Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, March 2, 1991                   TAG: 9103020076
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Long

LITTLE GUYS HIT TV BIG-TIME DURING WEEK OF HOOP-LA

Can't you just hear Dick Vitale crooning that, breaking backboards from the Big East to the Big West? Really, it is time for hoop-la. After what seemed to be even a longer season of unending games with little meaning, it's elimination time.

That means "Championship Week" on ESPN, the wonderful string of days in which you can watch teams that usually are just a blip on the scorelists heading into commercials. To the little guys, conference tournament championship games mean not only a shot at an NCAA berth, but also their only tube time.

Laugh if you want at the North Atlantic Conference, which plays its final a week from today at 11:30 a.m. Don't you want to eat lunch with Northeastern-Maine? Don't you want to find out which teams UNLV and Ohio State might have for lunch in the NCAA Tournament?

How about cocktail hour Friday with the Trans America final? It could be Texas-San Antonio against Centenary. How about throwing a party tonight to watch the Northeast title game between St. Francis (Pa.) and Fairleigh Dickinson?

Does all this sound fairly ridiculous?

No, "Championship Week" is a wonderful trip starting down the road to the Final Four. Of the 33 Division I conferences, 30 have tournaments. The exceptions are the Ivy, Big Ten and Pacific 10. Many viewers in this part of the country will be able to watch 28 of the 30 conference finals. All but five of those 28 will be on ESPN.

Conferences have changed their tournament dates and formats to accommodate ESPN's schedules and starting times. Many tournaments begin today or Sunday and end at midweek. The only good reason they do that is for TV exposure and dollars.

"Championship Week" is the first glimpse many fans get at teams that will pull shockers in the NCAA Tournament. This is where the Xaviers, the Loyola Marymounts, the Ball States and the Southwest Missouri States started to build their reputations.

There's an added suspense to "Championship Week" this season, too. The winners of today's six conference championships - five will be televised live on ESPN starting with the Big South at noon - advance to the NCAA Tournament's play-in tripleheader on Wednesday, also televised by the `V' network - as in Vitale-Valvano.

Because there are more conferences than automatic bids (30) to the NCAA, the winners of those six leagues - ranked at the bottom of NCAA computer ratings last season - play Wednesday for three spots in the 64-team field.

There are at least two title games or NCAA play-ins televised eight of the next nine days, headed by five today and five next Sunday, including the ACC final with a new tipoff time - 2:40 p.m.

The only two conference championship games that will not be televised in the Roanoke-Lynchburg market are the Big Eight and Southwest games. ABC's Big Eight telecast will be preempted on WSET (Channel 13) by the ACC from Raycom and Jefferson-Pilot. Area viewers will join the Southeastern final, in progress, on ABC after the ACC game. ABC Sports is regionalizing the SEC and Southwest finals, so the SWC is not available here.

The only conference tournament finals with no major network or cable contracts are the Metro and the Colonial Athletic Association. The Metro, at the Roanoke Civic Center, will be televised at 7 p.m. next Saturday by WSLS (Channel 10), from Raycom Sports. The CAA final Monday night will be aired live by cable's Home Team Sports, which is available on a limited number of systems in the region.

\ The Metro Tournament first round and semifinals are blacked out in a 100-mile radius from Roanoke on over-the-air TV. However, cable's Home Team Sports will show Thursday's afternoon first-round doubleheader live and the other four blacked-out games on same-night tape delay.

With Maryland out of the ACC tournament because of NCAA probation, the event has only three first-round games. The coverage on WSET begins Friday at 2 p.m. with seeds 4-5, followed by a 7-11:30 p.m. doubleheader that night from the Charlotte Coliseum.

Home Team Sports also has the ACC women's tournament championship game Monday at 9:30 p.m., following the Colonial men's final.

\ When you tune to WJPR (Channels 21/27) Sunday, don't be puzzled to see NBC's NBA doubleheader. WSLS is preempting the hoops for the Easter Seal Telethon, so independent WJPR will carry the Portland-Boston and Houston-Los Angeles Lakers games, starting with "NBA Showtime" at 12:30 p.m.

\ Retired ACC referee Paul Housman of Roanoke will be sitting in tonight with announcers Jim Carroll and Jerry English on the WROV (1240 AM) broadcasts of the Blue Ridge and Roanoke Valley District high school tournament championship games. Housman will discuss varying subjects, including recent rule changes and the progression of officials from high school to major college work.

\ WSET's one-day delay on the telecast of the NASCAR Grand National race last Sunday made little sense. The telecast was on opposite the live show of the Pontiac 400 on cable's WTBS, meaning the audience was likely to watch the Winston Cup event. If Channel 13 had to air the race on tape because of its proximity to Richmond, then it should have found another time slot.