CBS 2's 20/20 Updates Start Tonight

CBS 2 News' sports anchors will begin providing the 11:00 p.m. "20/20 Update" for CBS Radio's all-sports station WFAN. Sam Ryan tweets that engineers are currently working on the audio equipment in the sports office. It had originally been reported that the updates would start last month but that timeline got moved back.

20/20 Updates with Ryan and Livingston

Jerry Barmash from NY Media Examiner tweets news that CBS 2 sports anchors Sam Ryan and Otis Livingston will anchor the 11:00pm "20/20 Update" on WFAN SportsRadio 66. This would appear to be the other part of the cross-promotion that began last week when CBS 2 began including the WFAN brand in graphics during sports reports.

WFAN-Branded Sports Segments

As of Monday, CBS 2 News has been including the WFAN Sports Radio 66 brand in its sportscasts. The WFAN logo appears on the plasma monitor and over-the-shoulder graphics as well as on a new sports ticker/flipper on the bottom of the screen.

This isn't the first time WFAN, a CBS Radio station, has partnered up with CBS 2. During the Jets' playoff run a few weeks ago, CBS 2 News This Morning occasionally had reporters live at the WFAN studio to chat with morning hosts Craig Carton and Boomer Esiason. Carton also co-hosted a Jets playoff special with Sam Ryan. A similar special aired just before the Giants won the Super Bowl in 2008. And CBS 2 relied on WFAN team beat reporters Ed Coleman and Sweeny Murti to cover the Mets and Yankees at spring training last winter.

Jets' Road to Glory

The New York Jets are one game away from Super Bowl XLIV and CBS 2 News is prepared. All this week, stories on Jets fever have been airing under a "Road to Glory" brand. Saturday night at 7:00, the station will put together a live one-hour special with Sam Ryan and WFAN Sports Radio 66's Craig Carton. Otis Livingston and Hazel Sanchez will report from Indianapolis, where the Jets will face the Colts in the AFC Championship, which is on CBS Sunday afternoon.

Should the Jets pull off a win, expect CBS 2 to go even crazier with coverage, especially because it's CBS's turn to carry this year's Super Bowl.

CBS 2 to Cover Parade of Champions

CBS 2 News will air live coverage of tomorrow's Parade of Champions for the New York Yankees tomorrow beginning at 11:00 a.m. According to Chris Wragge's Facebook, the coverage will last for about three hours and will be anchored in part by himself along with sports anchors Sam Ryan and Otis Livingston.

The parade begins at Battery Park and will continue north on Broadway's "Canyon of Heroes" to City Hall, where a ceremony will be held at 1 p.m. in front of 500 lucky fans who won an online ticket lottery this evening.

John Slattery reported tonight that this will be New York's 206th ticker-tape parade, the most recent of which was in February 2008 for the New York Giants after winning the Super Bowl. This is the first such parade for the Yankees since beating the Mets in the 2000 World Series.

KYW Pays Off Bet With CBS 2 News This Morning

Start spreading the news.

Before the World Series began, the morning team at KYW-TV in Philadelphia bet the crew of CBS 2 News This Morning that the Phillies would win. If they were right, Maurice DuBois, Kate Sullivan, John Elliott and Katie McGee would have to sing Elton John's "Philadelphia Freedom" live in New York and Philly.

Last night, the Yankees beat the Phillies 7-3 in Game 6 of the Fall Classic, bringing home the Yankees' franchise 27th ring. That meant the CBS 3 Eyewitness News This Morning team of Ukee Washington, Liz Keptner, Maria LaRosa and Bob Kelly had to sing Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York." CBS 2 rubbed it in a little more by showing video of the champagne celebration in the Yankees' clubhouse during the early morning performance. At the end, both teams said they were hopeful to be at it again next year.

If you want your ears to bleed, check out the simulcast from CBS 2 and KYW.

World Series Wager with KYW

The CBS 2 News This Morning crew has a lot at stake in the outcome of the World Series, which begins this evening. Maurice DuBois led the team in some trash talk with Ukee Washington and KYW Philadelphia's CBS 3 Eyewitness News This Morning. If the Yankees win, CBS 3 will have to sing Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York." CBS 2 will have to sing Elton John's "Philadelphia Freedom" if the Yanks somehow lose to the Phillies.

Check out video from the 5:40 simulcast this morning from the CBS 2 perspective and the KYW perspective.

Oh, and someone please tell the KYW anchors that her name is Katie McGee.

Yankees Pep Rally Coverage

CORRECTION: 12:33 P.M. WEDNESDAY: It looks like the coverage is only on wcbstv.com and not on the air. So if you go check out the live stream right now, you can watch video of the rally complete with audio of "The Young and the Restless."

CBS 2 News just announced that they will provide live coverage of the Yankees pep rally tomorrow. The rally takes place in Times Square the day the Yankees return to the World Series for the first time since 2003. CBS 2's coverage begins at 12:30, just after CBS 2 News at Noon.

Sam Ryan to Leave CBS 2

The Daily News' Richard Huff reports that lead CBS 2 sports anchor Sam Ryan will leave the station August 27th. She will focus her attention on sportscasting duties for CBS, including anchoring Saturday broadcasts for CBS College Sports (formerly "CSTV") as well as reporting for "The NFL Today."

Ryan tells the Daily News that she's looking forward to spending more time with her family, four-year-old daughter Jensen, seven-year-old son Nicklaus, and husband. She will also freelance at SportsNet New York, anchoring the 1 a.m. edition of "Sports Nite" tonight as well as appear on other shows in the future.

Ryan joined CBS 2 News from ESPN in June 2006. When the station let Ducis Rodgers go in January, Ryan and Steve Bartelstein split the evening sportscasts during the week. Then when Bartelstein left shortly after that, Ryan became the lead sports anchor.

Weekly Q&A with New Mets Manager

Ducis Rodgers announced in his sportscast tonight that Jerry Manuel, interim manager of the Mets since last week, will join CBS 2 in a weekly question-and-answer session. It will take place on Fridays and will incorporate viewer questions submitted via wcbstv.com.

CBS 2's Giants Parade Coverage Plans

With the Giants' stunning win against the Patriots last night in Super Bowl XLII comes time to celebrate. The tickertape parade through the "Canyon of Heroes" on Broadway is scheduled for tomorrow and CBS 2 News plans team coverage beginning at 11:00 a.m. According to plans announced on-air this morning, the CBS 2 sports team will be positioned along the parade route and Chris Wragge will be at City Hall, where the parade will become a pep rally.

"Date With Destiny"

Less than 24 hours before the kickoff of the Super Bowl, Ducis Rodgers will host an hour-long special focusing on the Giants. "Date With Destiny" airs live from Arizona tonight at 7:00 on CBS 2 and will include "expert analysis" from Chris "Mad Dog" Russo and Craig Carton of WFAN Sports Radio 66.

(Graphic courtesy wfan.com)

February Sweeps Begins

Nielsen's four-week February Sweeps ratings period begins today. CBS 2 News at 11:00 will feature an exclusive interview Pablo Guzman got with convicted murderer Danny Pelosi in a report titled "Murder in the Hamptons: The Next Chapter."

Two big news events happen to fall within the next few days. Sunday is the Giants' first appearance in the Super Bowl since 2001 and, while the game won't air on CBS 2 this year, CBS 2 News has been covering the Giants extensively. Ducis Rodgers' sportscasts have been originating from outside the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, AZ, where John Discepolo has also been reporting. Hazel Sanchez has provided reports from around the region as well.

And Tuesday is the largest Super Tuesday primary election in U.S. history with more than 20 states, including New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, holding presidential primaries and caucuses. Political reporters Marcia Kramer and Andrew Kirtzman have been reporting on the latest campaign news and the station will undoubtedly provide extensive coverage on Tuesday. As for network coverage, CBS News will break in with updates during the 8:00 p.m. hour and air a two-hour special report beginning at 9:00 p.m.

CBS 2 News Covers Giants Win

The New York Giants upset the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game Sunday night, advancing to the Super Bowl in two weeks. CBS 2 News at 11:00, anchored by Mary Calvi (Don Dahler was off), had team coverage: Sports director Ducis Rodgers was in the studio with highlights; Jackie Hyland was live at a sports bar in Park Slope, Brooklyn with fan reaction; and sports anchor Sam Ryan was live at Lambeau Field in Green Bay with player interviews. Rodgers had another 30 minutes of Giants coverage on Sports Sunday beginning at 11:35 and Sam Ryan provided more reports from Green Bay.






CBS 2 News announced yesterday that Ducis Rodgers, John Discepolo and Hazel Sanchez will file reports from Phoenix, site of this year's Super Bowl, beginning Monday.

CBS 2 News to Cover Joe Torre Press Conference Live

It was the top story yesterday at 5, 6 and 11: Joe Torre rejected the Yankees' one-year, five-million-dollar contract to return to manage the team next year. And now, after 12 years, the Torre era comes to an end.

CBS 2 News will break in to take Torre's press conference live at 2 p.m., which will be the first time Torre is seen and heard publicly since the news broke late yesterday afternoon.

"Sunday Blitz" Returns Today

CBS 2's football pre-game show, "Sunday Blitz," returns this morning for a second season at 11:00. Chris Wragge hostedthe show for its first few months last fall until he was named as a news anchor. Ducis Rodgers and Sam Ryan then shared the responsibilities. It is not yet clear who will host the show this time. The show's graphics this year appear to be based on the CBS Sports package.

"Sunday Blitz" is followed by "Jets 24/7" at 11:30, "The NFL Today" at noon and Jets vs. Patriots at 1:00.

John Discepolo's Sports

Jim Rosenfield welcomed former Fox 5 sports anchor John Discepolo as "a new face here at sports" tonight. It looks like he could be the weekend sports anchor.

Lead Sports Anchor: Ryan or Rodgers

CBS 2 News has decided against hiring an outsider to become the station's lead sports anchor, the New York Post reports this morning. Instead, the station will opt for one of its own: either Sam Ryan, who joined last June, or Ducis Rodgers, who's been there since 2003. CBS 2 had been looking toward ESPN to fill the gap.

The station also uses WCBS NewsRadio 880's Kevin Connors for weekend morning sports, though his bio has yet to be listed on wcbstv.com.

CBS 2's Super Sunday

CBS 2 will kick off Super Bowl Sunday with "Sunday Blitz" at 11 a.m. That's followed by a special 11:30 edition of "Sports Sunday." Sportcasters Chris Wragge, Ducis Rodgers, Sam Ryan and Kevin Connors will be on hand to preview the biggest sporting event of the year.

CBS 2 Looks For Lead Sports Anchor at ESPN

When Chris Wragge moved from lead sports anchor to co-anchor of CBS 2's noon and 5 p.m. newscasts, it left a hole in the station's sports staff. Ducis Rodgers, Sam Ryan and Kevin Connors have all been called upon to help fill the gap.

Yesterday's New York Post reports that ESPN2's Jay Crawford, co-host of the channel's "Cold Pizza" morning program, is in the lead for the job at CBS 2. The paper says that Crawford wants to stay in New York, where "Cold Pizza" is currently broadcast from, but that it might soon be relocated to ESPN's Bristol, CT headquarters. He has been with ESPN since August 2003.

The Post also says that "SportsCenter" anchor Matt Winer was interviewed for the job but has since re-signed with ESPN.

It wouldn't be the first time that CBS 2 has snatched talent from ESPN. Sam Ryan joined CBS 2 in June after being a reporter for various ESPN broadcasts. She now also appears on CBS Sports' "The NFL Today."