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Orsillo Prepares For a New Chapter In San Diego

Jason Barrett

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Growing up in pastoral New Hampshire, in the shadow of the White Mountain National Forest, presented Don Orsillo with something akin to an idyllic childhood, save for a few fleeting moments of isolation.

“We were out in the woods,” Orsillo said the other day. “I don’t want to sound as if I’m dating myself here or anything. We had a television.”

Not that it did much good, not when the Red Sox were playing. None of the local channels broadcast games to rural Carroll County. Making matters worse, it was about a three-hour drive to reach Fenway Park.

“So I grew up listening to baseball on the radio,” Orsillo said. “I sat in the kitchen and listened to games. For whatever reason, we always had the best reception in the kitchen.”

It was in that kitchen where Orsillo’s love for baseball grew, hanging on the every word of popular broadcaster Ken Coleman, waiting, probably impatiently, for his favorite player, Dwight Evans, to take his next turn at bat.

This is where Orsillo, hired in September by the Padres to call games on television and radio in 2016, realized what he wanted to do with his life. But it wasn’t trying to be the next Dwight Evans.

He wanted to call games for his beloved Red Sox.

“To me … it was the greatest job in the world,” Orsillo said. “First of all, you get to go to every game. And it also seemed like the announcer was everyone’s friend. I felt like I knew Ken Coleman, even though I didn’t. He was on the background of whatever you and your family were doing that day.

“That’s how I fell in love with the job.”

The only job Orsillo, 47, ever wanted was the one he had for 15 years, calling Red Sox games on NESN. He was behind the microphone for some of the most iconic and important games in club history with longtime partner Jerry Remy, including the World Series titles of 2004, ’07 and again in ’13.

But Orsillo was unceremoniously sacked by NESN, with word leaking before the end of the regular season that his contract wouldn’t be renewed after 2015. It made for an awkward parting.

It wasn’t an ending that Orsillo was prepared for, nor was it one he ever sought.

“I was shocked,” Orsillo said during lunch last week, a long fly ball from his new office, Petco Park. “I didn’t see it coming at all.”

While picking over a panini sandwich last week, Orsillo tried to explain it all: How a kid from New Hampshire got his dream job, had a wild ride, lost that dream job and then found a new one with the Padres.

“I had been through five contracts in the 15 years I was there, and I figured it was more of a formality than anything else … you reach a certain point where you’ve done some things as an announcer, and you generally don’t leave,” Orsillo said.

“The fans have embraced you by then, and you’ve been a part of the fabric of the organization. I always felt very loyal to the Red Sox and NESN. There were several national jobs that I didn’t take because this was the job I wanted.”

During the final week of the season, with the Red Sox visiting Yankee Stadium for the last time in 2015, Orsillo was told Yankees manager Joe Girardi wanted to see him.

Girardi proceeded to tell Orsillo a story about how he, an Illinois native, wanted nothing more than to play forever with his beloved Cubs, and that when he was picked by the Rockies from the Cubs in the 1992 Expansion Draft, it crushed him.

“He called it the most devastating thing in his life,” Orsillo said. “But then he said, ‘What I didn’t realize was how good the second half of my life was going to be.’”

Orsillo then paused and smiled.

“Joe told me, ‘I want you to know you can do that, too.’”

Orsillo wasn’t out of work for long. In fact, before the regular season was over, he met in Baltimore with a contingent that included Padres executive chairman Ron Fowler and club president and CEO Mike Dee. Executives from Fox Sports San Diego also met with Orsillo during the two-day meeting.

“I liked his resume, really liked some of the work product I reviewed and, finally, really liked him as a person when I had a chance to meet and talk to him,” Fowler said. “[The] bottom line, Don is a consummate professional with his ego in check.”

Orsillo likely will work 100 or so games this season, possibly 60 on television and another 40 on radio, before going to full-time television in 2017 when Dick Enberg steps aside.

“They said all the right things. It just fit. I didn’t look beyond the Padres, because they were so great to me,” Orsillo said. “I had no other reason to look beyond that conversation.

“They said they wanted me to be their guy for 20 years. I told them I would like to have a semi-long contract. They said, ‘How does six years sound?’ I told them that sounded good to me. My longest contract in Boston was three years!”

 

“Ron Fowler said to me in Baltimore he hoped I was here 20 years,” Orsillo said. “That would be great. That’s more than I would have been in Boston. If you could put in 30-plus years in the big leagues, you’re eligible for the Hall of Fame.

“Maybe someday I’ll go in as a Padre. Wouldn’t that be great?”

To read more visit the San Diego Padres where this article was originally published

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Colorado Rockies & DirecTV Reach Agreement to Carry Games on TV

“Colorado sports fans have made DIRECTV the top destination for their favorite local teams. We will continue to work with MLB…so fans can get their games.”

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Colorado Rockies

Breathe easy, Rockies fans — you will be able to watch your club on linear TV this year. At the buzzer, DirecTV and the Colorado Rockies agreed on terms to distribute the team’s games throughout its local service.

Starting today, DirecTV Choice subscribers across Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Southern Idaho, Western Nebraska, and Northern New Mexico can now watch the Rockies on a special channel simply titled, “ROCKIES.” The games will be available on DirecTV and DirecTV STREAM via channel 683.

“Colorado sports fans have made DIRECTV the top destination to get all their favorite local teams,” said Rob Thun, chief content officer of DIRECTV. “We will continue to work with MLB, the NBA, NHL, and other top leagues and their local franchises so the most avid fans can get the games they want while other customers have more choice over the content they want to pay to have in their homes.”

Reports just days ago out of Colorado said there were “no guarantees” the Rockies would not find a TV home in time for Opening Day following the sunsetting of AT&T SportsNet. The only other way to watch the team is to use its direct-to-consumer Rockies.tv streaming service, which fans say is too pricey for a team that lost 103 games last season. Luckily, the team was able to secure a TV home for 2024, though the future is still uncertain.

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Erin Andrews Reveals Infertility Journey in Emotional ‘Today Show’ Interview

FOX reporter Erin Andrews sat down with ‘The Today Show’s’ Kristen Welker to discuss her journey, how Welker’s own journey inspired her, and more.

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Erin Andrews

FOX reporter Erin Andrews shared her story of infertility and surrogacy with NBC’s Today Show. Last summer, Andrews and her husband welcomed a baby boy via surrogate after trying for a decade to get pregnant via IVF, during which she was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2016. Today, she sat down with Kristen Welker to discuss her journey, how Welker’s own journey inspired her, and more.

Andrews says Welker’s announcement on the Today Show made her think a baby could be possible. “I remember Kristin Welker’s announcement on your show,” Andrews said last year, “and I actually watched that the morning Mac was born, because that just hit me.”

When they finally sat down, Welker asked Andrews why her journey resonated with the sports reporter so much:

“Because I see myself in you. Kristen, the video of you moderating debates after you’re waiting on bad news or maybe you just received it, that’s me. I can tell you every stand-up I’ve done at a football game where I’ve gotten the news that it didn’t work. I’d be talking about Tom Brady going for this record and my record is that I still was failing…I would have chest pains every time I was waiting for the call if it worked, and I knew it wouldn’t work.

Erin Andrews on ‘Today’

Andrews knew surrogacy was the only path to having a child. Although her family’s first attempt failed, her second attempt was a success, and she got to hear her child’s heartbeat for the very first time. The pair discuss the complex emotions that come with surrogacy, saying that bonds with their child could be affected because they didn’t carry their child. However, Welker assured Andrews that those feelings go away once you can talk to your child.

Once her son was born in June, who Andrews called, “a miracle,” she then talks about her child glowingly, talking about how he is just like mom — vocal. “He’s all me,” she says.

Andrews supports Baby Quest, a non-profit that grants money to families in need of IVF or surrogacy to have a baby but don’t have the funds to pursue these expensive treatments. Both Andrews and Welker acknowledged how difficult and unattainable their journies are for some families — and Andrews even used the NFL’s “My Cleats, My Cause” initiative to raise awareness for her cause.

“People don’t need to feel embarrassed that they have a surrogate or are looking for other help,” Andrews said.

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Curt Menefee and Joel Klatt to be Lead Fox Sports UFL Broadcast Team

Curt Menefee, Joel Klatt, and Brock Huard will make up the first XFL on FOX announce team, while Kevin Kugler, Devin Gardner, and Jake Butt are the #2 team.

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FOX is ready for the United Football League (UFL) season and recently announced its broadcast lineup for the upcoming season. Curt Menefee returns to the booth alongside Joel Klatt to make up the primary UFL commentary team. Joining Menefee and Klatt from the sidelines will be former NFL and University of Washington QB Brock Huard.

Menefee and Klatt will call the season-opening matchup between the defending two-time USFL Champion Birmingham Stallions and the reigning XFL Champion Arlington Renegades on Saturday, Mar. 30 at 1 p.m. ET. The second team of Kevin Kugler and former Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner will call the second game of the day when the St. Louis Battlehawks take on the Michigan Panthers at 4:00 p.m. ET on FOX. Former Denver Broncos tight end Jake Butt will man the sidelines for that game.

Former NFL and USC QB Mark Sanchez was also mentioned in the FOX news release but details of his involvement were not made clear.

The UFL season kicks off on FOX this weekend and continues over on ESPN. Both networks will split coverage of the league all season long.

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