Day 93: Sports Play-by-Play 2

My Best Guess: Because face it...Sports Play-by-Play 1 just ain't enough!

According to Sirius: Catch the best sports talk programs from around the SIRIUS dial, plus live play-by-play from the NFL, NBA, UEFA Champions League, Barclays English Premier League, Wimbledon, Arena Football League, Canadian Football League, plus NASCAR Driver2Crew Chatter and college football, baseball and basketball from top schools & conferences, including the entire NCAA Men's Div. I Basketball Championship.

Curt's Rebuttal: At least I came up with something different for this second version of the Sports Play-by-Play channel. Sheesh.

Sample Playlist

• The Football Show: When they started throwing around names like the Rangers and the Celtics, I got really confused...until I realized they were all soccer teams. So...got to hear about how Steve McLaren (manager of the England National Football Team) made a 5000-mile trip to America to "see what kind of shape David Beckham was in." This was during a charity game against the celebrity-filled team, the Hollywood United. Rumors are circulating that McLaren actually came to America to check into taking over the managing position of the LA Galaxy.
• College Football: Caught a little of the Louisville/West Virginia game. WVA was up by a couple touchdowns in the third quarter.

Verdict: Well, if I'm looking for a particular game on the radio, here's one more place to check, I guess. Still not bookmarking it, though.

Day 92: NFL Radio

My Best Guess: For all your National Football League news, highlights and games, as well as interviews with the top players from your favorite teams, look no further than the play-by-play action of NFL Radio.

According to Sirius: Every game. Every week. Everywhere. Plus exclusive NFL talk, 24/7/365. There is no off-season on Sirius NFL Radio!

Curt's Rebuttal: I like what they have better than what I came up with. Shorter, more to the point, and catchy. Good job, NFL Radio.

Sample Playlist

• Movin' the Chains: Heard this talk program on the way into work. It started with an interview featuring Eric Winston, offensive tackle for the Houston Texans. It then moved on to a segment that discussed the state of youth football in America, from whether it was still "fun" for kids, to how coaches now have to have background checks run on them.
• 2:00 Drill: Every half hour, this quick news show highlights the top sports headlines of the moment.
• Late Hits: This show on my way home focused largely on the upcoming Giants/Cowboys game. One school of thought seems to be that the Giants seem to falter in games following "bye" weekends, while another school is that Plaxico Burress (Go State!) is going to perform like no other on the field.

Verdict: So far, the most interesting channel I've heard so far...perhaps because it was focused on a single sport. Still...until I become a huge NFL fan (I'm more NCAA, myself), this will remain unflagged.

Day 91: Sirius Sports Central

My Best Guess: Yet another sports channel for your Sirius dial...we're Sirius Sports Central.

According to Sirius: Our flagship home for all sports news, talk and action.

Curt's Rebuttal: I honestly had no idea how to separate this out from the last three channels, and apparently neither did Sirius. Basically, it looks like it covers the same stuff as ESPN Radio and ESPNews, without carrying the ESPN branding.

Sample Playlist

• The Tony Bruno Show: Morning talk show (well, morning out here in California) that covers various topics. Today, Tony talked about which college and pro football games to keep your eyes on this week (hint: Georgia/LSU and Chargers/Colts). They also have a "Fan of the Week" segment, where they give NFL tickets out to someone who proves themselves worthy of being called a fan. This week, Carol, a woman who just had hip surgey and is walking with a cane, won tickets to go see her Giants play the Cowboys. I do have to note...the guys on this show think their funny and topical, almost trying to be Howard Stern-like, and really fall flat when trying to pull it off.
• Sirius Fight Club: Covering mixed martial arts action, along with a rundown of who's who in the International Fight League.
• NBA Game Coverage: This evening, I caught bits of both the Nuggets/Knicks match-up, as well as the Cavaliers/Warriors game.

Verdict: Yet another pass...just more of the same, really.

Day 90: Sports Play-By-Play 1

My Best Guess: Miss one of your favorite sports shows on Sirius? Be sure to catch up on instant replays of the most buzzworthy programming each day on Sirius Sports 1.

According to Sirius: Catch the best sports talk programs from around the Sirius dial, plus live play-by-play from the NFL, NBA, UEFA Champions League, Barclays English Premier League, Wimbeldon, Arena Football League, Canadian Football League, plus NASCAR Driver2Crew Chatter and college football, baseball and basketball from top schools and conferences, including the entire NCAA Men's Div. I Basketball Championship.

Curt's Rebuttal: Needless to say, I didn't quite experience all of that. See below.

Sample Playlist

• Rivals Radio: Originally broadcast earlier in the morning on Sirius 123 (we'll see exactly what that channel is tomorrow). In this radio replay, they discussed how LSU's loss to Kentucky bumped it down to a #2 ranking, and how Kansas and OSU might impact their overall standings as we approach the end of college football season. Nebraska's terrible defensive line was also discussed.
• The Afternoon Blitz: Originally broadcast earlier in the afternoon on Sirius 124 (which I'll be covering on Wednesday). The radio program featured an interview with New England Patriots player Ty Warren about Sunday's Colts/Patriots game, with probing questions on how the Patriots ended up on top.

Verdict: Pass. Although I might tune in at some point just to checkout what a rugby match sounds like over the radio.

Day 89: ESPNews

My Best Guess: For 24/7 sports news coverage, there's no better play than to tune into ESPNews on Sirius Satellite Radio!

According to Sirius: ESPNews, the nation's only 24-hour sports news service, provides listeners with unprecedented access to the newsmakers with LIVE coverage of significant press conferences; including the NFL weekly coaches sessions and post-season and championship briefings.

Curt's Rebuttal: Sounds good. I really was trying to figure out how to distinguish this from the previous channel, ESPN Radio...and I'm still not sure how. Apparently this is just an extension of ESPN's show SportsCenter.

Sample Playlist:

• Sports News: Focused largely on Thursday night's NBA and NHL scores. Following those recaps, there was a quick story on how Barry Bonds is raising a stink about him boycotting the Baseball Hall of Fame if his record-breaking home run ball is admitted into the HoF with an asterisk attached.
• Live Game Coverage: Coverage of the Friday night Knicks/Cavaliers game, as part of the Cleveland Cavaliers Basketball Radio Network.
• ESPNews Gametime: An interview Jimmy Johnson and his plans to win the NASCAR Nextel Cup, as well as more discussion of the upcoming Colts/Patriots game.

Verdict: Nothing I'd bookmark, but if there was a game I was interested in while driving, I would probably tune into these channels to try and listen along.

Day 88: ESPN Radio

My Best Guess: With everything from Shark Week to...huh? Wait...seriously? No Discovery Channel Radio? Channel 119 is just where it used to live, apparently, and now hosts special feature channels when appropriate. So...upward and onward to Channel 120, ESPN Radio, your home on the Sirius dial for anything and everything sports related, from the latest news and scores, to interviews with your favorite sports figures. It's like ESPN...but in your CAR!

According to Sirius: ESPN Radio is the worldwide leader in sports, offering the best and biggest in sports broadcasting, including: Mike & Mike in the Morning, The Dan Patrick Show and AllNight with Jason Smith, which feature top sports news, big name athletes, interviews and commentary.

Curt's Rebuttal: I'm really going to have a hard time letting Shark Week go, you realize...

Sample Playlist

• The Herd, with Colin Cowherd: A morning sports talk show. Today, it featured discussion about the upcoming Patriots/Colts game being played in New England, with commentary on how unfair this was to the Colts, as the Patriots are used to the colder weather. The Pats were largely favored to win in this discussion, with talk that this victory might seal their Super Bowl appearance. After a not-so-quick commercial break, including an interjection with a SportsCenter Report, Colin returns to discuss the complaint by some OSU fans that they are ranked #2, behind LSU...basically telling them to get a tough schedule before they start complaining.
• The Pulse, with Doug Gottlieb: More of an evening drive show (for me, at least). This evening, the focus was on whether or not Joe Torre taking over as manager for the LA Dodgers would improve their standings next year, as well as whether or not they might make some big plays, such as getting A-Rod to make the move to the West Coast. No and no, seemed to be the concensus.

Verdict: If I was a sports fan...definitely. Since I'm not...going to pass. And now that I'm in the "sports" section of the dial...I think there is going to be a lot of passing.

Days 85 - 87: Spooky 119

My Best Guess: Okay...this time on Shark Week...wait...again??? First, Sirius 119 is devoted for two days to the Women's Conference being held in Long Beach. Then, I come back from a trip out East to find that the sounds of Halloween are holding court on Sirius 119 through Halloween night?

According to Sirius: For a ghoulish Halloween, tune into Sirius Scream 119. The channel will feature spooky songs and sound effects, Halloween stories from Sirius stars and personalities, Halloween-related interviews and features, listener comments, and more.

Curt's Rebuttal: Yup...that pretty much covered it.

Sample Playlist

• Halloween Music: This includes such great hits as The Monster Mash, Purple People Eater, and Teenage Brain Surgeon.
• Interviews: With everyday people on the street and Sirius radio personalities, about some of their favorite Halloween memories and traditions, as well as famous names in the horror biz, such as Elvira and Rob Zombie.
• Scary Stories: These weren't that scary. Basically retellings of or The Headless Horseman or The Monkey's Paw. Unfortunately, these were mostly being read by people who had the pleasant voice of a kindergarten teacher, which made them not all that scary.
• Sound Effects: You know those Halloween CDs that features hours of chain-rattling, door-creaking, and ghost-haunting sounds? There were snippets of these thrown in, too...with non-stop sound effect action featured on October 31.

Verdict: Now, I wouldn't have listened to this for three days if I didn't enjoy Halloween. Unforunately, for the first two days, it seemed like a lot of stuff was being repeated or looped, so I had to deal with the same stories and interview multiple times. I can't really bookmark this, as it's a special seasonal feature. And I doubt I would if it had it's own channel...it would be too much of a good thing. I will, however, check to see if they are doing this again next year, and will tune in all week. Or a good portion of it.