Valley News Dispatch

ARNOLD: It was like an old friend returning to town Saturday morning.

After a hiatus of more than two and half years, Bob Tatrn and Joe Falsetti resumed their "Sportsline" cable television show.

The most ironic part of the morning could have been the few minutes leading up to the show's start, just before 8 a.m. when the prerecorded Comcast digital music channel played England Dan and John Ford Coley's classic song, "We'll Never Have to Say Goodbye Again."

That was the sentiment of local sports fans as "Sportsline" was telecast for the first time since Jan. 31, 2001, when AT&T Broadband took over the cable system and discontinued local origination programming.

Saturday's return show started out with a replay of the final minutes of the original show's last telecast when Tatrn and Falsetti bade farewell to the many fans of their call-in show.

Comcast, however, has taken over AT&T Broadband in the area, and the new version of "Sportsline" airs from the studio at the A-K Learning Center in Arnold.

Despite the lengthy absence, the callers were ready and waiting as "Tampa Bay Fan from Brackenridge" was the first caller Saturday morning, putting in an irresistible gibe that the show went off the air in 2001 and his long-suffering Tampa Bay Buccaneers finally won the Super Bowl in 2002.

It didn't take long for the hosts to get back into the groove. A mere 18 minutes into the show, Falsetti unloaded on one of his favorite targets -- Pirates owner Kevin McClatchy and the questionable front office decisions that have led to 11 straight baseball losing seasons.

After the show ended at 9 a.m., Tatrn and Falsetti expressed satisfaction as to how the return went.

"Every call we had was a former caller to the old show, " Tatrn said. "It went very smoothly, today."

"I thought it went very well," said Billie Jo Jendrey, studio director at the A-K Learning Center. "The way the production went today really made us feel comfortable."

Jendrey and her production staff were busy all week getting the commercials ready and Comcast installed a fiber-optic line from its local headquarters along Constitution Boulevard in New Kensington to the A-K Learning Center in Arnold. Texolve of Lower Burrell provided the technical communication means to do a live call-in show.

"We're optimistic the calls will grow," Falsetti said. The duo also has an extended drawing area now as cable subscribers in Hampton, West Deer and Indiana Township have access to the show for the first time.

Immediate plans call for the show to remain at 8 to 9 a.m. Saturdays for at least the duration of the football season. Future plans could include evening telecasts and a reprise of the popular trivia show.

Personal appearances also are part of the return as fans will be able to meet Tatrn and Falsetti from 5 to 7 p.m. Nov. 6 at the A-K Learning Center when production capabilities will be introduced to the business community in an event sponsored by the Allegheny Valley Chamber of Commerce.

 

George Guido can be reached at vndsports@tribweb.com or (724) 226-4689