Astros' no-hitter against Yankees to be replayed By DAVID BARRON Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle If you missed the Astros' six-pitcher no-hitter against the New York Yankees on Wednesday, you can catch either of two replays coming up. ESPN2 will replay its broadcast, which was blacked out in Houston, at 6 p.m. Saturday on ESPN Classic. Fox Sports Net's version airs at 6 p.m. Monday, the earliest date FSN could arrange that didn't conflict with an Astros game and could be shown across the network's five-state region. The game earned a 4.6 Nielsen rating and 7 share on FSN in Houston, jumping to 5.7/9 for the last half-hour. FSN's Southwest Sports Report earned a 3.8 rating, the show's best number in Houston since a 4.3 Nielsen last July 15. Six more memories -- In a salute to the six pitchers who held the Yankees without a hit, we offer the memories of six broadcasters, five of whom witnessed the proceedings and one who watched it on television. ·FSN reporter Greg Lucas, who was at Yankee Stadium because network officials realized the historic significance of the Astros' first visits to Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park, might have set a record for postgame interviews. "I grabbed (Brad) Ausmus and (Billy) Wagner, and Dave Robinson, the graphics coordinator, came out of the production truck and got the other four pitchers to come on the field," Lucas said. "Murphy Brown, our director, asked if we could get Roy (Oswalt), and Dave got him. We still had some time left, so we talked to (owner) Drayton (McLane Jr.). "That's eight interviews, and that's a world record in my book." ·It's been quite a week for ESPN's Gary Thorne, who called Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals on Monday and ESPN2's broadcast of the Astros-Yankees on Wednesday. "It was phenomenal. You couldn't believe it was happening," Thorne said. "Every pitcher that would come on, you figured that would be the end of it, because somebody was bound to have a bad night. There was an air of unreality to it all, because through the first six innings it seemed like the Yankees might win." Almost as amazing as the no-hitter, Thorne said, is that it overshadowed Octavio Dotel's remarkable feat of striking out four men in an inning. "In a regular game, that would be the defining moment," he said. "Here, it was a footnote." ·There was at least one Astros fan in the stands. Marc Payton of The Woodlands took a break from his duties as director of HBO's On the Record with Bob Costas to catch all three games of the Yankees-Astros series. "All the games I've been to, and all the games I've worked (more than 350 in 12 years on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball), and this is the first no-hitter," Payton said. "And what a thrill it was for my Astros to do it at Yankee Stadium." Payton sat with old friend Fred Gaudelli, the producer of ABC's Monday Night Football and a devout Yankees fan. "Freddy had been talking smack about how the Yankees were going to kill us," Payton said. "After Oswalt got hurt and Pete Munro got the first out, we said, `Well, the no-hitter is still intact.' And we said it after every out the rest of the night." ·Astros radio analyst Alan Ashby has caught three no-hitters, but broadcasting this one was unique. "This was different (for catcher Brad Ausmus) than it was for me," Ashby said. "He said he never had that sense of need to bring this no-hitter through for the sake of the one guy who had been battling all night. "That was the emotion I always felt when I was catching guys. You would get him through five or six innings and realize the gravity of the situation, and you really do start to call the game differently. That wasn't the case for Brad. Each guy came in with his own style, and he let the pitcher go with that style." · Charley Steiner, who swore off the fight game after covering the sport for more than a decade at ESPN, drew on his boxing past to describe the Wednesday and Thursday games on the Yankees radio network. "This team has been up against the ropes for six weeks, and last night they got knocked down. The question was whether they would put their mouthpiece back in and get up," he said. "They were bloodied and their eyes were swollen, but they took two of three from a very good Astros team. "The Yankees have been in a full one-through-25 team slump. For the last six weeks, they've been deader than Julius Caesar, Still, you have to give the Astros credit." · Larry Dierker, who pitched a no-hitter for the Astros and was in the booth for Darryl Kile's no-hitter in 1993, had the sound turned down on his television but caught glimpses of the first five innings as he worked out. When he turned the sound up, he realized what was happening. "Brownie (Bill Brown) and Jim Deshaies were tap-dancing around it, so then I knew what was going on," he said. "They said everything but `no-hitter.' "It was a great game. It showed why every baseball game you attend can be a memorable moment in your life. If you're an Astros fan, it's as good as it gets."
I think David Justice just blurted it out "No hitter." and I was like crap. While the other annoucer completely avoided it. Another funny moment was when The announcer said that Wagner took some speed off the pitch. I think the 2nd k pitch. and it was clocked at 99mph. Too funny.
Unf***ingbelievable. I would have never thought that any sports fan could say something like this, but I have read this whole thread like 3 times now, and I guess it is possible. Wow is all I can say.
Gary Thorne is a veteran announcer but he was really bad in the Astros game. He was continually misidentifying players and situations. Justice is just plain annoying to listen to. I don't think Thorne was intentionally trying to be funny on the 99 mph pitch. I truly think he thought it was a slider.
Whada' you expect. Gary Thorne is a Hockey voice whom the Mets have tried to transform into there Mel Allen. Now ESPN is doing it too.
Honestly, when I look at the pic now, I think Billy is telling George and the Yanks to "SUCK IT!!!!!!!!!"
