3/28/24 Hometown Broadcasting Sports Thursday
28 March 2024 Sports
Baseball openers in New York and Philadelphia were postponed a day until Friday because of rainy forecasts in both cities.
Pete Alonso and the New York Mets were scheduled to host the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday afternoon, a day featuring the first full slate of major league games this year. The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres started the season with a two-game series in Seoul, South Korea, last week.
But with wet weather expected much of Thursday in Queens, the Mets announced Wednesday the game was pushed back to Friday at 1:40 p.m.
Minutes later, the Philadelphia Phillies announced their sold-out opener against the NL East rival Atlanta Braves was moved from Thursday at 3:05 p.m. to Friday at the same time due to anticipated rain.
Bob Uecker will be back behind the microphone when the Milwaukee Brewers play their home opener Tuesday against the Minnesota Twins.
“Bob Uecker calling the first pitch of the Brewers home opener is the official start of summer in Milwaukee,” Brewers president of business operations Rick Schlesinger said Wednesday in a statement the team released on social media. “Bob expects to be back at the mic on April 2 to call the game on WTMJ and the network, and he’ll take it one day at a time after that.”
Uecker has been synonymous with Milwaukee baseball for over half a century. Uecker became the voice of the Brewers in 1971 and has been part of their broadcast team ever since, though he has limited himself to home radio assignments for the last several years.
Last season, Uecker maintained a regular pregame presence on the field and in the locker room. He even participated in the Brewers’ champagne-soaked, locker-room celebration after they clinched their NL Central title.
The Brewers have honored him with two statues, one that’s outside American Family Field and another in the back row of the terrace level, a nod to the old Miller Lite commercial in which he said, “I must be in the front row!” as he was escorted to the back of a stadium.
Uecker had his 50th season of broadcasting baseball during that 2020 campaign.
Uecker played in the majors from 1962-67 with the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies, but he became much more famous during his post-playing career.
He worked as a national color commentator for ABC and NBC baseball telecasts and earned fame beyond that of the usual broadcaster following his appearances in late-night talk shows, beer commercials and the movie “Major League.” He also starred in “Mr. Belvedere,” an ABC sitcom that aired over 100 episodes from 1985-90.
Anders Carlson now has a veteran to compete with for the kicking duties in Green Bay. The agent for Greg Joseph announcing on Tuesday that his client is signing with the Packers.
Joseph kicked for the Minnesota Vikings the last 3 seasons, making 82.2% of his field goals (83 of 101). He holds the NFL record for game-winners in a season with 5, and holds the Minnesota record for longest field goal with a 61-yarder, beating the old record that he shared by 5 yards. Joseph also kicked for the Browns in 2018, and was on the Titans roster for 2 games in 2019 after signing in December of that season. He was on the Buccaneers active roster for 1 game in 2020 but did not attempt a kick. For his career, Joseph is 100-121 on FGs (82.6%), and 146-162 on extra points (90.1%) during the regular season. In 4 career playoff games, Joseph is perfect, 2-2 on FGS, 12-12 on extra points.
Carlson’s struggles his rookie season were well documented. He missed the most extra points in the league with 5 (it’s worth noting that Joseph missed 6 extra points in the 2022 season), while also missing 6 field goals attempts. Carlson, a 6th round pick, missed at least one kick in 10 of the final 12 games including playoffs.
Earlier this offseason, the Packers also signed former Georgia kicker Jack Podlesny, who was with Minnesota in training camp as an undrafted rookie, but was released later in camp.
Outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney had perhaps the best year of his career with the Ravens and is now signing with a new squad.
Clowney, 31, has agreed to sign with the Carolina Panthers, the team announced Wednesday. The deal is worth a whopping $20 million over two years, according to ESPN, and could reach as high as $24 million.
It comes after Clowney tied a career-high with 9 1/2 sacks for Baltimore last season and was a key contributor on a defense that became the first to lead the NFL in sacks, takeaways and points allowed per game.
After an ugly exit from the Cleveland Browns following a 2022 season in which he registered just two sacks in 12 games, Clowney signed a one-year, $2.5 million deal with Baltimore last August and thrived with the Ravens under defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald. In addition to ranking second on the team in sacks, he had his best pressure rate, pass-rush win rate and most total pressures in a season, according to Pro Football Focus, and was a disruptive force against the pass as well as the run. He also had 43 tackles and two forced fumbles.
Share |