Neil Best's Watchdog

Costas visits eatery Mr. T, Revis made famous

The Baseball Hall of Fame honored Long Beach's own Billy Crystal and his 2001 HBO movie, "61*'' with a screening Friday to kick off its Baseball Film Festival.

Bob Costas and HBO Sports boss Ross Greenburg drove to Cooperstown on Thursday for the festivities.

Where'd they stop to eat? Where else? The Roscoe Diner.

Speaking of Jewish Long Islanders and baseball films, the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in Commack will host a screening Monday night of "Jews in Baseball: An American Love Story.''

Among those interviewed are Al Rosen, Ron Blomberg, Kevin Youkilis and the normally reclusive Sandy Koufax. For information, www.jewishsports.org.

Tavares jersey stars in '30 Rock'

NBC's "30 Rock'' followed in the footsteps of HBO's "Entourage" by featuring Islanders merchandise on Thursday's show, in which guest star Paul Giamatti wore a No. 91 Tavares jersey. He even referenced Matt Moulson!

What's next, a Rick DiPietro cameo on "Glee?''

Dancing With the Stars' outsteps football

The Jets and Giants are averaging their best local ratings on record through three weeks based on NFL data dating to 1998.

Gang Green has averaged 15.5 percent of area homes, the Giants 15.1. But those figures still are well below what most NFL markets draw for their teams' games.

From Sept. 20-26, an NFL game was the top-rated show of the week in 27 of the 30 markets with at least one team.

One of the three exceptions was New York, where "Dancing With the Stars'' (16.0) tangoed past Jets-Dolphins (15.1) and Titans-Giants (13.7).

Phillips' revival stakes Sirius turn

Steve Phillips has spent the past year working to rebuild his personal and professional lives after ESPN fired him in the wake of an affair with a young production assistant.

On Thursday, Sirius XM Satellite Radio hired him to co-host its morning show with Gary Williams on Chris Russo's Mad Dog Radio channel.

As happy as he is with the gradual rehabilitation of his career, Phillips said, "I feel that more with my daily recovery on a personal level, that things are going in the right direction.''

The new job precludes further appearances on Mike Francesa's WFAN show and as a fill-in host for the station, which he thanked for providing "part of the steppingstone for getting this opportunity.''

2004 Red Sox, redux

Yankees fans might want to avert their eyes for fear of bad karma on the eve of the playoffs, but Red Sox (and most Mets) fans will enjoy the next entry in ESPN's "30 for 30'' series Tuesday.

In "Four Days in October,'' the four October days begin with the Yanks leading the 2004 ALCS, three games to none. Things took a bit of a turn after that.

The story of the 2004 Red Sox and their long-suffering - and insufferable - fans has been done to death, but this look back (from MLB Productions) neatly pieces together differing views and accounts, and adds behind-the-scenes video shot by players themselves.

The most revealing image is of Curt Schilling showing a teammate his surgically repaired ankle before Game 6. Let's put it this way: The bloody sock was no fake.

NBA preseason: must-see TV?

It's not every early October that TV public-relations people urge me to alert readers about preseason NBA openers. But this is no ordinary early October, given the much-discussed events of July. So, here goes:

MSG will televise the Knicks' opener against AJ Milano at 12:30 p.m. Sunday, featuring the debut of Amar'e Stoudemire.

Two days later, NBA TV will televise the Heat's opener against the Pistons.

I read something recently about Miami adding a couple of good players in the offseason. We shall see.

SportsWatch turns 5

Five years ago Thursday, SportsWatch debuted with a story in which Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey and WFAN host Mike Francesa helpfully put the column on the map by exchanging pleasantries through me.

Remember? Here is Shockey (referring to Francesa and co-host Chris Russo): "They'll get what they've got coming to them eventually. It's going to be a matter of time before they get old and Francesa dies of a heart attack.''

And here is Francesa's response: "I'll be here in New York doing what I do long after he is forgotten in this town - long after he's forgotten. And as far as him wishing me well physically, well, tell him I'm going to be hanging around for a long time.''

Thanks for reading, everyone. And thanks again, Jeremy and Mike.