I must admit that I really wasn’t planning on paying too much attention to the World Series. As I mentioned in last week’s column, my Philadelphia Phillies weren’t in it, and I was done with baseball.
But you know what makes sports in general, and baseball in particular, so great is that a game can be so mesmerizing and entertaining that you can’t help but put your loyalties aside and watch it on TV or listen to it on the radio.
Thursday night’s Game 6 of the World Series between the Texas Rangers and St. Louis Cardinals provided us with a contest for the ages. It was just an incredible back-and-forth affair. Twice, the Cardinals were not merely one out away from losing the series, they were one strike away. Somehow, they came back to tie it in the ninth and 10th innings. And in the bottom of the 11th, David Freese sent the Cardinals fans home happy by homering to lead off the inning to give the Cardinals an improbable 10-9 win.
If you want a real reality show, the Game 6 was it. You don’t need immunity challenges, conniving people or Snooki. Where’s the drama in that?
Game 6 is the type of contest that keeps us wanting more. And maybe we don’t need the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox or Phillies involved to keep us riveted. FOX Sports earned a 12.7 rating and 21 share for the classic Game 6.
A total of the 21.1 million viewers watched, making it the most-watched World Series game since Game 6 of the 2009 World Series (13.4/22, 22.3 million) between the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees, according to Nielsen Media Research.
It is also the highest-rated World Series game not involving the New York Yankees since Game 4 in 2005 between the Chicago White Sox and Houston Astros (13.0/21).
TWCS news
Time Warner Cable Sports announced Friday that it will televise the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute-Union ECAC Hockey game from Messa Rink on Jan. 14.
It will be one of six Union home games on TWCS-3. The other were announced earlier this month — against Yale Nov. 12, Dartmouth Jan. 7, Clarkson Jan. 27, Princeton Feb. 17 and Quinnipiac Feb. 18. Last Saturday’s Union at RIT game was on TWCS-3.
RPI will have four other games on TWCS-3 — vs. Yale Nov. 11, at RIT Nov. 25, vs. Clarkson Jan. 28 and at Colgate Feb. 24. The Big Red Freakout game against Colgate on Feb. 4 will be on TWCS-1.
TWCS will be very busy televising college basketball games this season.
TWCS-3 and TWCS-1 will combine to televise 104 games this season. The first one is Tuesday, when Syracuse faces Cal State L.A. in an exhibition game. On Nov. 8, The College of Saint Rose visits the Orange for an exhibition contest.
There will be 11 Siena men’s games televise, eight UAlbany men’s contests, four Siena women’s games and three UAlbany contests. Included in those games are UAlbany-Siena matchups Dec. 3 for the women, and Dec. 5 for the men. Also, TWCS-3 will televise the UAlbany Purple Growl men’s and women’s games Feb. 4.
The Union men’s team will also have a game televised when it visits RIT Feb. 14.
The complete schedules are on my “Parting Schotts” blog.
Football schedules
Here are the college football games and NFL games that will be televised over the next several days.
The game schedule will also include Internet broadcasts on ESPN3.com. Most ESPN and ESPN2 games will be on ESPN3.com.
Announcers, in order of play-by-play, analyst and sideline reporters, are in parentheses. Announcing pairings and game broadcasts are subject to change.
NFL
Sunday
CBS6 and CBS6 HD — Miami at N.Y.
Giants, 1 p.m. (Greg Gumbel/Dan Dierdorf); New England at Pittsburgh, 4:15 p.m. (Jim Nantz/Phil Simms).
FOX23 and FOX23 HD — Washington vs. Buffalo at Toronto, 4 p.m. (Thom Brennaman/Troy Aikman/Pam Oliver).
NBC13 and NBC13 HD — Dallas at Philadelphia, 8:20 p.m. (Al Michaels/Cris Collinsworth/Michele Tafoya).
Monday
ESPN and ESPN HD — San Diego at Kansas City, 8:30 p.m. (Mike Tirico/Jon Gruden and Ron Jaworski).
College Football
Today
FOX College Sports Pacific and ESPN3.com — UAlbany at Wagner, noon (Paul Dottinio/Steve Levy/Schmeelk).
Time Warner Cable Sports-1 — Syracuse at Louisville, noon (Mike Gleason/John Congemi/Eamon McAnaney); Buffalo at Miami (Ohio), 3:30 p.m. (announcers TBA).
ESPN and ESPN HD — Michigan State at Nebraska, noon (Dave Pasch/Chris Spielman and Urban Meyer/Quint Kessenich); Oklahoma at Kansas State, 3:30 p.m. (Sean McDonough/Matt Millen/Heather Cox); Wisconsin at Ohio State, 8 p.m. (Brad Nessler/Todd Blackledge/Holly Rowe).
ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD — Purdue at Michigan, noon (Beth Mowins/Mike Bellotti/Shelley Smith); Baylor at Oklahoma State, 3:30 p.m. (Bob Wischusen/Bob Davie/Jeannine Edwards); South Carolina at Tennessee, 7:15 p.m. (Mark Jones/Ed Cunningham/Jessica Mendoza).
FX and FX HD — Missouri at Texas A&M, noon (Gus Johnson/Charles Davis/Tim Brewster).
MSG Plus and MSG Plus HD — Arkansas at Vanderbilt, noon (Dave Neal/Andre Ware/Cara Capuano); Washington State at Oregon (joined in progress), 3:30 p.m. (Joel Meyers/Brian Baldinger/Jim Knox); Iowa State at Texas Tech, 7 p.m. (Bill Land/Dave Lapham/Emily Jones); Arizona at Washington, 10:30 p.m. (Craig Bolerjack/Joel Klatt/Petros Papadakis).
YES and YES HD — Yale at Columbia, noon (Chris Shearn/Ross Tucker and Jack Ford).
ESPNU and ESPNU HD — North Carolina State at Florida State, noon (Rob Stone/Danny Kanell); Wake Forest at North Carolina, 3:30 p.m. (Pam Ward/Dan Hawkins); Mississippi at Auburn, 7 p.m. (Clay Matvick/Brian Griese/Allison Williams); Alabama State at Alabama A&M (same-day tape), 10:30 p.m. (Adam Amin/Jay Walker).
Big Ten Network and BTN HD — Northwestern at Indiana, noon (Tom Hart/Derek Rackley/Lisa Byington); Iowa at Minnesota, 3:30 p.m. (Eric Collins/Chris Martin/Dionne Miller).
CBSN and CBSN HD — Lehigh at Colgate, noon; Fordham at Army, 3:30 p.m.; Southern Mississippi at Texas-El Paso, 8 p.m.
ESPN3.com — Central Michigan at Akron, noon (Michael Reghi/Doug Garber); Boston College at Maryland, 3 p.m. (announcers TBA); West Virginia at Rutgers, 3:30 p.m. (Mark Neely/Ray Bentley); Hawaii at Idaho, 5 p.m. (Trey Bender/Jay Taylor); Mississippi State at Kentucky, 7 p.m. (announcers TBA); Louisiana Lafayette at Middle Tennessee, 7:30 p.m. (announcers TBA); Clemson at Georgia Tech, 8 p.m. (Mike Patrick/Craig James/Jenn Brown); Nevada at New Mexico State, 8 p.m. (announcers TBA).
MY4 and MY4 HD — Virginia Tech at Duke, 12:30 p.m. (Tim Brant/Dave Archer/Scott Pryzwansky).
Time Warner Cable Sports-3 and TWCS-3 HD — RPI at Union, 1:30 p.m. (announcers TBA); UAlbany at Wagner, 5 p.m. (same-day tape).
CBS6 and CBS6 HD — Georgia vs. Florida, 3:30 p.m. (Verne Lundquist/Gary Danielson/Tracy Wolfson).
ABC10 and ABC10 HD — Illinois at Penn State, 3:30 p.m. (Carter Blackburn/Brock Huard/Lisa Salters); Stanford at USC, 8 p.m. (Brent Musburger/Kirk Herbstreit/Erin Andrews).
NBC13 and NBC13 HD — Navy at Notre Dame, 3:30 p.m. (Tom Hammond/Mike Mayock/Alex Flanagan).
FOX College Atlantic — Dartmouth at Harvard, 6 p.m. (Eric Frede/Steve DeOssie/Katy Fitzpatrick).
Tuesday
ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD — Northern Illinois at Toledo, 7 p.m. (announcers TBA).
Wednesday
ESPN and ESPN HD — Temple at Ohio,
8 p.m. (Mark Neely/Ray Bentley).
Thursday
ESPNU and ESPNU HD — Akron at Miami (Ohio), 7:30 p.m. (announcers TBA).
ESPN and ESPN HD — Florida State at Boston College, 8 p.m. (Rece Davis/Craig James and Jesse Palmer/Jenn Brown).
Friday
ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD — Central Michigan at Kent State, 8 p.m. (announcers TBA).
ESPN and ESPN HD — Southern California at Colorado, 9 p.m. (announcers TBA).
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