Rivera will likely make it official tomorrow at a press conference from the New York Yankees spring training facility in Tampa.

Ken Singleton and Jack Curry will anchor the Yes Network’s special coverage starting at 10 a.m.

Rivera has the most saves in history, 608, and as staggering as that stat is, Mo, of course, “saved” the best for last.

His 42 post-season saves are another record, as is the unthinkable 0.70 earned run average in the playoffs and World Series. To put it another way, he has allowed just 11 runs in 141 post-season innings.

Rivera is in the pantheon of Yankee greats: Ruth, Gehrig, Mantle, and DiMaggio; all except Ruth played their entire career in pinstripes.

Photo credit: dugoutreport.com

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Jodi Applegate

“I was thrilled to have [5 and 10 p.m. newscasts] and I really enjoyed working at PIX,” Applegate says. “But that’s a pretty hard schedule to do with an infant [and] a husband who travels.”

Related: FishbowlNY, Applegate To Step Down From PIX11

Once her gestational carrier was chosen and the pregnancy was realized, Applegate admitted being torn between family and career.

“I lost sleep for seven months,” Applegate says. “I am not exaggerating when I say I tossed and turned about for seven solid months, right up until the moment.”

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Among the highlights on the exhibition schedule, a matchup with the Dominican Republic World Baseball Classic team on March 6, the Washington Nationals in D.C. on March 29, and the Army at West Point on March 30.

Over on the Mets and SNY side of the ledger… the sports network announced plans to expand coverage of the Amazins this season. SNY has added Mets First Pitch and Mets Insider to the lineup.

Among the elements of First Pitch are Mets manager Terry Collins‘ pre-game press conference and exclusive one-on-one interviews with players from both dugouts.

Insider, which debuts on March 31, will be produced in a magazine-style format. It will feature shows on a variety of topics, including episodes focused on the Mets draft and prospects, player profiles, and “Where are they Now.”

As for the game coverage, Gary Cohen, Ron Darling, Keith Hernandez, and Kevin Burkhardt return to provide fans the action all-season long on SNY. Hall-of-Famer Ralph Kiner returns to the broadcast booth for his 52nd season covering the Mets as a contributing analyst.

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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.”

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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.

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The numbers are staggering.

An average 299,000 total viewers tuned in to see the Barclays b-ball and a 3.08 household rating in New York.

The telecast peaked in the 9:45 to 10 p.m. quarter-hour with a 451,000 total viewers and a 4.47 household mark.

By contrast, the previous record for a Nets game on YES record, set in December against the Heat, was 242,000 viewers and a 2.14 household rating.

Overall, YES is seeing a spike in viewership among several key demographics, including males 25 to 54 (up 200 percent) and people 18 to 49 (up 150 percent).

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Kay, with the network since its inception in 2002, has been honored with three Emmy Awards and 21 nominations during that time. He’ll also keep his hosting duties with CenterStage and other specials.

“I could not be happier,” Kay says. “Continuing to live a childhood dream as the TV voice of the Yankees while working with the best group of people in the business on the country’s best regional sports network is as good as it gets. I can’t wait to start another season.”

In addition to his YES work, Kay is an afternoon radio personality on ESPN 98.7 FM. In December, Radio Ink magazine named his the second-most influential local sports talk show in America.

“We are pleased that Michael will continue to play a vital role here at YES,” John Filippelli, president of production and programming at the YES Network, says. “For the past decade on YES, Michael has been the voice of the Yankees deftly capturing the drama, intensity, and passion associated with the greatest franchise in sports. He is one of the pre-eminent play-by-play announcers in baseball and is a first-rate interviewer as well, as evidenced by his stellar CenterStage.”

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But it was MSG that won the night in two of the key rating measures.

MSG had the highest numbers among Nielsen household indicators with a 3.35, compared to a 2.54 for ESPN and a minuscule 0.32 at the YES Network.

MSG was also tops in the adults 25 to 54 category for Wednesday’s tilt.

The good fortune for the Knicks and MSG extends beyond facing their Brooklyn neighbor. Through 19 Nielsen measured games this season, Knicks telecasts are up a whopping 86 percent in the household rating.

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As Applegate was about to hit her mark for the last time at PIX, Kay shedded some light on his wife’s departure.

Kay using his @RealMichaelKay handle on Twitter wrote, “@jodiapplekay is leaving because she wanted to do just one show in order to care for the baby on the way. PIX said it was both or none.”

Kay also tweeted moments later, “Parting amicable but she wants to work in due time in a position that is more mom friendly. Tough call for her giving up NY anchor position.”

Applegate addressed it indirectly as she left the air last night.

“This shift just wasn’t compatible with motherhood right now in my life.”

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Either way, News Corp. is expected to announce the acquisiton of SportsTimeOhio this week. According to Reuters, News Corp. will purchase the TV channel for about $230 million, and the deal would give News Corp. the rights to broadcast the Indians’ games.

Larry Dolan, the owner of the Indians, is rumored to want the deal done soon, so he can avoid potential tax increses being proposed by President Obama.

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The Nets, who began their rebirth this season within the five boroughs, gave the YES Network its best Nets ratings for a regular season game.

The game in question was Saturday night versus the Heat, making the most-watched and highest-rated non-playoff Nets game on YES.

A look inside the numbers, the game pulled in an average 158,000 households and an average 2.15 average household rating. The Nets lost to the Heat, 102-89.

Delving deeper, the matchup with Miami was the highest-rated and most-watched regular season Nets game, not featuring the Knicks, on a New York regional sports network in 15 years. To find a better showing, you’d have to go back to a Nets/Bulls tilt in January 1998 on Fox Sports New York that averaged 186,000 households and a 2.80 household rating.

Nielsen numbers also show YES with a huge “Brooklyn boost.”

Comparing the first month last year to this year is staggering. Nets’ telecasts are up a whopping 235 percent among all people 25 to 54 and 200 percent with men 25 to 54.

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The 10 pm tip-off garnered 125,000 average TV HHs and a 1.69 average TV HH rating, which was also made it YES’ third-most-watched and third-highest-rated Nets telecast ever.

We must find out more about these “Nets.” We’re going to start by Googling, “inferior basketball team in New York” and go from there.

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As part of the deal (numbers were not disclosed) Yankee Global Enterprises, YES’s parent, Goldman Sachs, and others reduce their stake. After three years, News Corp. has the green light to purchase up to 80 percent of the network.  Also, buried in the same release, YES Network now owns the broadcast rights to Yankees games through 2042.

“This is a tremendous opportunity to enhance News Corporation’s industry-leading portfolio of sports properties, while also strategically re-entering the New York market,” said James Murdoch, News Corp.’s deputy COO, in a statement. “The YES Network represents the gold standard for regional sports networks and is a pioneer in sports media.”

“FOX wrote the book on regional sports networks, and we are excited to partner with FOX and take advantage of this opportunity to build upon our leadership position,” added Tracy Dolgin, YES Network’s president and CEO.

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Negotiations are still underway, but according to the Times, News Corp. would buy a stake in YES from the Yankees’ equity partners, and Yankees Global Enterprises — YES’ parent — would retain its 34 percent stake. No word on what the price tag will be, but YES has been valued at about $3 billion.

We were going to offer a funny remark about this deal, but we cannot top this comment on the Times’ report, from Tom S:

“No! This is terrible news, now we have to listen to A-Rod’s voicemail???”

Perfection.

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Michael Kay was in place at the Stadium with David Cone, while Bob Lorenz, John Flaherty, and Jack Curry supplemented from the studio.

As expected, fans couldn’t get enough Yankee talk, switching to YES Network following the playoff game on TBS. It became the highest-rated first-round post-game on the YES in eight years (October 9, 2004).

Last night’s wrap-up to the dramatic outcome averaged 128,000 households or a 1.73 HH rating. It peaked from 11:30 to 11:45 p.m. with a 2.47 household rating or an estimated 182,000 households.

The Yankees can advance to the ALCS with a victory tonight against Baltimore. Win or lose, the YES Network will have the special edition post-game show.

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