Bangor TV station WABI (Channel 5) is looking for a new assistant sports director after losing Brian McCoy to the gateway to the West.

“It’s gonna be at least another week,” said sports director Tim Throckmorton when asked about McCoy’s replacement. “We’ve got a pile of applications and tapes to go through.”

Throckmorton said Jim Morris will weed through the pile and the final decision will be made by Morris, Don Colson, and Throckmorton.

McCoy and his wife Anne moved to St. Louis. He said he would like to stay in television and will look for a reporter’s position.

“I really enjoyed my time here at Channel 5,” said McCoy. “I’ll miss the people here, but it’s a good time for a change.”

The second half of the announcing team calling New England Patriots presesason TV games has finally been announced.

Former New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms will do color commentary along with play-by-play man Don Criqui for the four preseason games, which will be broadcast locally on WVII (Channel 7) in Bangor.

In what may be the first of at least three primetime appearances by the Patriots this coming season, New England’s preseason game at Philadelphia on Thursday, Aug. 17, will also be aired by TNT at 8 p.m.

The Big East Conference and the Big East Football Conference have sold television rights to ESPN. The six-year agreement takes effect next fall and runs through the 2000-2001 basketball season. Terms were not announced.

ESPN will televise 46 Big East regular season basketball games and ESPN2 will do at least 28. ESPN will also have TV rights to the Big East tournament semifinal and championship games. The other nine tournament games will be on ESPN or ESPN2.

ESPN will also air seven Big East games a year. A minimum of five games will be on ESPN2.

ESPN’s subsidiary, Creative Services of Charlotte, N.C., will replace The Big East Network. The sports marketing-production company will produce prime-time and weekend afternoon games for syndication and local market telecasts.