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Monday, July 07, 2003

An elderly fellow trudged up Falconi Field's stands to the makeshift table in Section 208, Row L that is the Fox Sports Net broadcast position on Washington Wild Things telecasts. At seat 18, he shook Stan Savran's hand. He pointed to seat 17, to the guy with the familiar mustache, scratch of goatee and friendly face. He pointed to The Guy. As in Junker.

"Stan," the fella kidded, "who's that stranger with you?"

"Total stranger," Savran replied. "I don't know him. ... Just worked with him for 12 years."

The stranger smiled.

How quickly they haven't forgotten.

Gone from "SportsBeat" seven weeks, Junker was back alongside Savran on Saturday. It was different from their dozen years together on the show they helped to create for predecessors KBL and Prime Sports, the show Fox Sports Net demanded its other regional outlets copy, the one that put their faces on buses and mugs and T-shirts, in Pittsburgh's sporting conscience and linked them to the mantra: Love the show.

This time, though, it was Stan 'n' Guy at a baseball game.

Rather, it was Guy 'n' Stan -- Junker sitting to Savran's right after 3,000-plus broadcasts on his left.

It was a reunion that afternoon at Washington, and I'm not talking about Elvis sitting behind home plate. The outdoor broadcast position, one row in front of the press box, made it seem like a Return to Porch Tour Special. The Wild Things buy time on the local Fox Sports Net affiliate, eight games this season, and with color commentator Mike Berger on assignment this weekend, team officials decided to reconnect the most dynamic duo of Western Pennsylvania sports TV.

So there they were, Stan and the Guy, whom the local sports channel ousted May 16 -- after it decided not to renew his contract due to budgetary restraints and a personality conflict -- sitting at a table draped with Fox Sports Net banners, broadcasting over those same airwaves. Together again. Naturally.

"I love baseball, and we didn't get much of a chance to do baseball after [the mid-1990s unplugging of] 'Talkin' Bucco Baseball,'" Junker said. "For us to spend a holiday weekend together, getting paid ... don't tell them this, but I'd do it for nothing."

"You're getting paid?" Savran interjected, feigning incredulity.

It was a stupendous marketing ploy by the savvy Wild Things and a reunion that couldn't have sat well with Fox Sports Net types in Hollywood, even if local general manager Larry Eldridge gave the go-ahead. The sports channel's indigestion was twofold.

Savran was missing from the station's airwaves the four previous days, after his contract expired. He is scheduled to meet with Eldridge this morning to further discuss his trepidation about signing a new contract to work at the station part time. Stan is conflicted about continuing on "SportsBeat" without Guy, continuing on a show whose format may soon change.

And then there was Junker, who went 49 days between when he was shown the 2 Allegheny Center door and Saturday's on-air appearance.

No wonder most of the crowd of 3,000-plus in Washington turned toward the broadcast table and applauded at 3:41 p.m., once public-address announcer Bill DiFabio informed the fans of their presence: "Stan and Guy, the Wild Things love the show."

"Leading off for the Paints ...," Savran was busy intoning into his microphone.

Each has received nearly a hundred e-mails, telephone calls and tons of consolations since their forced broadcast breakup seven weeks ago.

"The public response has been great. From Kevin McClatchy to Kevin Colbert calling me from meetings in Florida to David Littlefield, [Penn State's] Tom Bradley called a couple times," Junker said, with the Fox baseball theme playing in the background. "Actually, the best thing about being off is the time I spend at home with my kids. I didn't miss any of their games. My daughter made the All-Star softball game. I'm going to that game after this." When he left the house Saturday morning, telling his three children he had to go to work, they wondered: We didn't think you had a job.

Junker has subbed for a vacationing Savran on his day job, a WBGG-AM sports-talk show. He also has appeared on a KDKA-TV "Sunday Sports Showdown" and recorded a few commercials for radio and TV. There are some Internet opportunities in the works. And I'm guessing that Clear Channel soon will get its corporate act together and find a full-time radio gig for Junker. For now, though, it's one-shot work. "A week hasn't gone by where I haven't done something," Junker said. "Then this came up."

Give the Wild Things props. The folks running the independent-league baseball team understand the TV market better than Rupert Murdoch's minions, the geniuses who are supposed to know. The team asked him to work at least two more of their broadcasts this season.

Credit Stan 'n' Guy, too. They played it straight Saturday. Hey, it wasn't like they were going to embrace at game's end and cry on each other's shoulders. "Unfortunately," Savran said, only half-joking, "we've already done that."