Monday, September 12, 2016

NESN's On-Field Tandem Proving To Be Pretty Good

Striewski (L); Austin (R)—Both Getting Doused
As our regular readers know, we are no fans of the New England Sports Network (NESN). As one of the few (if not only) MLB regional broadcaster with no Super-Slo Mo capability and far too frequent technical glitches, it's sort of an embarrassment. However, we need to give them credit when they do something right. We admit that we were skeptical of the 'dual on-field reporter' model that placed Guerin Austin and Gary Striewski in alternating roles. But both have performed exceptionally well—each garnering a loyal following of their own fans. While Striewski's overly-hip persona was grating at first, at least it's real. And Austin has proven to be an adept interviewer—and a good sport about being drenched in GatorAde. Replacing iconic personalities like Heidi Watney and Jenny Dell is not easy. All in all, both Austin and Striewski are doing just that—and growing on us as well. Good work, NESN.