Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, November 27, 1993 TAG: 9311270031
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Jack Bogaczyk
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
The thousands of suffering Redskins' faithful in these parts would disagree, but WDBJ (Channel 7) has had numerous calls from NFL viewers wanting the Redskins yanked as one of the weekly CBS games. With Roanoke-Lynchburg within the Redskins' TV domain, the league and the network aren't going to allow that to happen.
However, for a different reason, it will occur. The Redskins' home game Saturday, Dec. 11 at 12:30 p.m. against the New York Jets cannot be aired by WSLS (Channel 10). The NBC affiliate isn't happy about it, especially after seeing its AFC games beaten weekly in the NFL ratings by the Redskins' game in this region - and the Dec. 11 game is Washington's only NBC appearance this season.
The Jets' visit to RFK must be blacked out in this market, however, because the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl - the NCAA Division III football championship game - will be played at noon at Salem Stadium. No, the blackout isn't dictated by an NFL rule or an NCAA rule.
It's federal law.
Part of the NFL's antitrust agreement prohibits pro football telecasts into markets where any high school or college football game is being played - to protect amateur sports' live gates - between mid-September and mid-December.
It's Public Law 87-331, and it comes into play in this region that weekend. Several other state high school athletic association have asked for blackouts of NFL games at the same time because they'll be playing state championship games.
However, 87-331 applies even during the regular season - which is why the NFL doesn't televise on Friday nights or on Saturdays until late in the season. It just so happens that in Roanoke-Lynchburg, the conflict involves the region's team of dominant interest.
WDBJ will be able to air the San Francisco-Atlanta game at 4 p.m. Dec. 11 - because the Stagg Bowl will be completed by that time.
\ MORE THAN STATS: After two seasons of Bill Roth calling Virginia Tech basketball games solo, the Hokies' voice will have a broadcast partner when the 1993-94 season begins today on Tech network stations - including WSLC (610 AM) in the Roanoke Valley - with a 12:30 p.m. pregame show.
The analyst is a rookie who will make his on-air debut when Tech opens against West Virginia at USAir Arena in Landover, Md. He is, however, very familiar with Tech hoops.
It's Quinton Nottingham, a 1989 Tech graduate and former Hokies guard. Nottingham, from Machipongo on the Eastern Shore, was a walk-on for Tech and played for the varsity in 1986-87 and '87-88. Nottingham has his master's degree in statistics, and he's teaching and working on his dissertation toward a doctorate at the Blacksburg university.
The AmericaNetwork Group, which is producing and marketing the Tech network for the first time this season, wanted an analyst on the broadcasts. Roth conducted an audition, and Nottingham got the job.
"I thought it would be something that would be fun and interesting and something that would keep me around basketball," said Nottingham, 26, who hopes to complete his Ph.D. a year from now. "I don't see myself as being real critical on the air, because I'm not a critical person. I'm more of an analytical person."
He also promises to produce more than statistics.
\ REALLY HUGE: Here's proof that Alabama-Auburn is the biggest state rivalry in college football. About 48,000 people packed Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa to watch the teams meet Nov. 13 - on closed-circuit television. Auburn won at home to complete an 11-0 season. The game could not be televised by ABC or ESPN because of Auburn's NCAA probation. A 20-by-28-foot screen was suspended from a crane, and a second 14-by-18-foot screen was mounted on the turf in an end zone. Every seat that allowed fans to see either screen was sold.
\ NO MOVE: Even if the Fiesta Bowl ends up with a No. 1-No. 2 matchup, NBC officials say there is no thought of moving the game from its 4:30 p.m. time slot Jan. 1. The reason? Jan. 2 is the final day of the NFL regular season, and even if a blockbuster Fiesta were moved to prime time, it would be going against an NFL game on ESPN and trying to attract viewers who would be overdosed on football after a long weekend.
\ ARNIE'S BACK: The PGA's suspension of John Daly puts venerable Arnold Palmer into the popular Skins Game this weekend. Two-time Skins champ Payne Stewart is in the $540,000 event with Paul Azinger and Fred Couples. ABC will televise nine holes each today and Sunday p.m. WSET, each day) from Palm Desert, Calif., with Vin Scully in the tower. Palmer, who has played in the Senior Skins in recent years, last played in the Skins in 1987.
\ THE CARS: Start your cummerbunds! The 1993 NASCAR season signs off Friday night with 3 1/2 hours of programming, starting at 8 p.m. with a live edition of "SpeedWeek" and including the Winston Cup Awards Banquet from the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City at 9 p.m. The show will include a special tribute to drivers Alan Kulwicki and Davey Allison, who died this year.
\ AROUND THE DIAL: ESPN has chosen its broadcast crew for the Dec. 11 Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl live telecast at Salem Stadium. The Division III football championship will have Dr. Jerry Punch on play-by-play, with Mike Gottfried as analyst and Sharlene Hawkes as the sideline reporter. . . . WROV (1240 AM) begins its high school basketball coverage Sunday with the two-hour "Roundball Review" with area coaches in the studio, starting at 5 p.m. . . . When Nevada-Las Vegas went on NCAA probation in basketball two weeks ago, the Rebels had to give up live TV dates on the road. So, that canceled the Dec. 4 UNLV-UCLA game Dec. 4 on ESPN. The cable network will fill the time slot with a huge Big Ten football game - Wisconsin-Michigan State from Tokyo, with the Badgers' Rose Bowl berth on the line in an 11 p.m. or 11:30 p.m. cablecast. . . . ABC is looking for a golf analyst, after Peter Jacobsen left to return full-time to the PGA Tour. . . . Here's a no-brainer: CBS will push its late-night Winter Olympics wrap-up show from Lillehammer, Norway, in February back one hour from the 1992 schedule, to keep "The Late Show with David Letterman" in its regular time slot. Letterman is more than earning his $14 million annually for CBS, which has gotten big ratings and sales for his show. So, Olympics late-night host Pat O'Brien will have to wait. . . . Time Warner Sports has announced that the Evander Holyfield-Riddick Bowe heavyweight title fight Nov. 6 grossed $33 million, making it the highest-grossing pay-per-view event this year. More than 850,000 homes purchased the TVKO telecast.
Keywords:
GOLF AUTO RACING
by CNB