Howie Rose hasn’t faced many broadcasting conflicts in his 18 years as Mets’ radio voice on WFAN and Islanders’ play-by-play man for MSG.
The Islanders’ playoff futility meant Rose was usually free to start the Mets’ season on time without much time bouncing between hockey and baseball. But the NHL lockout, which pushed back the shortened regular season, and a surprising return to the postseason by the Islanders has led to a hectic month for the Brooklyn-born Rose.
But what was surprising for some was anticipated by Rose, who had to submit a schedule in January that MSG and the Mets approved. And in that schedule he took off some Islanders games at the end of the regular season so he would be available to work their first-round playoff games. That is paying off as the team is involved in an entertaining first-round matchup with the top-seeded Penguins that was tied 2-2 heading into last night’s matchup in Pittsburgh.
“I couldn’t do those regular-season games and then miss a whole bunch of games for the playoffs because that would have been a real problem for the Mets,” Rose said. “And frankly, this is not the Mets’ fault, this is not WFAN’s fault. I was ready to work on Oct. 11, as was every NHL announcer. This was an aberration of the NHL lockout.”
The cross-sport calling of games will end this weekend after the Islanders wrap up their first-round series — win or lose — because all playoff games going forward will be exclusively on the NBC family of networks. Rose will call the Mets-Pirates game today, Islanders-Penguins tomorrow, and Sunday he will either be calling Game 7 of that series or another Mets-Pirates game. But most of that’s in New York and won’t compare with the second week of the baseball season.
On Monday April 8, he called a Mets-Phillies game in Philadelphia, on Tuesday an Islanders-Flyers game at Nassau Coliseum, back to Philly on Wednesday for the conclusion of the Mets series.
“Of course, we had a long rain delay,” said Rose who then had to drive home to New York to catch a flight to Boston for another Islanders game on Thursday. Then he flew to Minnesota for the start of a Mets’ set there, which came with more complications.
“So naturally my flight to Minnesota was delayed by 5 1/2 hours, so I walked into the booth dangerously close to game time,” Rose said. “It’s the kind of inner-turbulence you deal with in situations like this. The peripheral stuff like that isn’t enjoyable. Once I am in the booth and the game is about to begin that’s when I am in my element. That’s when I am having a ball and it’s as much fun as it’s ever been. All the other stuff complicates the situation.”
And who knew that on occasion, Rose would be missing so much by skipping an Islanders game here or a Mets game there. He was handing off duties to Jiggs McDonald down the stretch as the Islanders wrapped up their first playoff berth since 2007.
When Rose was in Hempstead on Tuesday, Mets ace Matt Harvey retired 27 of 28 batters in another gem for the young right-hander against the White Sox. But while that was happening Rose was in a frenzied Coliseum to call the Islanders’ first home playoff win in 11 years when they beat Pittsburgh, 6-4.
“These fans have been just waiting to scream a hole through the roof, ” said Rose, who recently released a book “Put It in The Book,” a look at the Mets first 50 years. “It’s such an electrifying atmosphere that whatever your blood pressure is when you leave the building is markedly higher. It’s pretty enjoyable, you live off the energy. When you jump back in you are really immersed by it and it really, really carries you.”
jterranova@nypost.com