Open Thread: Episode 2 - "Wally's Back"

This is an open thread for Episode 2 of "Playing for Peanuts." The episode is called "Wally's Back" and it premieres Sunday night on Sportsnet affiliates in several cities.

"Playing for Peanuts"
Episode 2 - "Wally's Back"
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In this episode, the lights go out during Opening Day... the Peanuts sing karaoke and attempt to catch a live lobster... Manager Wally Backman returns to the team... the Peanuts go on a long bus trip to South Carolina, with fireworks and fast food.

SportsNet NY (SNY) (DISH: 438, DIRECT: 625)- May 18 @ 6pm.

Sportsnet Chicago (DISH: 429, DIRECT: 640)- May 18 @ 7pm.

Sportsnet Philadelphia - May 18 @ 7pm.

Sportsnet New England (DISH:435, DIRECT: 620) - May 18 @ 8:30pm

Sportsnet Bay Area (DISH: 419, DIRECT: 654)- May 18 @ 8pm

UPDATE (MONDAY MORNING): I've just been informed that Episode 2 of "Playing for Peanuts" did a .56* rating yesterday, up from .37 last week. Very cool. The rating was helped because the show followed a White Sox game, but it was able to maintain the .56 through both 15-minute segments.

* A .37 rating in Chicago is approximately 19,500 households.

UPDATE (TUESDAY AFTERNOON): The show did a .2 rating in Philadelphia, down from .6 for Episode 1.

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Random Update: My Brother's Band at MSG

This has nothing to do with Playing for Peanuts, but for those of you who know my brother Dan, you might be interested. Also, anyone who likes music... Dan's band DRIVEBY played MSG a couple of weeks ago. They opened for My Chemical Romance and Taking Back Sunday. It was the last show of the tour so it was pretty cool that the tour ended in NY, since 3/4 of the band is from Westchester. Anyway, check them out on their website and you can read Dan's Tour Blog here.

So yeah... here are the first two photos I've seen from the show:

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Peanuts Update: Word is Spreading

A few mentions in the media about "Playing for Peanuts"


Hammers' Manager in Television Series - The 'Hammers' refers to Joliet JackHammers CURRENT manager Wally Backman, who is/was the manager of the South Georgia Peanuts in the show, Playing for Peanuts. Capiche?

Brooklyn Mets Fan on Playing for Peanuts - It seems BMF digs the show. And that's awesome news.

Ryno4Ever at FogPog Likes Peanuts - I'm not sure what this is, but I think it is a Cubs message board and Ryno4Ever is obviously a Ryne Sandberg fan. So there you go. More awesomeness.

NIU Dog Pound Loves Tug Gillingham - This one is awesome. Apparently Northern Illinois University alums noticed that Peanuts catcher Tug Gillingham wears an NIU hat in one of his interviews. Tug actually played for NIU. Anyway, they picked up on it and there's a message board post dedicated to discussing Tug. Awesome.

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Getting Interviewed on the Interwebs

Just a quick note to let you know that I've been interviewed on MVN's The Pitch and Gotham Sports Radio with Mike Silva.

Here is the embedded player for Gotham Sports Radio. I'll get the code for MVN just as soon as I figure out how to do it (me is an idiot, apparently):

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South Coast League: The Aftermath

Since "Playing for Peanuts" aired last week, alot of people have asked what became of the Peanuts and the South Coast League. This video from WALB in Albany, GA sums it up nicely:

UPDATE: The video plays automatically, so I've taken it down. Click here to read the news story - scroll to the bottom of the page to view the video.

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Tonight in Philadelphia

I was informed by the Philadelphia Phillies that "The Emerald Diamond" will be playing on TVs throughout Citizens Bank Ballpark tonight as fans enter the stadium. For those of you who are unfamiliar, "The Emerald Diamond" is a documentary that I made about the Irish National Baseball Team. Last year, I started SUPPORT IRISH BASEBALL - a charity to raise money and equipment for Irish youth teams (website here). The Phillies gave a large amount of equipment to the cause and they continue to support the documentary and Irish youth baseball. Thanks to Jerry O'Connor and the Phillies for continuing to kick ass.

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Wally vs. Umpire

This is a clip of manager Wally Backman dropping f-bombs on an umpire after a close call at first base.

The video is from this week's episode of "Playing for Peanuts." The episode is called, "Wally's Back." It will debut on Sportsnet on Sunday, May 18. Check local listings.



UPDATE: I've gone and made a cell phone video of this clip. Click below to download it to your phone:

More from Playing for Peanuts at Myxer

UPDATE: I just realized I uploaded the cell phone video to Blip. There actually was a better quality version that I was SUPPOSED to upload. Oh well... Rest assured, the cell phone video looks pretty good.

AWESOME UPDATE: The always awesome sports blog With Leather has posted this video on their site. Check it out.

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