"Battle of the Beltways" Kicks Off Friday on MASN

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) -- The television home of both the Washington Nationals and the Baltimore Orioles, MASN returns its popular mixed broadcast booth for this weekend's "Battle of the Beltways," which begins on Friday evening when the Orioles host the Nationals for three interleague games. For two seasons, the mixed booth broadcast has earned widespread praise from fans of both teams. Play-by-play duties will be evenly split between Nationals announcer Bob Carpenter and Orioles broadcaster Jim Hunter. The popular and insightful team of two-time All-Star Rob Dibble and Hall of Famer Jim Palmer, will provide insight and analysis in MASN's special three-man television booth throughout the games. Nationals reporter Debbi Taylor and Orioles reporter Amber Theoharis will provide updates and interviews throughout the game. Fans and broadcasters alike have enjoyed the unique experience of combining MASN's talent into one booth for the series. "It was truly an honor to share the booth with a legend like Jim Palmer," said Rob Dibble. "It's great to be part of a network committed to giving fans the best possible broadcast. "I always look forward to this experience because it adds so much to our broadcast," said Jim Palmer. "It's always great to talk pitching with Rob -- what a tremendous addition he has been to our MASN team." The pre- and post-game shows will be produced separately. Nats Xtra, with Johnny Holliday and Ray Knight, will originate from the studio and appear on MASN 2 starting at 6:30 p.m. O's Xtra, with Tom Davis and Rick Dempsey, will air live from Oriole Park at Camden Yards and appear on MASN and MASN HD. Each of the games this weekend will be televised on all three of MASN's channels, MASN, MASN HD and MASN2. Sunday's Nationals game will be simulcast on WDCW DC-50 in Washington and Sunday's Orioles game will be simulcast on WJZ Channel 13 in Baltimore. "Interleague play is a great time for MASN to feature our unique position as the nightly home of both AL and NL baseball throughout a seven state region," said MASN spokesman Todd Webster. "It also highlights one of our greatest strengths, our national caliber broadcasters." MASN is the television home of the Nationals and the Orioles. The network carries over 600 live sporting events every year including more than 275 NCAA Division I football, basketball, and lacrosse games. MASN is currently carried on 23 cable and satellite providers throughout a seven-state region. For more information, visit MASNsports.com.