Bay News 9 sports anchor Rock Riley and producer Chris Elias will follow the Devil Rays to Japan, sending reports back beginning Saturday on the channel's Sports Connection show at 11 p.m.
Their Tokyo reports will continue through Tuesday.
On April 4 at 6:30, Riley and Elias conclude their Tokyo coverage with a half-hour special called From Tampa to Tokyo: The Baseball Diaries. The special will take viewers behind the scenes of the trip with player interviews, game highlights, and a look at the teams' arrival in Japan.
According to Bay News 9, Riley is the only local sports anchor traveling with the teams to Tokyo.
The real best show?
John Kruk, formerly of Best Damn Sports Show Period, has joined ESPN as a Baseball Tonight analyst.
Kruk joins Karl Ravech, Harold Reynolds and Peter Gammons, and will appear primarily Sunday through Wednesday during the season and also serve as an analyst for some game telecasts.
Kruk said the Best Damn's focus on entertainment and other sports wasn't what he wanted to do, and that "baseball is my life."
He will debut at 12:30 a.m. Monday.
Cold as ice
ABC will turn its Saturday primetime slot over to its coverage of the World Figure Skating Championships, which the network is doing for the 26th year.
ABC will bring viewers the Ladies Championship, featuring five-time World champion Michelle Kwan, from 8-11 p.m.
Terry Gannon, 1948 and 1952 Olympic gold medalist and five-time World champion Dick Button and 1968 Olympic gold medalist and three-time World champion Peggy Fleming will call the skating. The broadcast will also have Monday Night Football sideline reporter Lisa Guerrero.
Fast talker
Roy Jones Jr. is a boxer, a promoter, a manager, a basketball player and now you can add broadcaster to his impressive resume.
HBO and Jones Jr. have agreed to a multi-year broadcasting deal, with the light heavyweight champion replacing George Foreman.
Jones Jr. isn't a complete neophyte, however. He has done some work on HBO's After Dark boxing telecasts, and is one of boxing's best yappers.
Considering his friendly but testy past with HBO analyst Larry Merchant, Jones' addition to the broadcast team should be fun.
Jones is in training for his May 15 rematch with Tampa's Antonio Tarver. He will make his debut April 10 on a card featuring heavyweight Wladimir Klitschko fighting Lamon Brewster and welterweight Cory Spinks vs. Zab Judah.
Loose ends
The Herd with host Colin Cowherd, a former Tampa radio personality and sports director at Ch. 13, will debut on ESPN Radio Monday. It can be heard locally on WQYK-AM 1010 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. . . . Mark Malone has been let out of his ESPN contract so he can take over as WBBM-CBS sports director and top sports anchor in Chicago, succeeding Mike Adamle. ... ABC will have live coverage of the final two rounds of the 33rd annual Kraft Nabisco Championship, the first major on the LPGA Tour. ESPN has live coverage from 5-7 p.m. today. ... CBS will present a 90-minute documentary, Wilt Chamberlain: Larger than Life from 4:30-6 April 4 during the network's coverage of the NCAA men's basketball championship. The program will be narrated by Isaac Hayes. ... For the second consecutive year, Luther Vandross has recorded One Shining Moment for CBS.
