24-7

Have you ever eaten so much of your favorite food that you made yourself sick and couldn't even look at it again? We're close to that point with Phillies World Series games, thanks to the new MLB Network, which seems to be included in the basic FIOS package after all.

Other than showing the same things (a couple news shows, Don Larsen's perfect game and the 2008 World Series) ad nauseam, I love the new network.

I was a bit worried when I read a quote from MLB Network president Tony Petitti saying, "This isn't MLB Classic" because that's precisely what I was hoping for. And so far, it appears that it is filling the void left by ESPN Classic, ever since the worldwide leader decided poker and rodeo qualify as classics. Thankfully, the new baseball network has more respect for legitimate sports history - we even saw some newsreel of the 1946 World Series last night. Why did Johnny Pesky hold onto that ball?

I'm giving the benefit of the doubt that some of the repetitive programming will subside once the network gets a bit more established. My only real gripe is with its whitewashing of baseball history, such as saying that Cal Ripken and Ken Griffey Jr. - not the now-tainted home run race of 1998 - saved baseball after the 1994 strike and that the reason Andre Dawson got no contract offers in 1987 was because of his injury history without mention of the owners' collusion.

All in all, I'm very happy with the new network and will probably tune in to the their show on 1995 tonight to see how The Kid saved baseball.