New England Patriots coverage is as strong as ever in central and northern Maine, at least on the radio dial, but the same can’t be said on the television set this preseason.

Radio-wise, even though the roster of stations has changed, the number has remained the same. Locally, Searsport’s WFZX (101.7 FM) is back for a second full season, but this year, Bangor sister station WABI (910 AM) is also providing live coverage. The exact makeup of the programming schedule, in terms of which station is doing which games, was not yet determined by press time, but WFZX remains the primary Patriots station.

Joining WFZX as a Pats affiliate for a second straight year is Waterville’s WEBB (98.5 FM). Unlike last year, WEBB will not be simulcasting Patriots’ game coverage with sister station WTVL (1490 AM).

Last year, Bangor TV station WCKD (Channel 30) aired three of the Patriots’ four preseason games on a tape-delay basis, but that arrangement may not continue this year as officials at Bangor stations WBGR (Ch. 33) and WVII (Ch. 7) mutually agreed 11 days ago to terminate the lease arrangement which allowed WVII to program WBGR-owned WCKD.

Mike Palmer, general manager of WVII, which owns and programs Bangor Fox affiliate WFVX (Ch. 22), indicated he was very interested in airing Patriots preseason games this fall, but attempts to talk with Patriots officials have not been fruitful so far.

Officials at WBGR are also interested in Patriots game broadcasts, but have put it on the programming back burner as they decide how they want to operate WCKD, which is currently simulcasting WBGR’s programming.

All Patriots regular season games get live coverage, primarily on CBS (Bangor’s WABI, Channel 5). One game is on Fox (WFVX), one on ABC (WVII), and two are on ESPN.

The Patriots’ next exhibition game is a game at Washington Saturday at 8 p.m.

Once again, Gil Santos and former Patriot star Gino Capelletti will provide play-by-play and analysis for Patriots flagship radio station WBCN (104.1 FM) in Boston. The Patriots radio network includes 35 stations in six states. The rest of the eight-station Maine contingent includes WCRQ (102.9 FM) in Calais, WOZI (101.9 FM) in Presque Isle, Kittery’s WSHK (105.3 FM), Portland’s WBLM (102.9), and Biddeford’s WIDE (1400 AM).

The Patriots’ regular season begins on the road in Buffalo on Sunday, Sept. 7.

International hoop at home

Madison Square Garden and NBA-TV will broadcast the exhibition game at Madison Square Garden in New York between the USA Basketball team and Puerto Rico Friday at 7 p.m. This is the final tuneup game for the U.S. team before it begins play in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament on Aug. 20.

The broadcast team includes Marv Albert (play-by-play), New York Knicks color man John Andariese, Al Trautwig (host), and Mike Fratello (analyst).

Andrew Neff can be reached at 990-8205, 1-800-310-8600, or aneff@bangordailynews.net