(Editor's note: Bob Brainerd is an occasional contributor and sportscaster with Time Warner Cable.) 

A month has passed since Time Warner Cable launched its new 24-hour sports channel, and already the "baby" is taking its first steps.

"The chance to be in on the ground floor of a project (intrigues me the most)," said Dennis Krause, Sports Programming Manager of the new Time Warner / Milwaukee's Channel 32 and a contributor to OnMilwaukee.com. "It's a huge challenge to help build something out of nothing. It's hard, but I think it's fun if you appreciate the small steps along the way."

Krause, the former 16-year veteran at WTMJ-TV, was brought on board by Time Warner Cable to not only be the "face" of this fresh sports venture, but to do some of "hand-holding" along the way. His local knowledge is vital in securing programming that fits the profile. But before Krause, there were others who helped the birthing process.

"First of all, Jack Herbert, Bev Greenberg, Maria Tully and others at Time Warner have been working on this project for a few years -- long before I came on board," explained Krause. "They have been terrific. They are positive and realistic about who we are now, and how we can grow. We want to get better every day."

With the blessing of his aforementioned bosses, Krause dug in and went to work plugging holes with a variety of sporting events and programs. The emphasis is local, so there are plenty of high school games dotting the schedule, mostly tape-delayed. But live events also highlight the roster, including a Marquette women's Big East basketball game against Syracuse when the channel debuted on Jan. 3.

"We're not a finished product and I'm the first to admit that," Krause said. "We have the freedom to try things and experiment."

That is why what you see at the moment, certainly is not what you will get permanently. Equate it to opening a new restaurant...there will be glitches and bumps along the way, but as time goes on, you tweak the offerings, experiment, and see what works within the blueprint. Krause is well aware that it takes more than just a few good "chefs" to create an appetizing menu.

"Television demands a lot of different facets coming together," Krause said. "I'm just a talking head. There are so many more important jobs that go into it. You need management with vision, photographers, editors, engineers and technical support. There are many talented people at Time Warner who've done much more than me to get this thing off the ground."

Krause did make sure that the backbone of Time Warner Sports is strong, grabbing up talented producers Tom Kurtz and Donyell Rogers, both former producers in the trenches at local stations Fox 6 and WTMJ (Channel 4) respectively. It's a different world than the one these gentlemen were used to, covering sports day in and day out for the local newscast.

"It's apples and oranges," explains Krause. "At this time, we are more game and program-oriented than news-oriented. By that I mean that we're not shooting every news conference and every daily event. We are at a stage where we are showing games and developing content for 30-minute original programs. It's certainly a luxury to have the time for programs that we do. There were frustrations at times in trying to do a comprehensive daily sportscast in a very limited amount of air time."

Time is something Krause and the rest of the Time Warner Sports crew have in mass amounts at the moment. The beneficiary is the sports junkie who can never get enough. If you missed the high school basketball game between Vincent and Bay View, for example, fear not; the game gets multiple time slots, and is also available On Demand.

"I think it's great because the old model of someone having just one chance to see something is gone," Krause said. "People don't live like that anymore. Options are always good for the viewer. Plus, there's the reality of filling so many hours in a program day."

Krause and company have tapped a variety of avenues to fill the line of programming on your Time Warner Cable channel guide, which by the way, is now up to date and operational after a three-week period when viewers couldn't tell when certain events would air.

Besides the high school scene, Time Warner Sports features offerings like Admirals hockey, Wave soccer, UWM women's hoops, UW-Green Bay basketball, Wisconsin women's hockey and Marquette women's basketball, including a monster showdown televised live between the Golden Eagles and Connecticut slated for Saturday night. Krause believes these offerings are unique and due some exposure.

"I think we can carve out a niche of under-served teams and sports," he said. "I have great respect for other outlets, but nobody can do everything. We want to do a wide variety of sports and place a priority on high school and grass-roots events."

Not into games people play? There are other programs offered up. Krause has a sports interview show profiling local sports figures, as well as a daily roundtable where a changing list of local guests discuss the world of sports. Krause also headlined a 30-minute show on a major speed skating event at the Pettit Ice Center.

"Our emphasis is on bringing things to the table that weren't there before," Krause said. "Or giving people more of what they've only been getting in small slices. We have a great location in Channel 32, where I think people will stumble on to something we're doing and check us out."

Nearly 200 communities can do just that, including the Milwaukee and Green Bay markets. Krause hopes that someday Time Warner Sports can reach the Madison market, and perhaps down the road, find a statewide audience. But when I pressed for a crystal ball prediction on the long term goals, Krause didn't want to make promises that may or may not come to fruition. Instead, Krause chooses to nurture and cultivate, and like a proud father, watch this baby grow.

"As for specific programming, I think we need to let that play out and better define who we are," Krause said. "I'm not a big believer in talking big before you do something. I think you just stay humble, work hard and see where it leads."

Stay tuned.