Analysis never stops on TV these days

Posted: October 22, 2008

1996 and 2008: Pro football and sports talk radio proved to be a perfect marriage, especially in this town. One game a week and the other six days to talk about it. Constant soap operas, real and invented, and endless personnel permutations to debate.

Although baseball is a great radio sport, the sport turned out to be the perfect fit for local all-sports television. Think for a second back to 1996, the last year before Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia was founded. You probably spent less time with the Phillies. First, you had to find the game, and you didn't stick around for much postgame analysis, because there wasn't much.

CSN and the Phillies are a good fit because baseball fills hours of programming at a time of year when there isn't much else going on. From two to four hours, with a postgame show to fill in the rest. Phillies Postgame Live has turned familiar local baseball names into people we know. Just in recent years, there's been Joe Kerrigan, the late John Marzano, now Mitch Williams. Which of these current Phillies will end up breaking it all down on Postgame Live? You wouldn't have predicted in 1993 that Mitch would turn out to be perfect.

Phil Sheridan was the Phillies beat writer for The Inquirer in 1996.

Remembering 1996

Average price of a gallon of gas: $1.24.

Phillies' record: 67-95, fifth place.

Phillies' attendance: 1,801,677.

Phillies' first-round pick: Adam Eaton, RHP.

Remember this? British scientists clone a sheep. (Lamb-chop crisis eases.)