Joe Santoliquito's “Love at First Beep,” about the Blind Baseball World Series for www.espn.com, was nominated for “Outstanding Broadband Short Story-General Interest.”
Santoliquito, also the managing editor of Ring magazine and a contributor to the Philadelphia Daily News, said: “A couple of years ago, I wrote about blind baseball for the Delco Daily Times. When I heard about the World Series, I pitched a follow-up story. Neither the Delco Times nor the Inquirer [for which Santoliquito wrote from 1990-2004] returned my calls. Not only did ESPN [for which he had been working as a contributor] want to do the story, they sent a camera crew.”
Though the story lost the Emmy at the award ceremonies in New York City Monday night, Santoliquito is thrilled with the national recognition he's received. He recently signed a deal with the talent agency ICM and continues on espn.com as the Arena Football League correspondent.
As for the local newspapers passing on his story, Santoliquito said: “I am grateful for the rejection.”
The major winners at the Sports Emmys were Cris Collinsworth for “Outstanding Sports Personality-Event Analyst” and “Outstanding Sports Personality-Studio Analyst”; Al Michaels for “Outstanding Sports Personality-Play by Play” and Ernie Johnson for “Outstanding Sports Personality-Studio Host.
Kentucky Derby special
Vai Sikahema and Jade McCarthy, who was a competitive horse rider for several years, co-host “Run for the Roses Philly Style” at 7 tonight on NBC10. Industry sources say McCarthy is being considered for the evening weekend news anchor position on NBC10.
Odd couple?
Another theory in the air about former Phillies' announcer Scott Graham's firing is that his high maintenance and Larry Andersen's laid back style conflicted.
Phillies broadcasting manager Rob Brooks and Andersen could not be reached for comment.
“Some of the best times on and off the air I had in baseball were with L.A.,” Graham said. “I thought we worked very well together, and we received lots of compliments about our pairing.”
Show me the money
According to “Sports Business Daily,” WIP 610-AM is the 10th-highest rated sports radio station in the country with $14 million in revenue last year. New York's WFAN-AM led all U.S. sports radio stations with $50.6 million in revenue.
WIP 610-AM's Hugh Douglas is co-host of the new series “Ballers” on BET with “Best Damn Sport Show Period” host John Salley. It airs at 10 tonight.
E-mail: lauranachman@verizon.net