While overdosing on all things television for the past couple of weeks (baseball, football, presidential election, etc.) and reading every possible transaction they can scroll along the bottom of the screen, I have a few observations I must get off my chest before Fox’s Joe Buck and Tim McCarver call the Dodgers/Phillies National League Championship Series. 

• TBS’ baseball coverage, while you could say it is in its infancy, still looks second-rate to most televised sports coverage — not just baseball.  I could nitpick about blown graphics and stats like when one said Phillies outfielder Pat Burrell had 24 home runs in April and seven in August and September (obviously they meant he had 24 in April thru July).  Over-chatty announcers, like Harold Reynolds and Buck Martinez, and inaccuracies with stats and graphics make it no surprise that TBS only does one game a week during the regular season.

• Speaking of (in)accuracy, why would TBS continue to use “Pitchtrax” when not only is it far inferior to ESPN’s “K-Zone,” it’s not even remotely accurate?  Has anyone else noticed this lame attempt at modern technology?  If TBS can’t get “Pitchtrax” super-imposed over the plate like ESPN’s “K-Zone,” then just cut your losses and pitch the whole thing in the trash because it’s useless.

• Does champagne have to be broken out after every clinching victory in the post-season?  If I would have realized that teams were dying to celebrate three and four-game series’, I would have had my stockbroker invest in champagne and swimming goggles.

• Thanks to Curt Schilling for announcing his plans for next year while his current team (contractually) is in the middle of trying to win the World Series this year.  We appreciate the update Curt, now go call a sports talk show or write on your blog, your opinion is so important to us.

• It has always been a toss up to me as to which is the better month for sports on television— April (Final Four, start of MLB, start of NBA Playoffs, and the Masters) versus October (NFL, NCAA football, MLB Playoffs).  Last Monday’s game between the Vikings and the Saints made a strong case for October.  While two Division Series were wrapping up on TBS, ESPN was getting a surprisingly exciting Monday night game that even the incessant chatter and forced humor of Tony Kornheiser couldn’t ruin.  The game featured a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown, two punt returns for touchdowns by Reggie Bush and a gutty performance by Vikings QB Gus Frerotte that led to a game-winning field goal by Ryan Longwell with only a handful of seconds left on the clock.  I also learned (thanks to the obligatory close-up shots of a kicker after a failed FG attempt) that Saints kicker Martin Gramatica wears his wedding ring during the game.  To me, that should be the test as to whether someone is an athlete or not— do you wear your wedding ring while participating?  If yes, you are not an athlete.

• Angels’ manager Mike Scioscia continues to underachieve in the post-season.  Always known as one of smartest players and managers in the game, his post-season failures have to be a cause for concern for Angels’ owner Artie Moreno.

• Arizona Cardinals’ quarterback Kurt Warner has mentioned once in each of the last two weeks that he is considering retiring before the end of the season.  I would never question a guy's choice to play a violent game like professional football but if Warner is a stand-up guy like I have been led to believe, then he needs to decide immediately whether he is in it for the duration of the season or not.  He owes it to his teammates, coaches and most importantly, to his employer— the Arizona Cardinals.

• From the “I’m shocked but I’m really not shocked department,” the Clippers have finally relieved Elgin Baylor of his player personnel duties.  But don’t worry, they have ensured that the futility will continue by handing over those duties to Head Coach Mike Dunleavy.  What has Dunleavy ever done to deserve total control of basketball operations?  And why am I trying to make sense of the Clippers front office decisions?