Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, October 15, 1994 TAG: 9412160004
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
HTS executive producer Jody Shapiro has made inquiries with the ECHL office and some of the six clubs that are in the network's six-state region. The first ECHL telecast on HTS airs Wednesday, when Raleigh visits the Richmond Renegades. The game replaces what was to be a Washington Capitals' date against New Jersey.
``We're exploring additional ECHL games now,'' said HTS communications manager Scott Broyles. ``We'd like to do more, but it depends how the schedule works out with the spots we have NHL games scheduled.''
Roanoke, Richmond, Hampton Roads, Greensboro, Charlotte and Raleigh are the ECHL franchises in the HTS region. The network is producing the Wednesday telecast from Richmond, but Broyles said the network also has inquired about having ECHL clubs providing some of the technical work.
``We'd certainly like to do a Roanoke game, if possible,'' Broyles said.
AIR UVA: Virginia's home game next Saturday against North Carolina is likely to be a College Football Association regional telecast on ABC. The network chose to take a six-day option on its Oct. 22 schedule rather than pick the CFA games earlier this week. If televised, UNC-UVa would move to a 3:30 p.m. kickoff.
Virginia already has appeared on ABC once, in its loss at Florida State, and will play a Thanksgiving Friday regional telecast game on the network against N.C. State. Besides Big Ten and Pacific 10 regionals, ABC is likely to select UNC-Virginia, Mississippi-Alabama, Baylor-Texas Tech and either Utah-Colorado State, two unbeaten WAC teams or the Big Eight battle between undefeated Kansas State and Colorado.
For its prime-time game, ESPN is considering any of the games ABC doesn't select, or Oklahoma-Kansas or Miami-West Virginia.
HOKIES WAIT: Virginia Tech may have its Lane Stadium date next Saturday against Pitt televised on the Big East schedule at noon. The conference plans to split its network and air two of three potential games.
If ESPN doesn't take Miami-West Virginia, that will be one Big East game. The other options are Pitt-Virginia Tech and Rutgers-Boston College. Tech's scheduled 1 p.m. kickoff would be pushed one hour earlier for TV.
If the Hokies win today at East Carolina, expect ABC or ESPN to select Tech's visit to Miami as a CFA telecast when the Oct. 29 games are chosen Monday morning.
BIG GAME: Miami's victory over Florida State last Saturday night attracted the largest audience in 10 years of CFA telecasts on ESPN. It also brought the cable network's highest rating in its 15-year history for any show besides an NFL game.
The game had a 7.7 Nielsen cable rating, or 4.859 million homes. The CFA ratings record for ESPN was the 1991 Miami-Houston game, which had a 6.5 rating (then 3.8 million households).
VOICE OVER: Salem's professional baseball franchise has a new parent club in Colorado, will move into a new ballpark and is seeking a new nickname. The former Buccaneers also are in the market for a new play-by-play broadcaster, with Stu Paul moving to the Utica Bulldogs of the Colonial Hockey League.
Although the club hasn't announced that Paul has moved after the broadcasting/sales job was restructured, general manager Sam Lazzaro already has a 2-inch-thick stack of resumes and 22 unsolicited audio tapes from play-by-play hopefuls on his desk.
If Paul does not return, the Salem club will get its fifth radio voice in nine seasons. The team has one year remaining on its broadcast contract with WROV (1240 AM).
TEE OFF: The November issue of Golf Digest adds more fuel to controversy surrounding the dumping of colorful analyst Gary McCord from future Masters telecasts by CBS Sports. The magazine prints a letter, critical of McCord's remarks about Augusta National, from Tom Watson to CBS golf producer Frank Chirkinian and Masters chairman Jackson Stephens.
In part, Watson's letter says McCord ``is the Howard Stern of TV golf and you should be ashamed, rather than champion his `irreverent' behavior. Get rid of him, now.''
Never mind that most viewers love McCord's acerbic commentary.
COMING SOON: ESPN unleashes Dick Vitale on TV viewers starting Nov. 16, when its college basketball schedule tha''s bigger than Chris Berman begins with a Preseason NIT doubleheader of George Washington-Syracuse and New Mexico State-Southern Cal. Virginia's home NIT opener against Old Dominion will not be televised.
AROUND THE DIAL: What does TV mean to the NCAA? Well, the organization's Executive Committee has approved a $190.1 million budget for 1994-95. Of that amount, $151.85 million, or 80 percent, comes from the seven-year, $1 billion NCAA basketball tournament contract with CBS Sports. ... Radford's basketball show will return to WSLS (Channel 10) this season, with coach Ron Bradley's show airing on Saturday mornings. The university was very pleased with Arbitron ratings that showed 14,000 homes were tuned to the Highlanders' half-hour of hoops last February. ... Lee Corso is taking his outspokenness to radio. The ESPN college football analyst begins a Sunday night one-hour radio call-in show starting this weekend. The Corso show, syndicated nationally by Motor Racing Network, does not have an affiliate station in the Roanoke market yet. ... The Heisman Trophy presentation show, scheduled Dec. 10, is moving from NBC to ESPN. ... The unavailability of Charlotte Hornets' home-game tickets has brought the club to a new telecast era - and probably increased revenue. The Hornets will air six home games via closed circuit telecast at their new 5,000-seat practice facility in Fort Mill, S.C. The first is the Nov. 5 home opener against Cleveland. Tickets are priced $10 and $8, with a season ticket for all six games going for $50.
by CNB