Grieve feeling good about return to Texas' TV booth

By Mel Bracht

Published: June 27, 2008

Two and a half weeks after undergoing prostate cancer surgery, Texas Rangers TV analyst Tom Grieve is eager to return to the broadcast booth tonight as the Rangers host the Philadelphia Phillies. The telecast won't be carried in Oklahoma City, but FSN Southwest (Cox 37) will carry the final two games of the series at 7 p.m. Saturday and 5 p.m. Sunday.

"I feel great,” Grieve said. "I've felt great for the last 10 days. I had the robotic type surgery, which is minimally invasive.”

Many Ranger fans undoubtedly are glad to have Grieve back in the booth. While his replacement, Victor Rojas, a Rangers radio announcer, has been an adequate replacement, they miss the fun chemistry between play-by-play announcer Josh Lewin, a statistical nerd and part-time guitarist, and the crusty Grieve, the Rangers' general manager from 1984 to 1994.

"We have a generation gap in that I'm 20 years older than Josh and there is not much you can do to bridge the gap,” said Grieve, who is 60. "Fortunately, the generation gap is part of the chemistry that we have. He is a little bit more in tune to the younger generation, to the pop culture generation. I'm a little more old school. There are some things I don't have the slightest idea what he's talking about. I think that appeals to people.”

However, Grieve is learning to adapt to the younger generation. He's started to text message and enjoys viewing videos on YouTube.

Grieve's prostate cancer was detected during his annual physical in March. He's a good example that older men need to have annual prostate screening blood tests.

"There is no reason to fear having the test. It's not painful,” he said. "My surgeon told me that 85 percent of the people he sees have no symptoms at all. That was the case with me. Many times when you do have symptoms, that's an advanced form of it. Then it can be pretty dangerous.”

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