After living in the Washington-Baltimore region for almost 20 years, I know it is a football first and everything else second kind of place. Yes, the Redskins and Ravens rule the airwaves and garner the most print coverage in the Washington-Baltimore region.
But MASN has given area baseball fans a true reason to enjoy the break from all the endless speculation on who the Redskins will add in free agency after the lockout.
Monday through Friday on MASN, it gives information-starved baseball fans “The Mid-Atlantic Sports Report” at 5:30 p.m. before its Nationals and Orioles pregame shows. If you are a baseball fan and you have not watched the program, then you owe it to yourself to check it out.
The host of the program is the popular Tom Davis, a veteran broadcaster well known throughout the region and the perfect traffic cop for his outspoken panel of analysts. The cast is made up of former Orioles pitcher Dave Johnson, former USA Today baseball writer turned MASN contributor Mel Antonen and The Examiner’s own baseball expert, Phil Wood.
Each night the panel breaks down what happened the night before for the Nationals and Orioles, but it does not stop there. If you think this a show aimed at being a house organ for both clubs and giving fans a true homer spin, then you are in for a pleasant surprise.
The work of Davis, Johnson, Antonen and Woods is just what Nationals and Orioles fans crave: honest, fair analysis. There is little spin and a heavy dose of reality. And yes, they do frame it in a way that gives viewers a good idea how both teams can get better.
The show offers plenty of good features from MASN’s correspondents and live reports from both Nationals Park and Camden Yards. Amber Theoharis does sit-down interviews with players and managers not just from the O’s and Nats but also from the visiting teams.
It is well-produced hour of good baseball talk that covers all aspects of the game and is a must-watch for baseball fans in the Mid-Atlantic.
Examiner columnist Jim Williams is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning TV producer, director and writer. Check out his blog, Watch this!
