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“Bull Durham” creator putting together a baseball TV series

First and Ten

Lazy observation: baseball, a sport that is best experienced in the form of multiple installments over the course of long period of time (i.e. a 162 game season) has never been portrayed in a good TV series. At the same time, it has had multiple excellent treatments on the silver screen. Football, in contrast, a sport in which one game means everything, has had hardly any good movies done about it, yet had one pretty darn enjoyable TV series in “First and Ten.”* I suppose we can argue about all of that, but that’s my feeling about it. And please don’t tell me that “First and Ten” doesn’t hold up. I choose to remember it being nothing short of awesome.

Anyway, they’re trying again with a baseball TV series. Given the pedigree of the creator, it may just work:

Ron Shelton, the creator of “Bull Durham,” will be putting together a new hour-long comedy based on minor league baseball called “Hound Dogs” for TBS. Shelton will executive produce the project alongside Michele Weisler, Andra Buchanan and Todd DeLorenzo . . . Drawing from Shelton’s own experience as a player, the show centers on a minor league team and its general manager as they try to handle life’s ups and downs, both in and out of the locker room.

And since it’s on TBS, you know darn well it’s gonna get promoted up the wazoo during next season’s playoffs.

*I am immediately reminded by people that “Friday Night Lights” is an excellent TV series as well. I have never watched it -- I don’t watch a ton of TV, really -- but people I trust say it’s fantastic so I have no reason to doubt it. I’m also reminded by people that “Eastbound and Down” is a most excellent baseball series. I haven’t seen most of it either -- being remedied soon thanks to NetFlix! -- but why that escaped me I have no idea.