Editor’s note: This interview was originally intended to be posted as part of our Back to Brooklyn series, coinciding with the Nets debut in the borough. But due to Superstorm Sandy, this piece could not run until now.

The Nets are taking New York by storm. And now the Nets are bringing big-time sports back to Brooklyn. Our special “Back to Brooklyn” series continues with the man who’ll be courtside for the majority of the games at the just unveiled Barclays Center. Ian Eagle is starting his 11th season as Nets play-by-play announcer on the YES Network. His association with Nets dates back 19 years. (The “Birdman” celebrates his 44th birthday Saturday)

And yet for the versatile sportscaster, it’s like starting anew.

“It feels almost like an expansion team in many ways, except usually with expansion teams you’re not very good.” Eagle says. “The Nets were able to clean the slate and put together a credible roster.”

Typically, when an NBA team packs up for another city, its fans are unable to make the move too. This, however, is a unique situation.

• Related: FishbowlNY, Brooklyn Roots with Cousin Brucie

“It’s still the same media market. It’s the same outlet,” Eagle says. “So while you have longtime New Jersey fans that feel badly that the team did leave the Garden State,  you still have a chance to be a part of this and root for the team.”

Older Nets fans will recall the franchise’s origins in the ABA with Julius “Dr. J. Erving at the Nassau Coliseum. Eagle says that the Nets will tap into that fan base.

“I think you have a small base that just stuck with the team, even amidst all of the changes through the years,” Eagle says. “It’s based on the romance of being a sports fan.”

Read more

Looking to add to their totals: WCBS colleagues Lonnie Quinn and Chris Wragge show off Emmy gold at 2012 event

Award season is in full swing! It culminates with the Oscars later this month. But not so fast. The New York Emmy Awards announced its nominations today.

MSG Network leads the pack with 67 nominations. WNBC has the most among over-the-air outlets with 58 nominations.

There are dozens of award categories and here’s a brief rundown…

WCBS’ Chris Wragge, a multiple winner, has been nominated for Best Evening Newscast (under 35 minutes). He was tapped for anchoring the East River helicopter crash in October, 2011. He also received three other nominations, including coverage of a sportscast/series for the Giants Road to Super Bowl 46. He is also a nominee for the prestigious Best Anchor.

Among those joining Wragge in that category are WABC weekend morning anchor Phil Lipof, Tom Llamas of WNBC, and Sukanya Krishnan from WPIX.

Veteran WNBC anchor Chuck Scarborough is in the running for the News Special category, hosting a 9/11 10th anniversary broadcast.

• Related: FishbowlNY, Scarborough, Ritter, and Anastos Relive Memories of 9/11

Scarborough’s new nighttime partner, Shiba Russell got a couple of nominations for her 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. anchoring.

Read more

The Brooklyn buzz has been palpable. The Nets make their official debut in the borough next week at the uber-new Barclays Center on Atlantic Avenue. But before the Nets tip off the season, there is word that they’ll have co-tenants. The New York Islanders are headed for Brooklyn starting with the 2015-16 season, The New York Times reports.

The deal between Islanders owner Charles Wang and Barclays owner Bruce Ratner was expected to take place this afternoon.

FishbowlNY was unable to confirm the story, but YES Network’s Ian Eagle, the longtime Nets announcer, knew the handwriting was on the Nassau Coliseum wall.

“I’m not surprised,” Eagle tells FishbowlNY. “That was not going the way that Charles Wang had hoped for.”

Wang had been desperately seeking repairs to the rundown Coliseum in Uniondale, where the Islanders have been since joining the NHL in 1972, or a brand new home on Long Island.

“I think this became the next best option and a chance to latch on to some of the buzz,” Eagle says.

Read more

With 57 nominations, MSG Network leads the pack at the New York Emmy Awards. WNBC/Channel 4 tops the over-the-air outlets with 50 nods.

A look at some of the nominations for the April 1st gala:

For Best Morning Newscast, the nominees include WNYW/Channel 5′s Good Day New York, WNBC’s Today in New York, WABC/Channel 7, and WPIX/Channel 11, which had 36 nominations overall.

For newscast of 35 minutes or less, Spanish stations WXTV/41 notched four nominations, while Channel 47/WNJU had one. The other nomination goes to WNBC, for the death of Osama bin Laden.

In the longer newscast category, WPIX and WCBS had two nods each. WABC and WNYW also are recognized.

For breaking news, WCBS is nominated for the Yonkers scaffold rescue. WCBS was chosen for coverage of the Brooklyn boy’s murder. WNBC is showcased for Hurricane Irene, while WNYW gets the nod for reporting on a tornado touching down in New York.

Read more

Popping the cork on a milestone, the YES Network airs a special March 13–10 Years of YES.

The two-hour program takes viewers down memory lane from the past decade.  The regional sports network debuted March 19, 2002.

Along with some memorable moments from YES telecasts, game announcers will recount their own tales of standout moments.

The show will focus heavily on Yankees coverage, but not exclusively. There will be highlights from the Nets, plus interview show Centerstage with Michael Kay, and Yankeeography with John Sterling.

Segments include:

• A look at the 2009 Yankees’ World Series winning season, along numerous milestones during the season, none bigger than Derek Jeter‘s 3,000th hit.
• Recalling the Nets back-to-back NBA Finals appearances
• A roundtable discussion with YES broadcasters Kay, Ken Singleton, John Flaherty, Ian Eagle, and Bob Lorenz reflecting on their favorite on-air moments.
• Interviews with Mike Francesa and Chris “Mad Dog” Russo about their pioneering WFAN simulcast on YES.

With the 149-day NBA lockout on the path to ending over the weekend, the season will be salvaged with a Christmas Day start. The only remaining issue is for the league and the union to iron-out a new collective bargaining agreement.

For many weeks, fans were subjected to revenue sharing and economics 101.

But there is a bigger picture with the NBA likely to resume next month.

There will be no Marv Albert calling local NBA games, after decades in the broadcast booth. But Albert, 70, announced in June that he would leave the YES Network to concentrate on his new NFL gig with CBS. He’s still the top broadcaster of NBA action on TNT. He joined TNT in 1999.

Not many years removed from his Syracuse University days, Albert hooked up with the Knicks in 1967. Virtually every season for the next 37 years, Albert was the lead voice, either on radio or TV. Read more