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Fox Sports Adds Pete Rose

Jason Barrett

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Pete Rose watches “Inside the NBA,” the postgame show for NBA on TNT broadcasts. The banter between analysts Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal, Rose says, “is very entertaining to me.”

Could Rose be baseball’s Barkley?

FOX Sports is about to find out.

Rose will serve FOX as a guest analyst for the MLB on FOX pregame show on FOX and FOX Sports 1 and will also appear on “MLB Whiparound,” “America’s Pregame” and “FOX Sports Live” on FOX Sports 1.

“I enjoy talking baseball, and that’s what this is all about,” Rose said Thursday. “Enjoying the game of baseball, sitting in the green room watching two or three games, getting on TV and talking about it. It’s right up my alley, I think.”

FOX officials say they are hiring Rose for his on-air presence and that he will make for compelling television regardless of how one views his controversial past.

The network’s move comes at a time when Rose, baseball’s all-time hits leader with 4,256, has officially requested that new Commissioner Rob Manfred lift his lifetime ban from the sport.

Rose, who turned 74 on April 14, was banished in 1989 for violating Rule 21(d) while managing the Cincinnati Reds. The rule states that any player, umpire or club or league official or employee who bets on baseball shall be declared permanently ineligible.

Manfred recently told CNBC that he plans to give Rose’s case a “full and fresh look.” The new commissioner’s predecessors, Bud Selig and Fay Vincent, had denied Rose’s requests for reinstatement.

FOX, a broadcast partner of Major League Baseball, did not require the sport’s permission to hire Rose. But network officials said they made baseball fully aware of their decision to audition Rose and then sign him to a contract.

“As a courtesy, FOX informed us that they were interviewing Pete Rose for an on-air studio position,” said Pat Courtney, baseball’s chief communications officer. “The decision to hire on-air talent for its telecasts rests solely with FOX.”

Rose said that he is not joining FOX with the idea that it will help him gain reinstatement.

“I don’t even worry about that. I’ve never thought about that,” Rose said. “I’m just trying to give back to baseball. Hopefully people will watch and I’ll make some good points that will help them understand the game more.

“I’m not concentrating or worrying about reinstatement. I’m worried about working, having fun. This will be fun for me. It won’t be like work. That’s the way I look at it.”

Rose joked, “I always felt that I had a face for radio,” but he does not lack broadcast experience. He recalled that he hosted a nationally syndicated radio show for about eight years and said that talking sports and conducting interviews are not new to him.

John Entz, executive producer of FOX Sports, said that Rose impressed network officials in an initial meeting, not only with his knowledge of the sport’s history but also of today’s game.

“He told great stories, about both the past and present, so we decided to test him on-camera, and he did a really good job for somebody who hasn’t done it a lot,” Entz said. “We all said to each other, as we were watching him, that he was a really compelling, interesting guy to watch on TV.

“He covers a lot of different areas, being a (former) player and manager, he can talk old school and new school, which is what surprised us the most — how current he was, not only talking about the game he knew in the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s, but that he follows and knows today’s players. That was the most pleasant surprise.”

Rose, who lives in Las Vegas, said his schedule leaves him plenty of time to watch games. He signs autographs every day from noon to 4:30 PT in the Art of Music store at The Shoppes at Mandalay Bay. He then goes home, often with a salad from Subway, and watches a full slate of games, starting in the East and ending in the West.

In addition, Rose said he remains current by regularly exchanging texts with about a half-dozen players who seek out his critiques. He said he communicated with Alex Rodriguezin spring training and that he maintains dialogue with players on the Reds, Padres and Cardinals.

As an analyst, Rose said that he would be honest but fair.

“If you make a mistake, a mental mistake — we all make errors, we all strike out,” Rose said. “But you can tell when a guy has got the right approach vs. a guy who is not hustling. I’ll bring that out. I’m not going to be vicious to the person, but if you’re commentating you have to tell it like it is.

“Not to the standpoint where you’re picking on the individual. But if a guy hits a groundball and he takes two steps out of the box and doesn’t run, you have to mention that. Or if a guy continues to throw to the wrong base from the outfield, you’ve got to mention that.”

That, in essence, is what Barkley does.

“Charles knows the game. Charles played the game. Charles is a Hall of Famer,” Rose said. “So, Charles knows the right way to play the game. He might criticize a player in one sentence and pat him on the back in the next sentence.

“With Charles, that’s just his personality. He doesn’t do it for ratings. He does it because that’s the way his personality is. I respect that. Shaq sits there, and sometimes he disagrees with Charles, which makes a good show.

“It’s like when I was in the radio business. We called it, ‘Radio Rasslin’.’ If you could get this caller to agree with you and the next caller to disagree with you, you’ve got a show.”

Credit to Fox Sports who originally published this story

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Compass Media Networks Promotes Three Members to Oversee Play-by-Play Sports Platform

“It is our pleasure to give these three talented executives their day in the sun, knowing that they will continue to work incredibly hard to carry on this tradition of excellence.”

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Logo for Compass Media Networks

Compass Media Networks has announced the promotions of three long-standing executives, Robert Blum, Tyler Brewer, and Chris Kleiber, who will collectively oversee the content creation, production, and distribution of the company’s play-by-play sports platform.

“For over 16 years, Compass Media Networks has set a standard of excellence for national play-by-play sports with Chris, Rob, and Tyler playing a vital part in our success,” said Peter Kosann, CEO/Founder of Compass Media Networks. “It is our pleasure to give these three talented executives their day in the sun, knowing that they will continue to work incredibly hard to carry on this tradition of excellence.”

Robet Blum has been appointed Vice President & General Manager of Sports and will also continue to serve as Vice President of Affiliate Sales for News-Talk and Sports. Tyler Brewer has been appointed Executive Producer – Sports Programming. And Chris Kleiber has been appointed Senior Producer – Sports Programming.

Compass Media Networks broadcasts annually over 100 play-by-play sporting events involving college men’s basketball and football (including the Big Ten Tournament and the Big Ten Championship Game), NFL 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Sunday Doubleheaders, and complete coverage of the Dallas Cowboys and Las Vegas Raiders. The broadcasts are distributed across hundreds of terrestrial sports, news-talk and music stations as well as digital distribution platforms such as SiriusXM, Verizon Mobile, and the Varsity App.

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Charley Steiner Injured; Tim Neverett to Handle Dodgers Radio Play-by-Play

“This will be the first Opening Day that I will have missed since 1976, when I wore a younger man’s clothes.”

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photo of Charley Steiner
Courtesy: Los Angeles Dodgers

As the Los Angeles Dodgers get set to take on the St. Louis Cardinals in their first home game on Thursday, team play-by-play voice Charley Steiner has revealed he will not be doing games at the beginning of the season due to a severe back injury.

Through the Dodgers, Steiner posted a statement which said, “Over the winter, I landed on the Injured List with three compound fractures in my back. (I don’t recommend it.) With the start of the baseball season upon us, the Dodgers are ready to go – but I’m not. This will be the first Opening Day that I will have missed since 1976, when I wore a younger man’s clothes. I look forward to returning to the mic later this season. In the meantime, go Dodgers!”

TrueBlueLA.com reports Tim Neverett will handle play-by-play duties while Steiner recovers. Neverett called the first two regular season games with Rick Monday as the Dodgers started the season in South Korea. Neverett and Monday did not travel with the team, however, they called those games in a studio back home.

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Ronnie Lane and Tom Krasniqi Put a Bow on The Ronnie & TKras Show After Nearly 10 Years

“Finally, Tampa Bay can sleep easy knowing this hideous show is finally over.”

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Photo of Ronnie Lane and Tom Krasniqi
Courtesy: iHeartMedia

After nearly 10 years, The Ronnie & TKras Show with Ronnie Lane and Tom Krasniqi came to an end today as the duo broadcast their final show on remote with many listeners, friends and co-workers on hand. Earlier this month, WDAE announced changes to its programming lineup which will take place starting tomorrow. Ronnie Lane will take on a new role as host of the Tampa Bay Rays pre-game show The Inside Pitch. Tom Krasniqi will continue on in afternoon drive with producer Chris Mathis for The Drive.

Their final show kicked off with station voice Jim Cutler saying, “…Finally, Tampa Bay can sleep easy knowing this hideous show is finally over.”

And with that went three very fast hours of looking back on a nearly decade-long run for Lane and Krasniqi. “It seems kind of surreal, doesn’t it?” said Lane.

Mathis had several special guests lined up for the final show and many others left voice messages which were played coming out of breaks. Tampa Bay Buccaneers General Manager Jason Licht and Chief Operating Officer Brian Ford took part in the final show. Tampa Bay Rays closer Pete Fairbanks also called in and, at first, identified himself as “Pete from St. Louis” before asking what the hosts thought of the Rays bullpen.

“I’m telling you man, when I hear all of these tributes it really brings a tear to my eye, Ronnie,” said Krasniqi. “It’s a surreal moment…It makes me feel so fortunate and blessed to be in this position sitting next to you all these years. This is one of those moments where I am almost speechless and just so incredibly overwhelmed by the support and the love that everyone has shown here today.”

Lane responded, “…Our time together is really coming to an end. I might get a little emotional before this show is over, but we have had a great time and been through many ups and downs…This business is crazy and for us to be able to do what we are doing and doing it on our terms…And for a company that believes in both of us to give us this opportunity to go in different directions with the same company is truly amazing…It doesn’t happen like this always in this business, usually it’s an ugly goodbye.”

As the show came to an end, Lane reminded everyone, “It has been a blast, but we’re not freakin’ leaving!”

“We’re not leaving folks,” ‘TKras’ said. “Thanks very much for being a part of our lives and thanks for having us as part of yours. Onward and upward. You are dismissed.”

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