The Yankees visit to San Francisco for a three games series this past weekend brought out the stars.
Billy Crystal, perhaps the ultimate Yankee fan, flew to San Francisco to watch the series with his pal, and fellow comedian, Robin Williams — a Giants fan and Bay Area resident.
Joe Castellano the host of XM’s MLB Late Edition scored an interview with the sporting odd couple.
Crystal talked about hearing of the Yankees—Giants rivalry as kid in New York when both team battled it out in Gotham.
Williams told Castellano: “Watching baseball with Billy is like watching a game with “The Rainman.” He knows all the stats and spends all game as if he were managing both teams. Meanwhile I want a hot dog, a beer and can’t wait to do the wave.”
Tennis
Wimbledon starts today on ESPN2 with coverage starting at 7 a.m. and lasting until 5 p.m., running daily this week through Friday as the first round gets underway.
Also getting underway at 8:30 a.m., Tuesday on Versus, is the America’s Cup. The Swiss and New Zealand are the teams left battling for the Cup as the Americans bowed out in the qualifying matches.
NBA
Thursday unofficially kicks off basketball’s preseason with the NBA Draft at 7 p.m. with ESPN doling out full coverage.
ESPN’s NBA Draft expert Jay Bilas told me: “This year’s NBA Draft will always be known for the choice between Greg Oden and Kevin Durant. Both are worthy of the No. 1 overall selection and both are All-Stars and immediate impact players. But, there is value in this Draft beyond the top two talents. This is really two Drafts in one. With the new eligibility rule essentially requiring a player to spend at least a year in college, there are several prospects in this year’s Draft who would have otherwise have been in the Draft last year. After Oden and Durant, there are some really good players, but each has a question mark here and there. The intrigue comes with trying to figure out which players can overcome their perceived weaknesses to be outstanding NBA players.”
Golf
Maryland head basketball coach Gary Williams will once again be part of the Comcast SportsNet’s golf coverage. It was announced that “Tee Time at the AT&T National” debuts Monday, July 2, from 7-7:30 p.m., and will air each night throughout the week following SportsNite at 6:30. Comcast SportsNet’s Chick Hernandez and Williams, will host the 30-minute live show with interviews and analysis immediately following each day’s round.
» Lastly belated congratulations to Dave Feldman of FOX5 who was the first in the market to break the story of Tiger Woods becoming a father. He was first to have it both on the stations’ Web site and on his 5 p.m. broadcast.
Jim Williams is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning TV producer, director and writer. Check out his blog, Watch this! on www.examiner.com.
