The dream may be over this year for the Milwaukee Brewers, but that doesn't mean fans can't begin thinking about next year. As the remaining MLB clubs fight it out for baseball's greatest prize, Miller Park is getting set to get a new coat of grass this off-season. Additionally, the park will get fitted with a brand new HD scoreboard, and while specifications were sadly absent, it will be installed and ready to wow by Opening Day 2010.

[Image courtesy of iGouGo]

We can only hope that this has happened in more locales than one, but at least in West Lafayette, Indiana, Comcast has flipped on TBS HD just in time for the MLB playoffs to get going. For those of you there in Purdue-land, it's on slot 926. For everyone else, be sure and let us know if your carrier has also green lit the station in time for baseball's most riveting month.

[Thanks, Jason]

While Verizon already secured TBS HD for its FiOS TV customers prior to the start of the MLB playoffs, Charter Communications subscribers may or may not be so fortunate. Particularly for Brewers fans in Wisconsin, the desire need to land this station in short order is crucial to their well being, and according to corporate spokeswoman Anita Lamont, the carrier is working hard to make it happen. Currently, the station isn't slated to go live until October 14th, but that's obviously far beyond the date baseball fans are hoping for. In somewhat related news, Charter Wisconsin is also scheduled to launch Animal Planet HD, Movie Channel HD and Smithsonian HD in mid-October, so even if the whole TBS thing doesn't happen on time, not all joy is lost.

[Image courtesy of DiamondHoggers]

Apparently Canucks had some serious issues catching 100% of the MLB playoffs last year, but that shouldn't be an issue this go 'round. A new report from The Globe and Mail asserts that there is only a sliver of a chance that MLB playoff games will conflict with hockey tilts on Rogers Sportsnet. For any potential clashes in time slots, it seems the baseball game in question will be available on FOX. Granted, we have all ideas that most Canadians would actually prefer to catch the on-ice action versus America's pastime, but for those who disagree, this should be music to your ears.

[Image courtesy of DayLife]

The Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (more affectionately known as MASN) has been a long-time HD holdout in the world of regional sports networks. After finally getting its act together and blessing viewers with some Orioles / Nationals games in high-def, the channel has announced today that it's fully ready to embrace this century. Beginning in March of 2009, it will launch a full-time HD channel and "more than double the number of HD telecasts of Nationals and Orioles games." Once live, it will air up to 200 MLB tilts next year in high-definition, and furthermore, it'll carry "Ravens preseason games, select NCAA Division I football, basketball, and lacrosse games, and ESPNews in HD." Also of note, we're already told that many of its current distributors will carry the 24/7 HD channel, including Comcast, Cox, RCN and DirecTV.

Okay, so we don't necessarily see the appeal of having a 19-inch LCD TV shaped like a basketball invade the swank minimalism of Engadget HQ, but we're certain some of you need to furnish your basement rec rooms or something, and Hannspree's got you covered with a new trio of sports-themed LCDs. For $279, you get your choice of basketball, soccer ball, or baseball (which, oddly, is black), each of which features the same middle-of-the-road 1280 x 1024 panel with 5ms response time and a 1000:1 contrast ratio. There's also a $239 model called the "slamma," which sports a different 1440 x 900 19-inch panel with a 700:1 contrast ratio. No word on availability, but Hannspree is calling this its "summer lineup," so we're guessing sometime soon. More pics after the break.

Read - Hannspree Basketball
Read - Hannspree Baseball
Read - Hannspree Soccer
Read - Hannspree Slamma

Although the 2008 MLB season is well underway, we suppose Cox subscribers in Topeka can't complain with being able to catch at least some of the 88 Royals games that are slated to air in high-def on FSN Kansas City. Effective immediately, Cox users in the area can tune in during game times for a high-definition feed of certain matchups, but for whatever reason, these same folks are still waiting to receive the likes of Science HD, Animal Planet HD, Cinemax HD, Travel Channel HD, NFL HD, etc. -- all networks that are already live in smaller locales such as Manhattan and Salina. Keep griping, Topekans, we'd be sour too.

[Image courtesy of A.T. Switzer, thanks Kevin]

Look out, world -- Albany just landed a very fine trio from Time Warner Cable. While most of the nation is sitting around and waiting anxiously for the arrival of ESPNews HD to their lineup, the fine folks in New York's capital are grinning from ear to ear as they enjoy it on slot 1872. Furthermore, Travel HD was added on 1843, and potentially best of all, the local MyNetworkTV (MyTV4) affiliate WNYA was also just added on 1804. Why so important, you ask? The latter channel has inked a deal to broadcast 21 Yankees games in HD that aren't already claimed by YES, and sure enough, the club has its first MyTV4-based showing tonight when it heads to Baltimore to take on the Orioles. Here's to you, Albany. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family]

[Thanks, Mark]

For those that witnessed the Nationals topple the Braves on Opening Day (at least on US soil), you got a glimpse of just how nice the all new Nationals Park really is. Now, Sanjay Talwani has taken an in-depth look at the stadium, and he found that copious quantities of HD equipment abounds. For starters, you'll find four 52-inch Sony LCD monitors along with a number of Luma LCDs within the control room, not to mention the 1,552 x 720 Mitsubishi scoreboard screen and the Sony MVS-8000G switcher. As for cameras, there are a pair of HDC-1400s alongside two wireless XDCAMs, but those pale in comparison to the four remote-controlled BRC-H700s around the top of the venue. 'Tis a shame the club's regional carrier, MASN, isn't diving in head first to carry all of its unclaimed matchups in HD, huh? For more details on the technology-crammed park, check out the read link below.

We already heard a chorus of boos from angry Red Sox / A's fans that missed some or all of the opening day of Major League Baseball, and now it seems the satcaster has disappointed fans of two other teams. Today's tilt between the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox isn't being broadcast via DirecTV on SportsTime Ohio HD as part of the Extra Innings package due to "bandwidth constraints." According to STO, DTV customers shouldn't have any issues seeing games for the rest of the season on the carrier, but the purported overload of sporting events has seemingly left no room for this one. Check the notice in full below.

[Thanks, Dayton Guy]

As if DirecTV customers didn't already have three good reasons to party down this week, the satcaster has just announced that its MLB Extra Innings SuperFan service will be four times better than last year. Or, there will be around four times more games in HD each week -- same difference, right? During the 2008 season, subscribers to the SuperFan package will be able to catch up to 40 out-of-market matchups in high-definition, and for the first time ever, the so-called Strike Zone Channel will be available in HD. 'Course, the interactive Game Mix channel, which shows up to eight tilts on a single screen, will be back (in SD, sadly) to satisfy popular demand. Those interested in getting signed up can save a few bucks by doing so before April 6th ($179), and current Extra Innings subscribers can upgrade to SuperFan for $50.

Looks like the Padres and Diamondbacks aren't the only MLB clubs out west with lots of HD comin' up, as the Joe Torre-led Los Angeles Dodgers will be seen quite clearly in nearly every single game this season, too. Apparently 100 of the team's games will be broadcast in HD on FSN Prime Ticket, while 50 more will be aired in high-definition on KCAL 9 (CBS). And just think -- we figured the Blue Jays were doing something special.

[Image courtesy of Frederic J. Brown / ESPN, thanks Pete]

When the New York Yankees kick off their 2009 MLB season next April in the new Yankee Stadium (hopefully without being rained out Opening Day), they'll do it under a Mitsubishi Diamond Vision high definition video scoreboard. In what it's calling the first HD display in MLB to use its high-density AVL-ODQ8 LED display technology, Mitsubishi is upgrading the Diamond Vision board at the current Yankee Stadium, to a 5,925 square-foot 1080x1920 display measuring 100.79 feet wide and 58.79 feet tall. Sure the Royals might have a few more feet of HD, and the Mets have plenty of HD too, but we think Yankees fans won't have a problem with the team's latest high priced signing.

For those who tuned in to the start of the 2008 MLB season (on US soil, that is) last night, you can already see we're in for a good one. Better still, the matchups we are presented with will be doled out in HD more so than any year prior. According to a new report from The Sports Video Group, over 3,000 MLB games during this season will be aired in high-definition, including 100-percent of the tilts shown on ESPN and Fox Sports. Breaking it down by team, the Chicago White Sox will have the most games in HD with 155, while the Cleveland Indians and Chicago Cubs follow suit with 153 and 151, respectively. So much for having to go to the ballpark to enjoy the freshly groomed grass, eh?

[Image courtesy of Pablo Martinez Monsivais / ESPN]

[Thanks, Bill]