Dimaggio’s Entrance Was Right On Cue
Just as when a celebrity or member of royalty passes through a room, there were, no doubt, more than a few gasps across the country earlier this week when Joe DiMaggio turned up in the NBC booth during the World Series.
Decades after he last patrolled center field in Yankee Stadium, DiMaggio still projects a near-mystical aura, which, combined with his reluctance to be seen publicly outside occasional stadium appearances, make him sports’ answer to late actress Greta Garbo, who wanted very much to be left alone.
The timing of DiMaggio’s appearance couldn’t be better for a new HBO documentary, “Where Have You Gone, Joe DiMaggio,” that will appear on the pay-cable channel through the next month.
The hour-long piece, which features film footage and photos, chronicles the life and times of the Yankee Clipper from his early days in San Francisco through his playing days and into his later years through the words and remembrances of many of his former teammates, contemporaries and biographers.
Though such notables as former President Bush, former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo and former Yankees Phil Rizzuto, Yogi Berra and Jerry Coleman offer up thoughts on DiMaggio, one voice not heard is that of the man himself.
CBS wants back into the NFL
CNN’s Peter King reported that CBS will try to get back into NFL telecasts by creating a package from Thanksgiving, Thursday night and Saturday afternoon games. That’s if the network can’t pry “Monday Night Football” away from ABC. Stay tuned.
More Monday night football?
The potential of a seventh World Series game between Florida and Cleveland in Miami has set up an interesting quandary for Fox and ABC. Fox is scheduled to carry the Bears-Dolphins contest from Pro Player Stadium on Sunday (4 p.m.), but that won’t happen if the Marlins and Indians go to a deciding game Sunday night in the same park.
If that happens, the football game would be shifted to Monday night, marking only the second time that two games would be played on Monday night. However, only Chicago and Miami would see the Dolphins-Bears, while the rest of the country would get the Green Bay-New England game.
Notes
Soccer’s American professional championship gets decided Sunday in Washington as host D.C. United meets the Colorado Rapids for the MLS Cup. … The latest in Robin Roberts’ series of celebrity interviews, “In the SportsLight”, will air tonight on ESPN at 7:30, with comedian Drew Carey and political analyst George Will getting the grilling. … While CNN brings back “This Week in the NBA” Sunday, just in time for the coming season, its corporate cousins at TNT wrap up a fine half-season of NFL telecasts with the Atlanta-Carolina game Sunday. Though Sunday’s contest isn’t up to the standard of the early part of its schedule, TNT, as always, has done a great job - the best of any of the NFL carriers - and hopefully will be back next year when the new contract is settled.