Sunday, January 16, 2000
SPORTS ON TV-RADIO
Arbogast waits on his future
BY JOHN FAY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
There's a little bit of uncertainty in Pete Arbogast's life right now. The Bengals play-by-play man has an option on his contract he's not sure will be renewed. The radio station he works for has been sold. And radio rights for the team he covers are in limbo.
“That's the nature of the business,” he said. “Not everyone can be (Lakers play-by-play man) Chick Hearn and work for the same team for 50 years.”
Arbogast has called Bengals games for three years. He took over when WBOB-AM (1160) got the rights. His contract runs out March 31, but the station has an option to pick up another year.
BOB's parent company, Chancellor, has been acquired by Clear Channel. Clear Channel owns WLW, the former Bengals rights-holder.
If anyone knows what's going to happen post-merger, they are not talking.
“Everyone is waiting to see how this will play out,” Arbogast said.
Arbogast can't look for another job until March 31. After March 31, he becomes a free agent, so to speak.
“If I don't know anything by then, I'll start looking,” he said. “I'd be stupid not to. I'll look at major-college jobs, the NBA. There isn't much turnover in the NFL.”
Arbogast did the Los Angeles Clippers for seven years and then University of Southern California basketball and football for seven years before getting the Bengals gig.
“This is not unusual,” he said. “You never know where you're next job is going to be.”
BROO'S INTERESTED: If the Bengals play-by-play job opens, Ken Broo, who formerly had the job, is interested.
Broo was the sports anchor at a station in Washington, D.C., before his contract was not renewed.
“I'd be interested,” he said. “But where the rights are going is the big question.”
PRONUNCIATION GUIDE: You pronounce Miami forward Refiloe Lethunya's name “Ra-FILL-o-ay Le-TUNE-ya.” Some local TV/radio guys had trouble with it after Lethunya hit the winning shot against Ball State.
BRAY LEAVING: Channel 12 reporter/anchor Tim Bray is leaving the station to become the director of media relations/broadcast for the new Kentucky Speedway.
Bray has been at Channel 12 for 61/2 years.
“This was a great opportunity,” he said. “I couldn't pass it up.”
Bray also is an analyst on the Miami University football and basketball radio broadcasts. He plans to keep doing the MU games.
Bray's departure ends a period of stability among the local on-air sports people. It has been more than a year since anyone new has joined any of the four local stations.
KUDOS DEPARTMENT: Channel 19's Andy Treinen got the only one-on-one TV interview of Tony Perez on the day Perez was elected to the Hall of Fame. ... WLW's Andy Furman had the usual strong lineup of guests the night Perez got in: Perez, Pete Rose, Bob Howsam, Dave Parker and Sparky Anderson.
TIGERLESS: ESPN caught a nasty break when Tiger Woods decided to skip the Sony Open. Woods' showdown with Ernie Els last Sunday was the highest-rated golf program ever on ESPN. The final round drew a 3.46 rating, reaching 2.7 million homes.
Without Woods, the numbers won't approach that today.
The Els-Woods duel made for great drama. But don't you think ESPN could have skipped using its score roll at the bottom of the screen when they were putting for birdies on the first hole of sudden death?
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