XM Radio or MLB Extra Innings..........

[hebroncougar]

Anyone have either of these? I have subscribed to EI the past 5 years, bought an XM Radio this past winter for the baseball coverage.

[OldRightHander]

I have XM but don't have EI since I mostly watch the Reds and they're already on FSN. XM is great with my line of work, listening to all those different out of town games while I'm driving around. The baseball coverage is great on there year round.

[thatcoolguy_22]

I had EI last year and it was excellent. I thoroughly enjoy listening to games as well though. If I had the option I would just get both

[hebroncougar]

Originally Posted by OldRightHander

I have XM but don't have EI since I mostly watch the Reds and they're already on FSN. XM is great with my line of work, listening to all those different out of town games while I'm driving around. The baseball coverage is great on there year round.

I love EI though, it's great, there is almost always a game on after the Reds are done. Vin Scully is good to listen too on the tube, he's one of the best.

[Joseph]

XM. Baseball 24/7. Some of the discussion can be tedious at times in the offseason, but its generally a fabulous thing most of the time.

[hebroncougar]

Originally Posted by Joseph

XM. Baseball 24/7. Some of the discussion can be tedious at times in the offseason, but its generally a fabulous thing most of the time.

It's amazing how I've gotten used to the MLB channel on the drive to work and home.

[KoryMac5]

Xm is a sweet deal especially when you don't live in an area that allows you to get the Reds on TV. It will be real nice if the merger with Sirius goes through.

[fadetoblack2880]

XM is great. During the offseason, the classic games are great to listen to and the talk shows aren't bad either. 700 WLW is also syndicated and channel 202 is an excellent alternative.

[jmac]

I have the EI package and love it.
Yes my team is the reds but for someone who loves to watch baseball when the reds arent on or they are off.....this is perfect.
After the reds win...turn over and watch the last 3 innings of stl-stros or catch late west coast or maybe the twins playing the tigers.

[redsfan1966]

I have xm and would love to have both...but with the pending EI deal it looks like my cable company (who I switched to for EI last fall anyway) will not offer it....as far as the xm MLB offerings let me offer a few opinions since we have the thread--I work in an office in downtown Columbus so for day games- xm is great for listening to Reds spring training games...local affiliate doesnt offer spring games and WLW is hard to pick up in my office...it is also great to be able to listen to spring games for other teams and also during the season itself to listen to other teams and their broadcast teams....i found myself enjoying listening to Bob Uecker (Brewers), Pat Hughes and Ron Santo (Cubs) and even found myself warming up to Lanny Frattare (Pirates). During the evening, I dont use the XM as much unless I need it to sync up with my DVR for Reds broadcasts....I am one who is in the turn the TV sound down and listen on the radio while watching FSN camp...and some times my local affiliate doesnt sync up with the TV...I will listen to other games on xm if the Reds arent on and listen while watching another game (usually Indians or Cubs) on TV---so yes, I love having XM.

However, I must admit I am not as fond of XM's Home Plate MLB channel...I've tried listening to Baseball This Morning over the past week to get reports from spring training and just found myself unable to get past the host (Mark Patrick, who is apparently a Reds fan, being from Indy) and his hacky puns and jokes...and the afternoon show with Kevin Kennedy and Rob Dibble is average at best...so to sum it up---Game Coverage (Great!)--Talk and analysis (So-So).

As others have mentioned before--XM is also great for having WLW clear as a bell, channel 202 is great for the comedy and I love the sports talk and news/talk options it offers.

[hebroncougar]

Was 700 wlw available on XM last year? Will it enable me to listen to the Reds broadcast's all the time, or will they be blacked out when the Reds are on the road and I will have to listen to other teams announcers?

[Yachtzee]

I enjoy XM 175. I actually like baseball this morning. Mark Patrick doesn't bother me much, just because radio morning shows are filled with smarmy hacks who rely on lame jokes to "entertain." Mark Patrick's schtick is mild by comparison. But really what I enjoy about the show are co-hosts Orestes Destrade and Buck Martinez. I think they provide a lot of insight. When they critique players, they do so in a reasoned manner.

I'm not as big a fan of the Charlie Steiner show where he does the call-ins with the various sportswriters, just because the writers are prone to hyperbole and it seems like they have a lot of their statements on "auto-text."

Kevin Kennedy and Rob Dibble can be entertaining at times. I can't stand Dibble when he gives his opinion on players and the way he feels one should play the game. Knowing what I know about his playing career, he sounds like a big hypocrit at times. Plus he gets really cranky talking about it. On the other hand, I enjoy his stories from his playing days. There were some real characters on the Reds in the late '80s-early '90s.

The Fantasy Focus show is good if you're in a fantasy league or just have an interest in evaluating players from a statistical point of view. Another great thing about this show is that John Sickels comes on sometimes to talk about minor league prospects.

Holden Kushner is probably a replacement level radio show host. I prefer Ronnie "Night Train" Lane in the evening.

I admit, sometimes I'll yell at the radio if someone says something silly that I don't agree with. However, all-in-all XM's baseball coverage is light years ahead of any other baseball-oriented on the radio, particularly WLW, which you can easily compare because they're only 2 channels away from each other.

[Yachtzee]

Originally Posted by hebroncougar

Was 700 wlw available on XM last year? Will it enable me to listen to the Reds broadcast's all the time, or will they be blacked out when the Reds are on the road and I will have to listen to other teams announcers?

Yes, no, and yes. They had WLW available for part of the season last year. You can listen to the pre-game content and the post-game show, but not the game itself. The game itself is aired on one of XM's baseball channels, which means you get Marty and whoever for home games and the other team's announcers on the road.

[Joseph]

Originally Posted by Yachtzee

Yes, no, and yes. They had WLW available for part of the season last year. You can listen to the pre-game content and the post-game show, but not the game itself. The game itself is aired on one of XM's baseball channels, which means you get Marty and whoever for home games and the other team's announcers on the road.

I *THINK* I've heard they were going to carry both this season [home and road].

[redsfan1966]

joesph---i dont think bandwith wise (at least this is what xm will tell you)--xm can carry both home and away announcers for all games--and I have not seen any thing about this...however, I would be thrilled if this were the case....