Take THAT, Eastern Seaboard Promotional Network

***Before anyone calls me out for it, I just want you all to know that yes, I used to work for Comcast SportsNet. But I also really like what they're doing with the local Bay Area sports scene. They have a lot of prominent Bay Area personalities that do a lot better work that ESPN on the local sports, and sometimes they ask me to push a story out through another outlet. I'm not a sellout. I'm just helping out a colleague, and I'm more than happy to do so.***

Did anyone else notice how winning the World Series really put the Giants on the map? It kind of tends to do that. Pretty well, too. I mean, when was the last time that ESPN showed Giants Spring Training highlights on SportsCenter?

That wasn't even Baseball Tonight, West Coast edition. And now Brian Wilson has multiple MLB 2K11 commercials (even though Roy Halladay is on the cover, throwing a pitch that Cody Ross hit over the left-field wall).

Yet that also means that the old Network, ESPN, will poach on any big games that the Giants will play this year. Like Opening Day for the defending world champions against their biggest rival, the Los Angeles Dodgers.

So if you've been waiting all winter for the friendly faces of Mike Krukow, Duane Kuiper, and Jon Miller on your television for the first regular season game since the Giants were crowned World Series champs, you'll have to wait another day to see them call a baseball game.

But if you want wall-to-wall coverage of the Giants without listening to ESPN announcers, check out Comcast SportsNet for hours upon hours upon hours of action. Seriously, from 2:00 PM until 10:30PM, there will be Giants coverage, in some form or another.

Straight from the press release, here's the schedule:

2:00 PM – 3:00 PM  

Inside the Clubhouse: Town Hall Meeting – The second annual Giants Town Hall Meeting features players and coaches from the 2010 World Championship team, including Tim Lincecum, Buster Posey, Brian Wilson, Andres Torres, Pat Burrell, Matt Cain, Cody Ross and others reliving their postseason experience with season ticket holders.  The program is hosted by Giants broadcasters Duane Kuiper, Mike Krukow and Dave Flemming.

3:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Legends: 2010 San Francisco Giants – A one-hour documentary encompassing the thrilling ride that was the 2010 Giants championship season – from the early clubhouse camaraderie developed during Spring Training to the critically acclaimed “Torture” that Giants fans endured in many closely contested games, from the “Rally Thong” to “Fear the Beard,” from the “Orange October” that brought together Giants fans throughout Northern California to the World Series ticker-tape parade and San Francisco City Hall celebration. 

4:00 PM – 5:00 PM

SportsNet Central: Orange Opener, Live Pregame Coverage – Before the national broadcast of the game, Comcast SportsNet’s SportsNet Central: Orange Opener leads viewers to the first pitch with a complete preview of the game, exclusive pregame interviews, feature stories on Giants players and the latest team news and headlines from around MLB.  

5:00 PM – 8:00 PM

CSNBayArea.com – Senior Insider Ray Ratto and MLB Insider Mychael Urban will host an in-game chat.  CSNBayArea.com will also feature exclusive online video, photos from the ballpark, and analysis and breakdown of the Giants' season opener. 

8:00 PM – 9:00 PM (approx.)

SportsNet Central: Orange Opener, Live Postgame Coverage – Immediately following the final out, SportsNet Central: Orange Opener will feature in-depth game analysis, game highlights, interviews and player reaction, and a preview of the next game. 

9:00 PM – 10:00 PM

Chronicle Live – Comcast SportsNet presents a special primetime edition of Chronicle Live, hosted by Greg Papa, which will feature an interactive roundtable wrapping up the Giants’ season opener against the Dodgers and will include guests live from Dodger Stadium.  The show will also cover other stories and topics in the world of sports.

10:00 PM – 10:30 PM  

SportsNet Central – The network's coverage will conclude with the region’s only live daily, locally-focused sports news show, providing Northern California sports fans with in-depth, comprehensive news coverage on the hometown teams, breaking local and national news, up-to-the-minute scores, the best local video highlights and daily insider reports on the Bay Area’s teams.

Find it. Watch it. Love it.

Giants baseball is back.