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

DATE: FRIDAY, July 7, 1995                   TAG: 9507070049
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEW YORK                                LENGTH: Short

BASEBALL NETWORK FIRES CHIEF TELEVISION LIAISON

Baseball's television situation became even more confused Thursday when The Baseball Network fired the sport's chief TV executive.

TBN said David Alworth, its vice president of broadcasting and production, resigned ``to pursue other business opportunities.''

But a baseball official, speaking on the condition he not be identified, said Alworth was fired by TBN president Ken Schanzer.

Alworth has been with baseball since 1983 and was the sport's executive director of broadcasting before TBN was formed in 1993.

He was a key part of the negotiations that formed TBN, a joint partnership among baseball, ABC and NBC, and was expected to be a significant part of baseball's negotiating team as the sport attempts to negotiate a television deal with CBS and-or Fox for the 1996 season.

Alworth and other members of the broadcast department of the commissioner's office shifted to TBN's offices across Manhattan in September 1993, and it had been expected they would shift back to the commissioner's office later this year when TBN terminates.

The baseball official said acting commissioner Bud Selig didn't play a role in the decision to fire Alworth. Selig, Schanzer and Alworth didn't return telephone calls seeking comment.

by CNB