Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, July 17, 1993 TAG: 9307170008
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Jack Bogaczyk
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
The Big East, entering its first season of round-robin conference play and two months ago hopeful of landing half of its 10-game schedule on state stations, managed to clear only two games in Roanoke, Richmond and Norfolk.
Both are Virginia Tech games.
WSLS (Channel 10) returns as the Big East outlet in the Roanoke-Lynchburg market, but the station is trimming back from seven Big East telecasts last season - in which ratings were dismal - to the Hokies' noon kickoffs Oct. 2 at West Virginia and Nov. 13 against Syracuse in Blacksburg.
The Big East has signed with Home Team Sports to fill the void. HTS will televise the other eight Big East games live to its potential audience of more than 2.5 million homes from Pennsylvania to parts of North Carolina. The deal with HTS also puts the league into cable homes in the Washington and Baltimore markets for the first time.
West Virginia is expected to play three games on the Big East's noontime schedule, which needs more dates for powers Miami and Syracuse to be a more attractive package. Viewers in Virginia can't be sold Temple, Pitt and Rutgers, schools that figure to combine for seven of the 20 team appearances.
Of course, when the ABC and ESPN contracts with the College Football Association are picking off several Miami and Syracuse dates, it lessens the quality of the conference package in a new league trying to build an identity.
\ ACC SHUFFLE: Changes to the ACC's football TV schedule because of required team appearances and potential ABC or ESPN selections has removed the Virginia-North Carolina game from the noontime schedule on Oct. 23. That game is among several CFA games being considered by ABC and ESPN, however.
The switch to Georgia Tech-North Carolina State leaves UVa with likely noontime appearances on the ACC network (WSET, Channel 13) against Maryland, Florida State and Clemson. Depending on selections by ABC and ESPN, the ACC schedule also may add Virginia Tech-Virginia on Nov. 20.
The ACC has N.C. State-Florida State scheduled, but the CFA packages will need a minimum of five games on Nov. 20, and that game could be among the more attractive matchups.
\ OLD STUFF: During its live coverage of the final two rounds of the British Open today (10 a.m., WSET) and Sunday (9:30 a.m.), ABC Sports will show what is believed to be the oldest golf footage in history. A golf historian found the reels in a British attic. The film was shot in Scotland.
Today's one-minute clip is from 1898, showing Willie Park Jr., who won the 1887 and '89 British Opens, and 1883 champion Willie Fernie. Sunday's three-minute film is from 1904 and shows six-time Open champion Harry Vardon and five-time champion James Braid.
An ABC spokesman said these clips are not the oldest sports footage available. A clip of a boxing match from June 14, 1894, holds that distinction.
\ MONDAY, MONDAY! For NFL fans who can't get enough of studio shows on Sundays, ESPN is introducing a weekly 90-minute show that will lead into "Monday Night Football" on sister network ABC. "NFL Prime Monday," with host Mike Tirico, begins Sept. 6 at 7:30, before ABC's Dallas Cowboys-Washington Redskins telecast. The new show promises analysis, news, features, round-table discussions, Joe Theismann and MTV's "Downtown" Julie Brown - but not Fred Edelstein.
\ NETWORKING: The expanding sports world on cable TV has competition for ESPN2, which has pushed its sign-on up to Oct. 1. NewSport, a 24-hour news and information service produced by the merged Prime SportsChannel Network, will debut the same day.
NewSport promises to cover breaking sports events through a network of affiliates around the nation. One Prime SportsChannel executive compares NewSport plans to CNN, where ESPN2 will be an events network that will appeal more to the MTV generation.
The question is how many cable systems, most stuffed to channel capacity now, will pick up these new services.
\ AIRWAVES: WFIR Radio (960 AM) has dropped Notre Dame football and selected NFL broadcasts from the Mutual Network. WFIR sports director Bob Clark said the local ratings for Fighting Irish games were poor. The Roanoke station will continue to carry the Washington Redskins' broadcasts and Monday night NFL games from CBS Sports. . . . ABC's final-round telecast of the U.S. Senior Open had a 39 percent ratings climb from last year, attesting to the attraction of Jack Nicklaus. . . . NBC, which will televise Super Bowl XXVIII, already has sold 46 of its 56 advertising spots for the Jan. 30 game at the Georgia Dome. The 30-second ads are going for a record $900,000. Yes, Bud Bowl VI will be part of the telecast, and Converse will introduce a new basketball shoe, hawked by Charlotte star Larry Johnson, that sells for $110. . . . ESPN will televise the awaited return of injured Texas pitcher Nolan Ryan, airing the Rangers' game against the Milwaukee Brewers at 8:30 p.m. Monday. . . . Decisions, decisions: Satellite TV Week estimates that this year, dish owners will have access to 1,400 major-league baseball games, 1,000 NBA games, 2,000 college basketball games, 250 NFL games, 1,000 college football games and 800 NHL games.
\ TALKERS: Here's bad news for ESPN viewers. Keith Olbermann, whose wit and irreverence on the 11:30 p.m. SportsCenter has been a treat, is moving to ESPN2 as an anchor for the new network's three-hour, prime-time SportsNight show. He will be a co-anchor with Suzy Kolber, 29, who is leaving a West Palm Beach, Fla., station for ESPN2. "I will put my heart and soul into this, but I think it will work anyway," said Olbermann, who will continue to do commentary for ESPN Radio.
by CNB