Last December, I mentioned that FOX Sports was preparing to cut its MLB Pregame Show for 2009 due to low World Series ratings, a $50 million loss, and that viewers didn't want to see host Jeanne Zelasko, analysts Kevin Kennedy, Eric Karros & Mark Grace from the confines of the network's Los Angeles studio before going to the ballpark. According to awfulannouncing.com & Sports Business Daily, the network has announced a modified pregame show as they get ready for a 14th season of Major League Baseball this weekend. For starters, the new look pregame show has been reduced to about 10 minutes, and will originate from the ballpark of FOX's marquee game. Chris Rose, host of FOX's Bowl Championship Series coverage and FOX Sports Net's "Best Damn Sports Show Period", has also been named as the new host of FOX's "Saturday Baseball". Although Chicago viewers will see the White Sox home game vs. the Twins from U.S. Cellular Field locally on FOX32 come 3p, Chris' pregame segment will likely originate this weekend from Anaheim, where the Red Sox/Angels' game is listed as FOX's marquee game for its season premiere this Saturday afternoon. Seems hard to believe, but FOX has been the home of baseball since 1996.

I would rather pull out my finger nails than watch an MLB Pregame Show or discuss format changes and broadcast locations.

I saw the Saturday game on the big screens at Best Buy on Saturday. I noticed Fox Sports is now sporting new graphics, including the return of the infamous "FOX BOX" to replace the score scroll at the top of the screen.

The new graphics appear very similar in style & design to the ones on FOX Sports Net regional broadcasts of MLB teams across America. FSN, as they're calling themselves these days, first introduced the new graphics package during its coverage of "College Football Saturday" last fall. The "FOX BOX" scroll, as far as I know, isn't going anywhere. I think it'll reappear Saturday night when FOX presents the Subway Fresh Fit 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race come 7p from Phoenix International Raceway.

Is FSN still around?

I saw a few college football and basketball broadcasts this year on Comcast that appeared to be FOX'ish, with the same music, but no mention of FSN or Fox Sports Net.

I noticed many of the old FSN affiliates now identify themselves as "FS Ohio" or "FS Tigers" (or whatever team they cover is on TV at the moment).

FOX has a tendency not to change graphics for one sport while its in session. The NASCAR on FOX graphics will be as they have been all year.

Martin, as far as I know, FSN is still around. What they've done is that a lot of their national, studio-based programming have been victims of cost cutting by parent company News Corp. What they have done is relied on their regional networks to produce their game broadcasts & come up with more localized programming to fill the remaining airtime if that makes any sense to you. Here in Chicago, although Comcast SportsNet signed on as the local FSN provider a couple years ago to fill the void of FSN Chicago, the cost cutting has claimed "The Best Damn Sports Show Period" locally at 11p in favor of that nightly replay of "Monsters in the Morning", for example.