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Tatrn, Falsetti return 'Sportsline' to cable TV
By
Jennifer Bails
VALLEY NEWS DISPATCH
Friday, October 3, 2003
Valley sports fans can rejoice because the rumors are true: Bob and "Pippo" are back.
Beginning on Saturday morning, Oct. 18, sportscasters Bob Tatrn and Joe "Pippo" Falsetti will resume broadcasting their popular live talk show called "Sportsline" on the local Comcast cable TV system.
After more than 30 years on the air, the show was cancelled in January 2001 when Comcast's then-parent company, AT&T Broadband, cut all local television production.
This customer-unfriendly business move was met with uproar from legions of viewers loyal to the veteran broadcasting duo.
"If your show is profitable and well-received, then you would think that whoever bought the company would keep it on the air," Falsetti said. "But AT&T thought otherwise."
Even after "Sportsline" was cancelled, Tatrn and Falsetti continued to call the play-by-play on TV and radio for several high school football teams in the Valley, as they have been doing together since 1968.
The pair met almost four decades ago while working at the former WKPA Radio in New Kensington.
"Most marriages don't last that long," they both like to joke.
But two years ago, it looked like "Sportsline" was doomed to become broadcasting history.
That is until, in another corporate twist, Comcast acquired AT&T last November for $29 billion, and company executives apparently recognized value in bringing back some local programming.
At 81, Falsetti guesses that he is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, sportscaster in the country. The Arnold resident said he was growing bored with retirement when, to his surprise, he received a call from Comcast several months ago about resurrecting "Sportsline."
"We wanted to do what we can to try to give back to community members something that was evidently very important to them," Comcast spokesman Mike Smith said.
Since then, Falsetti has been working hard to find sponsors for the talk show and wrap up negotiations with the cable company.
The format of the show will be the same as before -- an open forum for viewers to call in and talk about Pittsburgh and Valley sports.
The program will feature three regular guest hosts including former state representative Terry Van Horne of Arnold, sportscaster Mike Pavlik and Valley News Dispatch correspondent and local sports guru George Guido of Lower Burrell.
For production and filming, Tatrn and Falsetti will turn to the Alle-Kiski Learning Center Studios on Fifth Avenue in Arnold.
The Alle-Kiski Learning Center is a nonprofit organization that offers adult education classes in topics such as basic reading and math, job readiness and GED preparation.
Like most other nonprofit groups, the AKLC struggles constantly to secure grants and donations to fund its programs, said Mary Jendrey, the center's president and executive director. This year, the center will receive about $300,000 less in grants from the state and federal governments.
As a way to deal with this problem, the learning center invested in thousands of dollars of state-of-the-art video equipment to launch its own production studio.
The studio is being used as a technology lab for AKLC students, as well as a source of revenue to sustain the center and perhaps some day end its dependence on outside funding.
While AKLC Studios already has produced a host of commercials and training videos, "Sportsline" will be the venture's first television program.
"There was a real sense of loss to the community when local programming went out," Jendrey said. "Bringing 'Sportsline' back will give the people a sense that the Valley's back, and things are just going to go upward from here."
Both Tatrn and Falsetti said they thrilled to get back on the air doing what they love to do best -- talk about sports.
"I've been a sports nut all my life," Falsetti said. "Football, baseball, hockey -- I love them all. And as long as they are located in Pittsburgh, they're my team."
Tatrn, 63, of Lower Burrell, has been working full-time in sales at KDKA Radio since what seemed to be the end of 'Sportsline' in 2001.
"You still know that you miss (the show)," Tatrn said. "But you know that your life has changed since then and you start to accept that it's gone. I was shocked when Joe called me to say the opportunity might be there to start again."
Tatrn reminisced about a caller who began to cry on the air during the show's emotional farewell program.
"What makes this show so special to people is that it's homespun," Tatrn said. "People just love having us as company."
Jennifer Bails can be reached at jbails@tribweb.com or (724) 226-4679.