To promote both the old and new projects, Burns called WatchDog headquarters the other day and ran headlong into two of my 15-year-old pet peeves about the original series:

Why so many interviews with writers/eggheads and so few jocks?

"I don't buy [that criticism]," he said. "Every day, you can see sports guys and the locker-room interviews. We don't pay these players to talk. We pay them to do the opposite of that."

Why so much New York-centric angst during the segment on the 1960 World Series and so little Pittsburgh-centric excitement?

"We were coming out of an incredibly dramatic section in which New York dominated," he said. "It was very hard to reverse the flow of the river. Negative descriptions are OK. We had been sitting and living with the Yankees for a long time and were totally aware of that [New York slant] and accept it."

Big events make CBS boss cross-eyed

Tonight, CBS Sports will broadcast what will be its most- watched event of the year: the AFC Championship Game.

On Tuesday, CBS News will cover what could be the most- watched news event of the year: the inauguration of Barack Obama.

How does CBS Sports and News president Sean McManus juggle? "It's about compartmentalizing your day and compartmentalizing your attention," he said.

"It's a lot of fun, but I do find myself sometimes mixing up words and mixing up descriptions. I don't want to talk to the CBS News folks about blitzes and everything else, then talk to the Sports guys about security for our correspondents down there [in Washington]."

Giants vets didn't warm to '04 benching

On a Fox conference call to promote the NFC title game, Michael Strahan referred to what in 2004 was a somewhat controversial decision among Giants veterans by then-new coach Tom Coughlin:

Benching Kurt Warner when the team was 5-4 in favor of rookie Eli Manning, who would go 1-6 down the stretch.

"When Kurt Warner was with the Giants, I think a lot of us felt like he was cut short on what he could have done because we had Eli Manning," Strahan said. "It was one of those situations where we saw the coaching staff saying, 'We could put the young guy in there and see how he does, and in a lot of ways avoid a quarterback controversy, or we could stick with this veteran player and see how he pulls us through the season.'

"Kurt has a great arm, great accuracy and he can sit back there and pick you apart. As long as you protect Kurt, he'll give you everything that he has. He's going to put the ball where it needs to be, and with Arizona's receivers and their defense playing the way they're playing, you have to give the Cardinals a great shot."

Rangers appear in NBC supporting cast for Crosby

The NHL is back on NBC today for the first time since Winter Classic II, featuring the Pittsburgh Crosbys and Our Rangers.

Pittsburgh sports fans might be a tad distracted by a football game later today. Or perhaps they will just be extra excited.

Analyst Mike Milbury's thoughts on the Rangers, via an NBC release:

"As for the Rangers, Scott Gomez and Chris Drury are supposed to be first-line centers but are they simply very good and not superstars? Post Jaromir Jagr, they were supposed to step it up and really need to get it going for the Rangers to succeed."

Packer, Knight talk near gamblers,

not about them

Billy Packer announced his first big post-CBS project last week, a program that will feature him and Bob Knight analyzing the NCAA Tournament on Fox Sports Net - taped in the Wynn Las Vegas sports book.

Packer says the show will have nothing to do with gambling, but the symbolism can't be good, can it? Knight says his role as an ESPN analyst will not change.

ESPN's thoughts? "We did an agreement in November for this season with coach Knight after he had agreed with Billy Packer for a project. We aren't going to comment further."

Giants official asks McNabb to hang up

I asked Mike Murphy, the Giants' longtime security head, what he said to Donovan McNabb when the Eagles quarterback ended up on the Giants' sideline and jokingly picked up a phone during the teams' divisional-round playoff game last weekend.

"I told him, 'The phone call isn't for you,"' Murphy said.

Why did he seem so good-natured about it?

"What did you want me to do?" he said.

Fair point. Punching McNabb would have been a bit much, but would have made for a great story.