Shulman shines

It's safe to say ESPN's Dan Shulman is the only national sportscaster with a degree in the actuarial sciences. But you don't need to be an expert on evaluating the likelihood of future events to predict the quality of Shulman's next broadcast. Chances are, it'll be very good.

You probably didn't tune in to the World Baseball Classic on radio, but if you did, you would have heard Shulman (and partner Dave Campbell) broadcasting the semifinals and championship game. I happened to be listening during the Cuba Japan final, and it was as crisp a broadcast as I've ever heard. With an unfamiliar cast of players hailing from Havana to Hiroshima and unique pronunciation twists, the WBC posed unique challenges on a broadcasting end, in addition to the question of whether anyone would tune in.

"I was a little skeptical about whether [the WBC] would come off as everybody hoped it would, but I think you have to look at it as a success -- especially on a global scale," said Shulman, a Canadian who lives in Toronto and had designs on being an actuary when he graduated from the University of Western Ontario in 1989.

It was certainly a success based on expectations, which were low. ESPN's 12 telecasts earned a 1.1 average rating (980,000 households) and ESPN2's 20 telecasts averaged a 0.6 rating (503,000 households). The final between Japan and Cuba on ESPN earned a 1.8. Those are big numbers considering ESPN's regular-season baseball games average a 1.0.

The network's baseball coverage begins on April 2 with the White Sox and Indians at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN2. Shulman and Campbell will call the game for ESPN Radio. The following day ESPN and ESPN2 will broadcast five games, including the Giants at the Padres (7 p.m. ET on ESPN2). Which means you-know-who is coming to your living room.

"We have to be sensitive to the news of the day as it relates to Barry Bonds, and certainly we will not shy away from whatever is relevant and whatever is reported and whatever can be substantiated," said ESPN senior vice president Jed Drake. "We will be prepared for the story as it unfolds on that day, and that will be in addition to covering his at-bats should he actually play in the game."

Bonds, whose reality show (hide the children, please) debuts on ESPN2 on April 4, won't be the only person getting added face time on the network. Along with his usual ESPN Radio gig on Sunday nights, Shulman will work with Orel Hershiser on ESPN's Wednesday-night baseball coverage.

"There was initially a lot of opposition to me doing the Sunday-night radio job," Shulman said. "I know there were a lot of people asking if Danny could do it."

That question no longer carries any risk.

John Thompson, the former Georgetown coach, is working as an analyst for Westwood One NCAA Radio during the NCAA tournament. Here's where it gets interesting: Thompson called Georgetown's wins over Northern Iowa and Ohio State and will continue covering the team as long as it proceeds through the brackets. And here's where it gets dicey: The current coach of Georgetown is John Thompson III, the son of the famed coach.