Used to love listening to the Radio Leeds and Lancashire coverage of the local cricket on Saturdays and Sundays - sometimes the coverage would go on through till almost 9pm if the matches were still going. They both stopped it about 5 years ago - Radio Lancs I think blamed the amount of money it cost to send reporters to rained off matches, which happened a lot - and the effort to collect in the scores (people phoning the grounds every few mins). Good luck to Mansfield 103 with the Notts Premier League coverage - should be an interesting listen.

BBC Local Radio Commentaries - Cricket County Championship
Notts v Durham Dave Bracegirdle (BBC Radio Nottingham) and Martin Emmerson (BBC Radio Newcastle)
Yorkshire v Derbyshire Dave Callaghan (BBC Radio Leeds) and Charles Collins (BBC Radio Derby)
Essex v Hampshire Dick Davies (BBC Essex) and Kevan James (BBC Radio Solent). Paul Newton (BBC Essex) also present.

HEINEKEN CUP - IRN/TALKING RUGBY - Yesterday
Saracens v Toulon - Russell Hargreaves.

Tuesday 30th April - talkSPORT

Keys & Gray with Richard Keys and Andy Gray

Rugby Union: British & Irish Lions 2013 Squad Announcement
The Hilton Syon Park, London - Andrew McKenna and Shane Williams

talkSPORT took a clean audio feed of the announcement from 11am (after going to their hourly news bulletins early), which was compered by Alex Payne from Sky Sports News, with Lions tour manager Andy Irvine announcing the squad and Lions manager Warren Gatland announcing the captain.

This lasted for about 15 minutes, although they didn't stick around for the subsequent press conference with Gatland and captain Sam Warburton - which Sky Sports News Radio, who did much the same from 11am, did although from what I heard they were dipping in and out of it. Radio 5 Live just carried Andy Irvine's announcement of the squad itself, with sports newsreader George Riley top and tailing it. Ian Robertson was their reporter at Syon Park. Keys & Gray would go on to interview both Gatland and Warburton later in their show.

During talkSPORT's immediate reaction piece with their correspondents from 11.15am, Richard Keys billed Andrew McKenna as the station's "lead rugby commentator at the upcoming tour," obviously suggesting that he, rather than John Taylor, will be their man behind the mic at the test and tour matches. So talkSPORT's team is taking shape - it looks like it'll be Mark Saggers as presenter, Andrew McKenna as lead commentator with expert analysis from Brian Moore, David Campese, Shane Williams and Sean Holley. Mike Bovill has tweeted about the tour today suggesting he'll be traveling as a reporter and/or producer, plus we may hear Swansea Sound's commentary team of Jason Harris and Michael Owen. Good luck to the talkSPORT team and of course all 37 men selected to represented the Lions this summer.

Talksport have a pretty strong team for the Lions Tour. Only thing I will miss from 5live is the peerless Ian Robertson.

Mark Saggers confirmed who the majority of the talkSPORT team for their coverage of the British & Irish Lions tour to Australia would be after he interviewed Gareth Edwards on last night's Kick Off.

It will be: Mark Saggers, Brian Moore, Andrew McKenna ("our chief commentator for every match"), Sir Ian McGeechan, David Campese, Shane Williams, Michael Lynagh, Sean Holley and John Taylor.

Saggers said he'll be "going out and covering all of the matches" with Brian Moore, with the two of them also presenting the Weekend Sports Breakfast together during the tour, something Moore himself tweeted about a little while back. However, Mike Bovill tweeted yesterday that "Brian flies out the day I fly home!", so I wonder if it might be a case of Saggers and Moore presenting the WSB and possibly the Monday, Tuesday and Friday Kick Off shows (seeing as the Lions play Saturday and Tuesday) from London while Bovill presents the live coverage of the pre-Test warm-ups games from Hong Kong/Australia, with Saggers and Moore then flying out for the three Test matches.

Thursday 2nd May - BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra

5 Live Baseball with Nat Coombs and Josh Chetwynd

Baseball: American League
Tampa Bay Rays @ Kansas City Royals - Denny Matthews and Steve Physioc, with Steve Stewart (commentary provided by KCSP 610 Sports Radio - "The Royals Radio Network")

This game was actually delayed by snowfall in Kansas in the middle of the fourth inning, with the game eventually being abandoned. Nat and Josh stuck around for about half an hour after the players went off (they'd been on-air for about 75 minutes at the time the game stopped) and discussed Major League Baseball in general before it was decided that they would end their coverage.

Without wishing to be wise after the event, as things transpired I rather wish they'd have decided to give 5 Live Baseball a rest this week - or perhaps move it to Sunday evening when they'd have had more choice in terms of games - and simulcast a BBC Local Radio commentary on one of last night's League Two Play-Off Semi-Finals instead. Next Thursday, their live game will be the New York Yankees @ Colorado Rockies from 8pm.

Scarlets v Benetton Treivso (RaboDirect Pro12 RU)

BBC Radio Wales - Simon Davies (host from ground) Nick Webb and Garin Jenkins (All frequencies / Online)
BBC Radio Cymru - Cennydd Davies (also host) and Emyr Lewis

Huw Wynn Morgan is updating both stations on Leinster v Ospreys

Caught the last few of minutes of the Monday night rugby league St George/Illawarra v Manly on Radio Sport NZ yesterday morning. Was a very bizarre listen... the game was close and the commentators were announcing how close we were to the end, then dramatically announced that it was all over and the final score was St George/Illawarra 18 Manly 24. Then immediately silence from them for about 5 seconds, but there was clearly noise from the game still going on. Then one of them said "Are we still on air?". The other said, "No. And there's still about 30 seconds to go! Could have been interesting if this last attack came to anything!" Then a few more seconds of shuffling and RSNZ goes to a commercial break. After the break it was the NZ studios and the presenter said sorry for the problems at the end of the game, but "the system automatically ends the Australian feed at 11pm and the game was running late".

So... if that is true and the feed from the game to the local ABC stations ends at exactly 11pm, why would they do that when there is not much buffer considering flexibility of live sport... and the commentators clearly knew this, and tried to pretend that they had squeezed the end of the game in before 11pm, but presumably forgot that NZ coverage did not opt out when the ABC stations did so gave their secrets away.

Don't think I've ever heard this before where a commentator has pretended a game has ended to make the coverage fit in neatly.

One of the problems of listening to ABC Grandstand via Radio Sport NZ is its way of switching to long ad breaks during matches. Invariably, the score has changed by the time the game commentary is resumed.

This is true also of Radio Sport's relays of talkSPORT Live's coverage of Sunday 4pm Premier League games during GMT (i.e. not the overnight hours in New Zealand) where second halves of these games are punctuated by commercial breaks on the quarter hour, regardless of the progress of the games.

talkSPORT

Friday 5th April

Rugby Union: Amlin Challenge Cup Quarter-Final
London Wasps v Leinster - Russell Hargreaves

Saturday 6th April

Horse Racing: The Grand National
Aintree Racecourse - Rupert Bell

Rugby Union: Heineken Cup Quarter-Final
Saracens v Ulster - Simon Ward

Rugby Union: Amlin Challenge Cup Quarter-Final
Bath v Stade Francais - Nick Heath

Sunday 7th April

Rugby Union: Heineken Cup Quarter-Final
Harlequins v Munster - Russell Hargreaves

Thursday 11th to Sunday 14th April

Golf: The Masters
Augusta National Golf Club - Bob Bubka (who joined Danny Kelly and Rupert Bell for a Masters Special between 10pm-1am on the Sunday)

Friday 12th April

Rugby League: Super League
Leeds Rhinos v London Broncos - Mark Wilson

Saturday 13th April

Rugby Union: Premiership
Harlequins v Bath - Simon Ward

Sunday 14th April

Formula 1: Chinese Grand Prix
Shanghai International Circuit - Geoff Peters

Monday 15th April

World Snooker Championship 2013 Draw
talkSPORT Towers, London - Andrew McKenna compered, with Paul Hawksbee drawing the seeded players and Andy Jacobs drawing the unseed players. Second seed Mark Selby provided post-draw reaction.

Friday 19th April

Rugby League: Challenge Cup Fourth Round
Wigan Warriors v Leigh Centurions - Mark Wilson

Saturday 20th April

Rugby Union: Premiership
London Irish v London Welsh - Ian Williams

Saturday 20th April to Monday 6th May

World Snooker Championship 2013
The Crucible Theatre, Sheffield - Andy Hayes, James Gibson, Simon Watts, Ian Abrahams, Pete Abbott, Russell Hargreaves, Lisa O'Sullivan, Nigel Bidmead, Andrew McKenna, Jake Robson, Elliot Cook, Toby Gilles and Mike Bovill (all doubling up as snooker reporters while reading talkSPORT's sports news bulletins)

Sunday 21st April

Formula 1: Bahrain Grand Prix
Bahrain International Circuit - Graham Courtney

The London Marathon
Updates - Lynsey Hooper

Friday 26th April

Rugby League: Super League
Hull FC v Wigan Warriors - Mark Wilson

Saturday 27th April

Rugby Union: Amlin Challenge Cup Semi-Final
Leinster v Biarritz - David Brady

Sunday 28th April

Rugby Union: Heineken Cup Semi-Final
Saracens v Toulon - Andrew McKenna (who presented that night's Full Contact from Twickenham alongside Lewis Moody)

Tuesday 30th April

Rugby Union: British & Irish Lions 2013 Squad Announcement
The Hilton Syon Park, London - Andrew McKenna and Shane Williams

Friday 3rd May

Rugby League: Super League
Bradford Bulls v Leeds Rhinos - Mark Wilson

Saturday 4th May

Rugby Union: Premiership
Harlequins v Northampton Saints - Russell Hargreaves

Sunday 5th and Monday 6th May

World Snooker Championship Final 2013
Barry Hawkins v Ronnie O'Sullivan - Elliot Cook (Sunday afternoon session and Monday evening session), Toby Gilles (Sunday evening session) and Mike Bovill (Monday afternoon session)

On Monday and Tuesday morning's Extra Time, Russell Hargreaves spoke to Michael McMullan - Eurosport snooker commentator and presenter of Today FM's Premier League Live in Ireland - from The Crucible reviewing both days of the World Snooker Championship Final. He was doing his usual Today FM presenting duties from Dublin on Saturday afternoon so I guess he was only there for the final. I would be interested to know if he reported on it for the Communicorp stations (Today and Newstalk). Philip Studd and George Riley were reporting from The Crucible for BBC Radio 5 Live.

During this Sunday's Full Contact, Andrew McKenna said that talkSPORT "will bring you commentary" on Leicester Tigers v Harlequins in the Premiership Semi-Finals. He specifically said commentary, adding that talkSPORT will "have the details" (i.e. updates) from both matches but will be doing commentary on the Saturday game, but he didn't specify which medium it will be going out on.

Judging by the talkSPORT.co.uk Saturday schedule having an FA Cup Matchday Live pencilled in between 2-7pm and with the possibility of the 3pm kick-off in the rugby union running into the FA Cup Final should it go to extra-time, I'd imagine this commentary will be an online-only service as was the case with talkSPORT's coverage of a couple of Premiership matches early on in the season.

A radio commentator in Australia has a 'Ron Atkinson' moment:-


Continues Here

Thursday 9th May - BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra

5 Live Baseball with Mike Carlson and Josh Chetwynd

Baseball: Interleague
New York Yankees @ Colorado Rockies - Jack Corrigan and Jerry Schemmel (commentary provided by 850 KOA - "The Rockies Radio Network")

5LSE's live match coverage began at 8pm and was preceded by Colin Murray's recent 5 Live Sport documentary about the New York Yankees. I didn't know this as I would have given it a listen if I had. Apparently Josh Chetwynd is based in Denver these days.

The Yankees @ Rockies game has been held up in a rain delay since the end of the fourth inning and has yet to restart, meaning 5 Live Baseball had to switch their emphasis to commentary of...

Baseball: Interleague
Detroit Tigers @ Washington Nationals - Charlie Slowes and Dave Jageler (commentary provided by WJFK 106.7 The Fan - "The Nationals Baseball Network")

They joined that game in the bottom of the second inning and stuck with it until the end of the fifth, at which time with it looking like the tarp wasn't coming off in Denver any time soon they decided to wrap things up and go off-air. This was around 10.45pm our time. I *think* they began their coverage of the Tigers @ Nationals by picking up the Tigers local radio feed from WXYT with Dan Dickerson and Jim Price before switching to the Nationals feed at the top of the third, but I'm not entirely sure about that.

Next week's live game is the New York Mets @ St. Louis Cardinals from 6.45pm, which is the only pre-midnight game our time that Thursday. With 5 Live Baseball having been hurt by weather delays for two successive weeks now and with two Thursdays where there is only one scheduled afternoon game to follow, I can't help but feel 5LSE might have been better served scheduling 5 Live Baseball in its old Sunday night slot, where you have plenty of games taking place and thus much less chance of having your hand forced by the weather, right up until 5 Live NFL forces them out of that timeslot and into a midweek one in the autumn.

Are TS covering the Players Championship does anyone know?

I don't think so, I listened to about an hour of Kick Off last night and have the programme on tonight but they've yet to cross to any updates. I believe Bob Bubka is at Sawgrass reporting for various radio stations on a freelance basis, so I don't see why they don't call upon his services.

It's a tournament that talkSPORT always used to carry Bob's updates from in the days when they used to carry reports on all of the major televised snooker and PDC darts tournaments and all of the Grand Slam tennis championships; these days as far as golf goes they typically only have reports on the four Majors, the Ryder Cup and a couple of the bigger summer golf tournaments played in Britain.

A bit of news on talkSPORT's Premiership rugby coverage over the weekend. Andrew McKenna has tweeted that the former Leicester, England and Lions flanker Neil Back will be co-commentating on tomorrow's Leicester Tigers v Harlequins semi-final (presumably alongside Macca) with the game due to go out as an alternative audio stream on talkSPORT.co.uk only. I'm not sure if they'll also be crossed to throughout the game on the AM and DAB platforms or if someone like Russell Hagreaves will be updating the main station. McKenna and Back will also be the presenting duo for Sunday night's Full Contact (and it wouldn't surprise me if they are hosting from Allianz Park having watched the Saracens v Northampton Saints semi-final for talkSPORT earlier in the day).

Ulster v Scarlets (RaboDirect Pro 12 RU Semi final play-off)

BBC Radio Wales - Simon Daves (studio host) Nick Webb and Mike Ruddock (All frequencies / Online)
BBC Radio Cymru - Eleri Siôn (studio host) Cennydd Davies and Gary Samuel (commentary)

On 5Live Sports Extra and Radio Sport NZ commentary from Bryan Waddle, Charles Dagnall and Russell Fuller, expert comment from Iain O'Brien and Matthew Hoggard.

Radio Sport New Zealand
R/U: Blues v Rebels (Eden Park, Auckland, 1935NZ, 0835UK) Nigel Yalden, Ed Strawn and P J Montgomery (commentary)
R/L: Warriors v Bulldogs (Wellington Stadium, 1935NZ, 0835UK Alan McLaughlin (local commentary)

A couple of small corrections and a bit of added info.

The expert commentator at Eden Park was Ant Strachan (but pronounced Strawn) the former All Black scrum half. PJ Montgomery, sideline commentator, is one of the best known TV commentators in world sailing, but has been sideline commentator in Auckland for many years. I've seen archive footage of him presenting TV rugby from the late 60s/early 70s. Nigel Yalden tours with the All Blacks and as well as being lead commentator in Auckland is sideline commentator in Hamilton, where he is based (rugby commentators are regional in NZ).

The voice of NZ rugby league on radio is Allen McLaughlin, who is also a very good cricket commentator based in Auckland (for the Warriors this was a rare game outside Auckland).

Thanks Kentkiwi, for the information. It has added to my knowledge very much.

Monday 13th May

BBC WM DAB

Live speedway the British final

Mike Taylor - commentary and presenter with Richard Wilford - in the pits

Thursday 16th May - BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra

5 Live Baseball with Nat Coombs and Josh Chetwynd

Baseball: National League
New York Mets @ St. Louis Cardinals - Mike Shannon and John Rooney (commentary provided by KMOX 1120AM - "The St. Louis Cardinals Radio Network")

This game was a 12.45pm start local time, with 5 Live Baseball beginning around 6.45pm our time meaning they joined the game in-progress during the top of the first inning. Coverage has been scheduled to start at 7pm due to the First Test Match between England and New Zealand in the cricket but that had ended by 6.30pm.