Braves TBS Baseball network's rights fee payments to Major League Baseball. In turn, national sponsors could fulfill their advertising commitments by purchasing ads on TBS, in addition to ESPN or Fox. The move was strongly criticized by Braves fans, Atlanta area media outlets and team manager Bobby Cox. Over 90% of Braves fans who voted in an online poll conducted by the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution" newspaper preferred the team of Caray and Van Wieren to the more neutral broadcasts. The move backfired, and ratings for the TBS broadcasts declined sharply. After that year's All-Star break, TBS brought back Caray and Van Wieren to work
Neil Cox with the senior players. He gradually progressed through the youth ranks at the club before signing his first professional deal with the club in 1990, being handed a two-year deal, along with fellow youth graduates Graham Alexander and Richard Hall. Cox later revealed that he had been offered deals by other clubs but had remained with Scunthorpe as he was “ a local lad and I just wanted to play for my local team.” Following a downturn in the club's results, Hall and Cox were brought into the first-team by manager Mick Buxton and the pair's performances attracted attention from