Radio personality Chuck Wilson is headed back to ESPN Radio. His first assignment will be to host Sunday’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Selection show that will air from approximately 5:30 pm ET to 9:00 pm ET (following the Boston Celtics-Cleveland Cavaliers game on ESPN Radio). Wilson will host “Baseball Tonight”, “Football Tonight” and other programs on ESPN Radio.
“I’m excited to re-join my colleagues at ESPN Radio,” Wilson said in a statement. “Our goal every night is to inform, entertain and bring you insight. We’re in a Twitter world, immediately flooded with sports news, in which anybody can post a story. What’s true and what isn’t?”
Wilson was a host when ESPN Radio launched as a weekend network on January 4th, 1992 and the the first ESPN Radio host hired in November, 1991. He joined ESPN Radio full-time in 1994 and moved from weekends to weeknights when ESPN Radio premiered "Gamenight" in 1995. Wilson remained on "Gamenight" for the next 10-years, until late July, 2005.
He is a winner of two International awards for interviewing and reporting as co-host of ESPN Radio “SportsCenter” and ESPN Radio “Viewpoints. Also honored as host of the acclaimed “ESPN Classic Presents the Legends on ESPN Radio”, conducting in-depth, one-on-one interviews with legendary sports figures. Wilson has worked with over 200 different co-hosts at ESPN Radio.
In September, 2005, Wilson joined XM Satellite Radio. He hosted several shows on the baseball channel in his three years there. Also wrote, co-produced and narrated specials for the channel, including “Yankee Stadium Remembered”.
In 2007, Chuck Wilson was named one of the “100 Most Influential Sports Educators in America” by the Institute for International Sport. Wilson was selected from a list of more than 1,500 nominees. The only other broadcaster named was Bob Costas.
In December, 2009, Sports Illustrated named Chuck Wilson runner-up for "Best National Radio Host" of the decade.
Wilson will continue to assist in the creation of content for 4eProductions, a multimedia company, where, as Director of Ethics, he is involved in developing values-rich programs for kids.
Wilson seems excited to rejoin ESPN Radio
“We track down breaking stories, injury reports, line-up changes. You name it. We find out what’s accurate and then provide context. What does it really mean? Why was the trade made? How will it affect your team? It’s what I like to call ‘informed opinion’. We have the contacts to reach the athletes, agents and decision-makers, an outstanding research department, and a terrific collection of analysts to break it all down. Hopefully, you come away with a better perspective on the stories you care about.”
BUSINESS OF SPORTS NETWORK FEATURED NEWS OF THE DAY:
The Biz of Baseball has been updated with new data....
Last year, The Biz of Baseball launched its Minor League Attendance database. The resource, the only one of its kind online, provided details on minor league attendance dating back to 2005 to 2008.
The minor league database has now been updated with 2009's data. Users can select by team, year, class, and Division.
To see this new data, select the following link (or the image above):
For those that ever wondered, "just how many non-roster invitees are there for spring training?", you're about to find out. Broken down by each club, providing details such as position and number, here are the 577 non-roster invitees for the 2010 spring training:
The 2010 Major League Baseball season will begin as it has the last three seasons before with league’s arcane blackout policy still in place.
Fans that purchase the out-of-market television package MLB Extra Innings or the online version, MLB.TV can be blacked out of games by one or more team broadcasts, depending in location. For example, if you live in Las Vegas, the Athletics, Giants, Dodgers, Angels, Padres, and Diamondbacks are all blacked out in the area.
And, as of publication, there seems to be no end in sight to the current policy, with the hope for adjustments to the broadcast territories coming this year remote.
In 2007, MLB president and COO Bob DuPuy began attempts to get the owners to make changes to the territories. The adjustment that DuPuy has been lobbying for would have clubs lose a portion of their television territory, if they have not broadcast within it for over a year.
“I see no reason why there ought to be so many clubs able to black out in those territories,” DuPuy said in late 2008. “That’s my intention. That’s my goal. I didn’t get any pushback. The whole thing is about making the game more popular and available.”
Hank Blalock has found a new team and according to a pair of tweets from SI.com's Jon Heyman that team is the the Tampa Bay Rays who have agreed to pay the former Rangers third baseman a base salary of $925,000 with performance bonuses that that could total $350,000.
Blalock spent his first eight seasons with the Texas Rangers mostly playing third base for the team, but shifting to first and DH the last two seasons. Blalock hit well earlier in his career but struggled recently, dipping to a .234/.272/.459 batting line in 495 plate appearances for the Rangers. For his career to date, he put up a batting line of .269/.329/.465. The Rays are hoping he can recapture that performance at the plate coming off the bench. He'll be backing up Carlos Pena at first, Evan Longoria at third and Pat Burrell at DH.
Joe Tetreault is a member of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey.
Sandy Alderson will work to clean up MLB's operations in the Dominican Republic
Looking to clean-up several issues that have clouded over the player development system in the Dominican Republic, MLB commissioner Bud Selig today announced that longtime baseball executive Sandy Alderson will serve as a consultant to the league, focusing on the implementation of reform to the sport’s operations in the country.
According to the league, Alderson will focus on age falsification, the buscone culture, PED use, which has accounted for a large percentage of minor league drug suspensions over the past few years, and other unspecified “club issues”.
In 2009, Alderson served as the chairman of a committee that evaluated the operations of Major League Baseball and its 30 Clubs in the Dominican Republic . The committee, which was comprised of several current Major League general managers and representatives of Major League Baseball, produced a series of recommendations aimed at improving a variety of issues in the Dominican Republic.
“I am very pleased that Sandy Alderson has taken on this important assignment in our effort to address matters in the Dominican Republic,” Commissioner Selig said. “As both an accomplished baseball executive who understands the nature of this task and a distinguished ambassador for our game, Sandy is uniquely qualified to represent Major League Baseball.”
Alderson added, "I look forward to my new assignment in the Dominican Republic , where I have been involved in baseball matters for more than 25 years. Major League Baseball faces significant issues there, but all of them can be resolved favorably through the cooperative efforts of the Office of the Commissioner, the Major League Clubs and the government and the people of the Dominican Republic."
Alderson has an extensive background in baseball. He served as Major League Baseball ’s Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations from September 1998-April 2005. He spent 17 years with the Oakland Athletics, serving as General Manager from 1983-1997 and as Club President before joining the Office of the Commissioner. The A’s won four American League West titles, three A.L. pennants and the 1989 World Series during Alderson’s tenure. Alderson joined the San Diego Padres as Chief Executive Officer in April 2005 and worked in that capacity until last year. While Alderson was with San Diego , the Padres won two National League West championships.
Mamma Mia! The Klement's Italian Sausage Bobblehead that the Brewers are giving away this season is but one of the unique promotion items in MLB for 2010
If there’s one thing that MLB has figured out in a down economy, it’s that fans will come to the game in droves if there’s a good promotion involved. Maybe they’re not on the level Bill Veeck would have had, but there are still some good ones out there.
As clubs prepare for the start of the 2010 season, here’s some of the promotions that we’ve come across that rank at the top.
Lawyers Appreciation Night with the Marlins – We can’t help ourselves… Was this promo concocted as part of the Marlins being forced to raise payroll due to misuse of revenue-sharing funds? Bill your clients at the ballpark on May 13th and find out.
Autism Awareness Night with the Marlins – OK, the comment on the promo before wasn’t nice, but this promo night from the Marlins is on April 30th against the Nationals. Help promote Autism awareness on the last day of International Autism Awareness month.
D-backs Garden Gnome Figurine on 70s Night – Baseball? Garden Gnome? Diamondbacks? This we’ve gotta see. Attend the Saturday, May 22nd interleague game with the Blue Jays to pick one up in your bellbottoms or hip-huggers.
Sausage Bobble? – As part of this year's 40th Anniversary season, the Brewers will celebrate four Retro Weekends to honor each decade in franchise history. With it, there will be bobblehead giveaways highlighting the likes of Hank Aaron, Robin Yount, and even though he played for a short period, C.C. Sabathia. Our suggestion? Go to the Sunday, August 8 against the Astros and get the Klement's Italian Sausage Bobble. Insert your Beavis and Butthead comments on your own.
Empire Strikes Back Night at Dodger Stadium – Last year, it was simply “Star Wars Night”. Why stop there? The Dodgers will ask you to go to the Dark Side with a commemorative poster celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the movie’s release on May 21st.
When You’ve Been Losing… (Orioles Version) – Let’s face it, the Orioles haven’t had much of anything to crow about for some time. But, you can relive the glory days on Saturday, June 27 against the Nationals when they celebrate the 40th anniversary of the 1970 World Champions Orioles by having numerous members of the '70 World Series Champs. The following day, the first 20,000 fans 15 and over will receive a 1970 O's 40th Anniversary Cap. Finally, a Hall of Fame Oriole and member of the 1970 Orioles' World Championship team, Brooks Robinson, will be featured in a giveaway on Saturday, July 17. The first 25,000 fans 21 and over will receive a Robinson replica jersey.
But Will He Keep Longo From Going "Longo"? - This is a late add in. Justin Verlander landed the biggest salary arbitration contract in early 2010, and with that, you can bank on something different from the Tigers. How about at Justin Verlander "K-Counter" Bobblehead, a one-of-a-kind interactive bobblehead that includes a three-digit counter which will allow fans to keep tally of Verlander's yearly strikeout total.? The first 10,000 can land one on Friday, April 30.
When You’ve Been Losing… (Royals Version) – Same drill as the Orioles: no winning, so let’s relive the past by celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the 1985 World Series throughout the entire month of May. On Saturday, May 22, the Willie Wilson Classic takes place and will feature the 1985 World Series Royals Alumni in a softball game against members of the 1985 St. Louis Cardinals prior to the Royals-Rockies 3:10 p.m. matchup. Other promos that month include Promotions will also include a 1985 25th Anniversary T-Shirt, a Bret Saberhagen bobblehead, a Build-A-(Polar) Bear (whatever that is) and a Salute to the 1985 World Series poster.
Promo of the Year: The Carlos Peña toothbrush holder, still in development. Toothbrush goes in the end of bat. (Click to see larger view)
The Best Series of Promos Goes to.... - The Tampa Bay Rays. On pure originality, they have the best promo nights of the year. Check these out.
April 25 vs. Blue Jays: Zorilla Gorilla Webkinz, a collectible stuffed animal bearing Rays Manager Joe Maddon's nickname for Ben Zobrist.
May 2 vs. Royals: Flying Carl Crawford action figure equipped with a parachute.
August 1 vs. Yankees: Growth chart featuring the tallest Ray, 6-foot, 9-inch Jeff Niemann.
Wednesday, April 7 the first 10,000 fans will receive a pair of Joe Maddon glasses.
The one Rays promo we could probably do without? On Thursday, April 8, the first 10,000 fans will receive a Rays Super Cowbell, an oversized version of the Rays signature noisemaker equipped with a special hand grip. “More cowbell! Don’t fear the reaper!”
And the Promo of the Year goes to.... - The Rays get this one, as well. On May 30 vs. the White Sox it’s Carlos Peña action figure toothbrush holder giveaway night. The item is the first produced by a major league team. Remember kids, brush your teeth and you too can avoid cavities and one day, with hard work, win a Gold Glove.
On Friday, Maury Brown, the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, was on 610 Sports Radio in Kansas Citytalking to Bob Frescoe about the NFL in an uncapped season, competitive balance in Major League Baseball, and what might be on the plate for collective bargaining for MLB over the next year.
Click the icon below to listen to the segment through your browser, or the link provided to download in MP3.
The Biz of Baseball is part of the Business of Sports Network. For details on our interviews, latest new on MLB, the NFL, the NBA,and the NHL from outside the lines, check www.businessofsportsnetwork.com for information and links to the Network's sites.
Don't forget to registerand log in on The Biz of Baseball site to get updates via your in-box, and see information only logged in members can see.
Follow the Business of Sports Network on Facebook
For those that ever wondered, "just how many non-roster invitees are there for spring training?", you're about to find out. Broken down by each club, providing details such as position and number, here are the 577 non-roster invitees for the 2010 spring training:
The 2010 Major League Baseball season will begin as it has the last three seasons before with league’s arcane blackout policy still in place.
D-backs Garden Gnome Figurine on 70s Night – Baseball? Garden Gnome? Diamondbacks? This we’ve gotta see. Attend the Saturday, May 22nd interleague game with the Blue Jays to pick one up in your bellbottoms or hip-huggers.
Empire Strikes Back Night at Dodger Stadium – Last year, it was simply 
But Will He Keep Longo From Going "Longo"? - This is a late add in. Justin Verlander landed the biggest salary arbitration contract in early 2010, and with that, you can bank on something different from the Tigers. How about at Justin Verlander "K-Counter" Bobblehead, a one-of-a-kind interactive bobblehead that includes a three-digit counter which will allow fans to keep tally of Verlander's yearly strikeout total.? The first 10,000 can land one on Friday, April 30.
On Friday, Maury Brown, the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, was on 
