentary duty. Upon 5LSE's return to Old Trafford, the veteran former Sky Sports darts commentator John Gwynne was in the middle of an entertaining guest stint alongside David Townsend in the BBC Local Radio commentary box (this was at around 3pm if anyone wants to dig it out on the iPlayer). I know I'm repeating what I said on here the other week Connor, but many thanks for compiling all the details of BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra and BBC Local Radio's county cricket coverage throughout the summer. Your contributions are much appreciated.
Yes, really sad to hear that the Birmingham Mail have made Brian Halford redundant. A regrettable decision but as a Walsall supporter who reads that newspaper from time to time I can't say it comes as a massive surprise. On top of being their cricket correspondent Brian was also their Saddlers reporter and it has been noticeable that the amount of column inches the Mail devotes to my club has gotten progressively fewer over the past 12-15 months. I guess they will just take agency/syndicated copy for Warwickshire and Walsall news and match reports once Brian bows out, with Walsall v Bristol City a week tomorrow being his final game for the newspaper. You might be interested to know that the Birmingham Mail's West Bromwich Albion reporter Chris Lepkowski has also left his post this week.
Hopefully Brian (and Chris for that matter) will continue his sports reporting career on a freelance basis, at least in the short to medium term. We often talk on here about BBC Local Radio commentators who wouldn't sound out of place broadcasting on national radio - with many getting the chance to do just that through Radio 5 Live Sports Extra's County Championship and Football League coverage - and I think we can apply those sentiments to Brian Halford as a written journalist. I've long thought that he's a fantastic writer and for my money his copy wouldn't look out of place on the cricket pages of the national broadsheets, indeed if the national press need a well qualified freelancer on the county cricket circuit next season they could do a lot worse than to call upon Brian - that way, we might hear him back on BBC Radio's county cricket commentaries as well.
Changing tack, on Thursday BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra interrupted their coverage of Lancashire v Middlesex to broadcast the closing stages of Hampshire's Division Two championship clinching match at Glamorgan with two wickets remaining in the home team's second innings. Kevan James, Lizzy Ammon and Edward Bevan were on commentary duty. Upon 5LSE's return to Old Trafford, the veteran former Sky Sports darts commentator John Gwynne was in the middle of an entertaining guest stint alongside David Townsend in the BBC Local Radio commentary box (this was at around 3pm if anyone wants to dig it out on the iPlayer). I know I'm repeating what I said on here the other week Connor, but many thanks for compiling all the details of BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra and BBC Local Radio's county cricket coverage throughout the summer. Your contributions are much appreciated.
I would 100% agree your comments on Brian, I have a book that he wrote back in 2012 about Warwickshire on this day. It was very good and Brian most have put a lot of work in.
I did read that next year the Birmingham Mail will only have a reporter on the so called "big matches".
Comments
Baseball Tonight presented by Kevin Winter (first game) and John Brickley (second game) from Bristol, CT
Major League Baseball: American League
Seattle Mariners @ Oakland Athletics (4pm ET) - Roxy Bernstein and Jim Bowden
Texas Rangers @ Kansas City Royals (8pm ET) - Adam Amin and Chris Singleton
During the final weekend of August, ESPN Radio broadcast commentary on both Saturday and Sunday night's Cleveland Indians @ Kansas City Royals games with their usual pairing of Jon Sciambi and Chris Singleton in the booth. Their Baseball Tonight studio hosts were John Ryder on Saturday and Kevin Winter on Sunday.
No such games are listed on the MLB on ESPN Radio webpage yet, but the final month of the MLB regular season will hopefully see ESPN Radio starting to broadcast live commentaries on midweek games. This has happened in all of the previous years since their broadcasts first started being streamed online, what with ESPN Radio's extensive college football coverage on Saturdays pushing the Saturday Game of the Week off many of their affiliate stations.
I agree.
Monday 1st September
Elite League Speedway
Mike Taylor: Wolverhampton Wolves v Leicester Tigers
Tuesday 2nd September
National League Speedway
Mike Taylor & Richard Wilford (Pits): Cradley Heathens v Devon
Wednesday 3rd September
Elite League Speedway
Mike Taylor & Richard Wilford (Pits): Poole Pirates v Wolverhampton Wolves
Have you or anyone else seen anything to confirm there is UK radio coverage this season? I haven't heard a mention of it on absolute radio and can't see anything on their website or the NFL UK website to suggest that there will be. Also Darren Fletcher tweeted a while back that he hasn't been asked to be involved with anything this year.
I haven't heard anything about UK radio coverage of the NFL. I can't find any information about any potential coverage on Absolute Radio 90s, the NFL page of the Absolute website is still there but hasn't been updated since before Super Bowl XLVIII and all I could find on Twitter was a few unanswered questions from listeners sent to Absolute's Twitter account and Will Gavin, the host of their NFL coverage during the second half of last season.
Sadly it looks increasingly likely that the NFL won't be receiving regular live coverage on UK radio this season. In the absence of any live coverage elsewhere, I'd hope BBC Radio 5 Live would think about picking up commentary rights to the Super Bowl itself, as they said they would be doing with the World Series back in the spring despite having ended Radio 5 Live Sports Extra's weekly Major League Baseball coverage this year.
PREMIERSHIP RUGBY
Leicester Tigers v Newcastle - Mike McCarthy presenting from Welford Road, with Bleddyn Jones and Steve Johnson (commentary)
Saracens v Wasps - Russell Hargreaves
LV County Championship Cricket Division 1
BBC Newcastle & BBC Nottingham
Martin Emmerson, Dave Bracegirdle & David Townsend: Durham v Nottinghamshire
BBC Manchester, BBC Lancashire, BBC Yorkshire Stations & BBC 5 Live Sports Extra (Not day 3)
Scott Read, David Sleight, Dave Callaghan & Kevin Howells: Lancashire v Yorkshire
BBC London, BBC Coventry & Warwickshire & BBC WM
Kevin Hand, Clive Eakin (Not day 2), Lizzy Ammon (Day 2) & Brian Halford: Middlesex v Warwickshire
BBC Somerset, BBC Bristol & BBC Northampton
Anthony Gibson & Chris Egerton: Somerset v Northamptonshire
Lv County Championship Cricket Division 2
BBC Derby & BBC Hereford & Worcester
Iain O'Brien & Dave Bradley: Derbyshire v Worcestershire
BBC Solent & BBC Leicester
Kevan James, Allan Mulley & Richard Rea: Hampshire v Leicestershire
BBC Kent & BBC Wales
Peter Guise, Ed Bevan & Lizzy Ammon (Day 3 & 4)
Commentators: Jonathan Agnew (3-5), Charles Dagnall (2-5), Simon Mann (1-2, 5), Ed Smith (1-3), Alison Mitchell (1 & 4), Henry Blofeld (3) and Simon Hughes (4)
Summarisers: Michael Vaughan (1, 4 & 5), Vic Marks (1-4) , Graeme Swann (1 & 2, 4), Phil Tufnell (3 & 4), Ebony Rainford-Brent (1 & 5), Isa Guha (2 & 3), Alec Stewart (4) and Steven Harmison (5)
Alison Mitchell was advertised as commentating on the 2nd game, but did not appear. Malcolm Ashton resumed scoring duties, replacing Andrew Samson.
Not sure if you'll have already seen this Shaun, but you might be interested to learn that Simon Crosse - who as director of USP Content was the producer of BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra's coverage of the NFL and MLB and BBCi's coverage of Monday Night Football in 2012 - will be producing Channel 4's Sunday Night Football coverage this season. He's working for North One, who have taken over the C4 NFL production contract from Sunset + Vine.
Although USP Content produced Absolute Radio 90s' NFL coverage last season, I don't think Crosse was involved - going by his LinkedIn page, he'd left USP Content by the start of the 2013/14 season to produce the Colin Murray & Friends mid-morning show on talkSPORT for the first year of its run, which he's only recently left presumably in order to produce C4 NFL and also shows for BT Sport (with C4's SNF studio coverage due to be will be filmed in their studios apparently). Crosse still produces Fighting Talk on Radio 5 Live according to that page though.
Thursday 7th to Saturday 9th August
Cricket: Fourth Test Match
England v India - Jon Norman, with Jack Bannister providing end-of-session summaries
Alan Brazil and Dominic Cork presented that Thursday morning's edition of the Sports Breakfast from Old Trafford ahead of the start of the Test Match.
Thursday 7th to Sunday 10th August
Golf: The US PGA Championship
Valhalla Golf Club, Louisville, Kentucky - Bob Bubka
Friday 15th to Sunday 17th August
Cricket: Fifth Test Match
England v India - Jon Norman (Friday and Sunday) and Guy Swindells (Saturday), with Jack Bannister providing end-of-session summaries
Saturday 23rd August
Cricket: T20 Blast Finals Day
Warwickshire v Surrey, Hampshire v Lancashire & Warwickshire v Lancashire - Russell Hargreaves
Rugby League: Challenge Cup Final
Castleford Tigers v Leeds Rhinos - Richard Shaw-Wright
Sunday 24th August
Formula 1: Belgian Grand Prix
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps - Geoff Peters
Monday 25th August to Monday 8th September
Tennis: US Open
Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, New York - Kate Partridge, Lynsey Hooper and Katy Murrells
As for the daily breakdown of reporters, Kate Patridge covered all five weekdays of the first week and the Monday and Tuesday of the second week. As far as I heard they didn't carry live updates on either day of the first weekend. Lynsey Hooper reported on the second Wednesday, Katy Murrells covered the second Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday's women's singles final, with Hooper returning to cover the men's singles final on Monday.
Wednesday 27th August to Friday 5th September
Cricket: One-Day International Series
England v India - Guy Swindells, with Jack Bannister providing end-of-innings summaries (all four games)
Not sure who would have covered the First One-Day International on Monday 25th August as it was abandoned without a ball being bowled, meaning they did not have call to take a single update. You'd imagine Guy Swindells would have been on reporting duty given that he covered the four other ODIs that took place.
Friday 5th September
Rugby Union: Premiership
Northampton Saints v Gloucester - Simon Ward
Saturday 6th September
Rugby Union: Premiership
Saracens v London Wasps & London Irish v Harlequins (Twickenham) - Russell Hargreaves
Formula 1: Italian Grand Prix Qualifying
Autodromo Nazionale Monza - Graham Courtney
Sunday 7th September
Cricket: Twenty20 International
England v India - Clive Edwards, with Jack Bannister providing end-of-innings summaries
Formula 1: Italian Grand Prix
Autodromo Nazionale Monza - Graham Courtney
Tennis: US Open Women's Singles Final
Serena Williams v Caroline Wozniacki - Katy Murrells
Monday 8th September
Tennis: US Open Men's Singles Final
Kei Nishikori v Marin Cilic - Lynsey Hooper
Monday 8th September
Elite League Speedway
Mike Taylor: Wolverhampton Wolves v Eastbourne Eagles
Tuesday 9th September
National League Knockout Cup Speedway
Mike Taylor & Richard Wilford (Pits): Cradley Heathens v Coventry Strom
Royal London Cup Semi Finals
Thursday 4th September
BBC WM, BBC Coventry & Warwickshire & BBC 5 Live Sports Extra
Richard Wilford, Clive Eakin, Kevin Howells & Phil Britt: Warwickshire v Kent
BBC Kent
Peter Guise, Ben Watts & Lizzy Ammon: Warwickshire v Kent
Saturday 6th September
BBC Newcastle & BBC Nottingham
Martin Emmerson, Dave Bracegirdle, Paul Johnson & David Townsend: Durham v Nottinghamshire
BBC 5 Live Sports Extra
Simon Mann, Kevin Howells, Graham Onions, Marcus North & Darren Bicknell: Durham v Nottinghamshire
LV County Championship Cricket Division 1
BBC London & BBC Newcastle
Kevin Hand, Martin Emmerson & David Townsend: Middlesex v Durham
BBC Nottingham, BBC Yorkshire Stations & BBC 5 Live Sport Extra - first 3 days
Dave Bracegirdle, Dave Callaghan, David Fletcher (Day 3), Kevin Howells & Lizzy Ammon (Day 3): Nottinghamshire v Yorkshire
BBC Nottingham Day 4
Dave Bracegirdle & Lizzy Ammon: Nottinghamshire v Yorkshire
BBC Leeds & Yorkshire Stations Day 4
Dave Callaghan & David Fletcher: Nottinghamshire v Yorkshire
BBC 5LSE Day 4
Kevin Howells: Nottinghamshire v Yorkshire
BBC Sussex, BBC Manchester & BBC Lancashire
Adrian Harms, Scott Read, David Sleight & Liz Coster: Sussex v Lancashire
BBC WM, BBC Coventry & Warwickshire & BBC Northampton
Clive Eakin (Not day 4), Mike Taylor (Day 4), Phil Britt, Chris Egerton (Not day 3) & Lizzy Ammon (Day 3)
LV County Championship Cricket Division 2
BBC Essex & BBC Kent
Paul Newton, Dick Davies & Matt Cole: Essex v Kent
BBC Wales & BBC Derby
Ed Bevan & Iain O'Brien: Glamorgan v Derbyshire
BBC Bristol, BBC Gloucestershire & BBC Leicester
Bob Hunt & Richard Rea: Gloucestershire v Leicestershire
BBC Hereford & Worcester & BBC London
Dave Bradley, Mark Church & Johnny Barren: Worcestershire v Surrey
Having listened to BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra's coverage of Nottinghamshire v Yorkshire on Thursday and having just caught up with their Friday broadcast on the iPlayer, to add to your post on this that with Yorkshire's impending County Championship victory looking increasingly likely, it was only decided during play on Thursday that BBC Yorkshire would be providing their own White Rose-slanted commentary on the final day of the match as a separate webstream.
Dave Fletcher - usually BBC Radio Leeds' Bradford City FC commentator - actually arrived at Trent Bridge during the final session of Thursday's play and as you say was heard on 5LSE on day three before being part of the BBC Yorkshire webstream with Dave Callaghan on Friday. On both days they were also joined in the box by a number of Yorkshire players who were not in action, including Andrew Gale and Liam Plunkett.
To slightly correct what you've posted, Lizzy Ammon wasn't part of the joint Notts-Yorks-5LSE team on Thursday, going by her Twitter she was at Warwickshire that day instead, but she did join Dave Bracegirdle for BBC Radio Nottingham's online service on Friday in the absence of their Yorkshire counterparts. On Friday, BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra took the BBC Radio Nottingham online service with Kevin Howells doing continuity around it for part of the morning, before opting out to do their own commentary with Howells and Andy Wilson from The Guardian as Yorkshire clinched the title.
On a general note, I've really enjoyed what I've heard of BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra's county cricket coverage this summer. In many ways I prefer BBC Radio's county cricket broadcasts to Test Match Special, what with its more understated style, the wide array of different voices heard and its regional feel. I think Kevin Howells, the mainstay of 5LSE's coverage, is a particularly excellent broadcaster and with a number of newer voices joining the TMS team over the past 12 months or so, I can't help but feel that the BBC are missing a trick in not having given him the opportunity to commentate on England beyond his studio-based "night watchman" continuity role during their coverage of England's winter tours.
I know we still have a couple of rounds of County Championship matches to go, but I must congratulate you Connor on doing an excellent job in consistently compiling details of BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra and BBC Local Radio's county cricket coverage this summer. I always find it interesting to read who's been covering what game, so your posts have certainly been much appreciated at my end.
When I put Lizzy I meant to put not no day 3. Sorry
I have been enjoying listening to all the BBC local radio stations coverage of county cricket this year. As always the most commentaries I listen to is Warwickshire's but unlike pervious season when I have only listened to other commentaries when they are not playing I have been flicking between them all.
Does anyone if DT (Dave Townsend) covers Yorkshire or Middlesex because for the first part of the season he covered Middlesex then went up north for some of the summer and covered Yorkshire, I don't know if he now lives up north or not; I have heard Kevin Hand say that he is now commentating on Yorkshire but wasn't sure weather he was joking or not. I do like DT, I must be the only one ;-):D.
Talking of KH I do like his work and would like to hear him on TMS one day. As always very good this year from Mike Taylor (BBC WM) and Dave Callaghan (BBC Leeds). When I first heard Lizzy I didn't think she was much good but that was her first game and after I found out that it was her first EVER commentary and slowly I have grown to like her and hope she will be involved next year.
I am very much looking forward to BBC WM & CW's commentary on the RLC final with Chris Wright and I hope Mike Taylor I will been listening with the tv sound down.
LV County Championship Cricket Division 1
BBC Newcastle & BBC Northampton
Martin Emmerson & Chris Egerton: Durham v Northamptonshire
BBC Nottingham & BBC Sussex
Dave Bracegirdle & John Lees: Nottinghamshire v Sussex
BBC Somerset, BBC Bristol, BBC London & BBC 5 Live sports Extra
Stephen Lamb, Kevin Hand & Kevin Howells: Somerset v Middlesex
LV County Championship Cricket Division 2
BBC Solent & BBC Kent
Kevan James, Allan Mulley & Peter Guise: Hampshire v Kent
BBC Leicester & BBC Essex
Richard Rea, Dick Davies & Nick Gledhill: Leicestershire v Essex
BBC London & BBC Derby
Mark Church, Lizzy Ammon & Iain O'Brien: Surrey v Derbyshire
Royal London Cup Final
BBC Newcastle & BBC Tees
Martin Emmerson & Lizzy Ammon: Durham v Warwickshire
BBC WM & BBC Coventry & Warwickshire
Mike Taylor, Clive Eakin, Chris Wright & Phil Britt: Durham v Warwickshire
In between the 2 innings BBC WM & CW played some clips from the 1993 & 1994 seasons. It was good to hear, including the voices of John Roder, Clive Eakin, A young Richard Wilford and Paul Franks (who I didn't know covered cricket)
National League Play Off Semi Final Speedway
Richard Wilford: Cradley Heathens A - A Mildenhall Fen Tigers (Live Commentary on DAB & Online)
The reason I know it was Richard was because I saw there commentating. Don't think anyone was in the pits.
Richard Kaufman is presenting live coverage of The 40th Ryder Cup from Gleneagles Hotel, Perthshire
Commentators: Ron Jones, Sue Thearle, Dave Farrar, Matt Adams, Gordon Brand Jr, Gregory Havret and Paul Eales
Coverage is available on 87.7FM as a restricted service licence radio station in the local area of the course, via live audio streams on RyderCup.com, on the TuneIn radio app, in North America on SiriusXM Radio and in podcast form on production company IMG Sports Radio's Audioboo page.
It's basically the same set-up we get on @TheOpen Radio each year, albeit there are a few different voices involved (with regular Open pundits Robert Lee and Richard Boxall involved in the Sky Sports television coverage). There's no separate on-course interviewer as far as I've heard, a number of the commentators are conducting them instead. I believe Bob Bubka has made a cameo appearance on Live@Ryder Cup Radio, with him primarily being part of talkSPORT's reporting team in Gleneagles along with Rupert Bell and Georgie Bingham.
LV County Championship Cricket Division 1
BBC Lancashire, BBC Manchester, BBC London & BBC 5 Live Sports Extra
Scott Read, Kevin Hand, Steven Mullaney, Kevin Howells & David Townsend (Day 3 & 4): Lancashire v Middlesex
BBC Northampton & BBC Sussex
Chris Egerton & Adrian Harms: Northamptonshire v Sussex
BBC WM, BBC Coventry & Warwickshire & BBC Newcastle
Mike Taylor, Martin Emmerson, Phil Britt & Brian Halford (for the last time
BBC Yorkshire Stations, BBC Bristol & BBC Somerset
Dave Callaghan & Antony Gibson: Yorkshire v Somerset
LV County Championship Cricket Division 2
BBC Derby & BBC Leicester
Iain O'Brien & Richard Rea: Derbyshire v Leicestershire
BBC Essex
Glen Spiller, Paul Newton & Dick Davies: Essex v Worcestershire
BBC Hereford & Worcester
Trevor Owens: Essex v Worcestershire
BBC Wales & BBC Solent
Ed Bevan, Kevan James, Allan Mulley & Lizzy Ammon: Glamorgan v Hampshire
BBC Kent, BBC Bristol & BBC Gloucestershire
Matt Cole & Bob Hunt: Kent v Gloucestershire
Yes, really sad to hear that the Birmingham Mail have made Brian Halford redundant. A regrettable decision but as a Walsall supporter who reads that newspaper from time to time I can't say it comes as a massive surprise. On top of being their cricket correspondent Brian was also their Saddlers reporter and it has been noticeable that the amount of column inches the Mail devotes to my club has gotten progressively fewer over the past 12-15 months. I guess they will just take agency/syndicated copy for Warwickshire and Walsall news and match reports once Brian bows out, with Walsall v Bristol City a week tomorrow being his final game for the newspaper. You might be interested to know that the Birmingham Mail's West Bromwich Albion reporter Chris Lepkowski has also left his post this week.
Hopefully Brian (and Chris for that matter) will continue his sports reporting career on a freelance basis, at least in the short to medium term. We often talk on here about BBC Local Radio commentators who wouldn't sound out of place broadcasting on national radio - with many getting the chance to do just that through Radio 5 Live Sports Extra's County Championship and Football League coverage - and I think we can apply those sentiments to Brian Halford as a written journalist. I've long thought that he's a fantastic writer and for my money his copy wouldn't look out of place on the cricket pages of the national broadsheets, indeed if the national press need a well qualified freelancer on the county cricket circuit next season they could do a lot worse than to call upon Brian - that way, we might hear him back on BBC Radio's county cricket commentaries as well.
Changing tack, on Thursday BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra interrupted their coverage of Lancashire v Middlesex to broadcast the closing stages of Hampshire's Division Two championship clinching match at Glamorgan with two wickets remaining in the home team's second innings. Kevan James, Lizzy Ammon and Edward Bevan were on commentary duty. Upon 5LSE's return to Old Trafford, the veteran former Sky Sports darts commentator John Gwynne was in the middle of an entertaining guest stint alongside David Townsend in the BBC Local Radio commentary box (this was at around 3pm if anyone wants to dig it out on the iPlayer). I know I'm repeating what I said on here the other week Connor, but many thanks for compiling all the details of BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra and BBC Local Radio's county cricket coverage throughout the summer. Your contributions are much appreciated.
I would 100% agree your comments on Brian, I have a book that he wrote back in 2012 about Warwickshire on this day. It was very good and Brian most have put a lot of work in.
I did read that next year the Birmingham Mail will only have a reporter on the so called "big matches".