Good Things Happen To Good People

When I got back home after the Mets loss at Shea, I put on the late baseball games from the West Coast on the MLB package. I came across the Angels-Mariners game from Seattle and heard a very familiar voice doing the game on FSN Northwest.

It was that of Dave Sims. I had heard that he was hired to be one of the Mariners play-by-play broadcasters on their cable outfit. I was also very pleased to hear back in January that Dave got the gig with them.

He's one of the nice guys in the business and originally from Philadelphia. I remember him from the days he did the weekend sports on WCBS-TV here in New York. He was also the midday host on WFAN radio with Ed Coleman, between Don Imus and Mike and The Mad Dog. (I always enjoyed that show the most of three, because Dave and Ed talked the most rationally about sports, but they were accused of being too bland, and their show was cancelled.) But back in 2000, he hosted a cable sports show also here in New York called "Game Face."

It was shown live here in New York on the now-defunct Metro Channel and repeated again on tape. It was a very intimate show that featured Dave interviewing New York sports guests with a small gathering of fans there. My brother-in-law first found the show and started going there almost every week, and then I started going almost every week, too.

It was filmed in the Hotel New Yorker on 34th Street, and he would have guests on like Phil Simms, John Riggins and Joe Namath. The fans also got a chance to ask the guests questions, I remember once asking Glenn Parker, who was an offensive lineman who played for the Giants and Buffalo Bills, "Who was the greatest player you ever played with?" He said it was Kent Hull, the former center he played next to in Buffalo. I also remember him saying that offensive linemen were the best players and that's why he didn't pick Bruce Smith (and he laughed).

"Game Face" was a great show, and Dave Sims would talk with fans before and after the show, and during commercial breaks. He would greet the fans after the taping and thank them for coming, and came across as a really nice man. It's a shame the show only lasted about two years, as it was cancelled in 2001.

But it was nice to see Dave doing baseball. I've seen him doing ESPN college football and basketball the last few years, and Monday Night Football on the radio as well. He's a very good announcer with a easy style and he's well prepared for the games he does. I wish him all the best in Seattle.

For more on Dave Sims: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Sims