Hello New York and everywhere else.....welcome back to the Birdcage.

In the past few days we have learned that the radio coverage for the NY area hockey teams will change in a big way. For those who live out of the NY area this will only interest you if you listen to games online through the NHL.com radio section.

Here in NY, the radio sports talk scene has been dominated by WFAN since it's first broadcast on July 1st, 1987. It was the station most of us listened to during the now distant Stanley Cup run of 1994. These days there are more places on the dial to listen to sports talk. ESPN runs 1050AM here in NY and until they picked up the Knicks and Ranger broadcasts I didn't think they had much to offer. They do broadcast the Islander games but I don't tune in to those very often.

ESPN1050 debuted on September 1st, 2001....just days before 9/11 and so it was without much fanfare that it got it's start. I remember when 1050 was a country music station.....and they carried the NY Mets baseball games. Nothing was funnier than getting in my car in the morning and hearing some country song as I had left the station on from the night before. As the song would end you would hear a station ID.....like this, "Hi, this is Mookie Wilson of the NY Mets and you're listening to America's best country on 1050 WHN, New York." Sure, like Mookie was tuning in for the latest Dolly Parton single.

Anyhow, back before cable, radio was the only sure way to follow your favorite teams whatever the sport was. While hockey is not like baseball, where the game on radio is almost better than watching on TV.....a good broadcast team could do a great job of making the game exciting. In '94, Howie Rose and Marv Albert shared the radio duties for the Rangers along with longtime sidekick Sal "Red Light" Messina. Howie's call of the Mattau goal is by far the most exciting radio sports call of my generation. It's right up there with "Do you believe in miracles" and "The Giants win the pennant, the Giants win the pennant".

Many of us can't sit home or attend every game, we have to work or do some non-hockey thing. The radio plays a big part in allowing us to tune in live to a game and still feel like we are part of it. These days we have to listen to Kenny Albert (Marv's son) and Brian Mullen who makes no real color in his color commentary. In fact, he bores me. No, he annoys me....yeah, that's better.

That may now change. 1050ESPN announced that they will be broadcasting Ranger and Knicks games next season (both currently feature on FAN). A day or so later it's announced that WFAN will pick up the NJ Devils games. To me, this is a very bad move by WFAN. Until now, the FAN had every advantage over it's rival newcomer. ESPN was forced to take shots at FAN to try and gain audience share....a lame attempt if you ask me. This acquisition will work though. Ranger and Knick fans will tune in to 1050 by the thousands. All 458 Devils fans can tune in to 66.

For years now the NY hockey fan accepted the fact that the biggest and best sports talk station did very little in the way of hockey. Perhaps the numbers dictated that as Mike and the Mad Dog have stated on many occations. Now there is a chance that a new group of people at a new station can change that. Perhaps ESPN radio will work out for us NY hockey fans. One thing is for sure....we will tune in and we will listen. Saying goodbye to WFAN is not going to be so hard....no, not at all.

----}- Bird

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