Back on April 4th in 2001 there was no way of knowing how the daily half hour sportscast that Comcast SportsNet launched would forever change the way viewers in the mid Atlantic region would follow sports. Today CSN SportsNet Central is the gold standard and by far the leader in the covering sports news throughout the region.
They have shows at 6p.m., 10p.m., 11p.m. and 1 a.m. with replays throughout the morning being the go to source to most local sports fans who want to know what is happening with the teams.
CSN will air “SportsNet Central: A Decade of Sports News will air tonight at 6:30 p.m. with several encores throughout the week. The half-hour program will be hosted by Chick Hernandez and Russ Thaler – the co-anchors of the network’s inaugural news show. The hosts will guide viewers through some of the decade’s most compelling regional sports stories and reflect on some of their top memories as the longest-serving members of the network’s on-air news team. Current and former members of the news department will also be featured in the show, including ESPN’s Sage Steele and NFL Network’s Scott Hanson.
I had a chance to speak with Chick Hernandez about the last ten years and his view from the anchor chair.
JW:What has made CSN news so successful?
Hernandez:”This is a market that embraces personalities we had some great one’s like Glenn Brenner, Warner Wolf and of course George Michael. At CSN we have always been encouraged to be ourselves and show our personality. Sports needs to be fun and entertaining and we have a great group of people who brings their unique brand of broadcasting to each program.”
JW: How has the network been about backing the news effort?
Hernandez:”They have given us all the tools to make the shows first class. We have one of the best production staffs in the business, some of the smartest and most talented producers, some of the best field reporters in the business, we have people on the road to cover all the big stories. Add to all of that we have state of the art high definition studios and I can’t say that we could ask for anything more from management. They want the best product on the air and I think it shows by the way everyone here loves working at CSN.”
JW: What are some the personal highlights over the past ten years for you?
Hernandez :”As most people know I am a local guy from Silver Spring and a proud graduate of the University of Maryland so being able to be there when the Terps won the 2002 Men’s National Basketball Championship against Indiana was very special for me. Next I think that getting to know and interview Tiger Woods one on one so many times has been great. Following Cal Ripken to Cooperstown for the Hall of Fame induction are three things that come to mind quickly.”
To be fair here in Washington we have some great sports departments. NBC 4 ‘s Dan Hellie, Lindsay Czarniak, FOX 5’s Dave Feldman , ABC 7’s Tim Brant and WUSA 9’s Brett Haber all do fine work and are worthy of watching.
But CSN dedication to the news business with their deep bench of reporters and anchors has changed the way people now watch sports on TV.
