Sunday, October 01, 2000
Sports on TV-Radio
NBC did injustice to Williams
By John Fay
The Cincinnati Enquirer
If I were Ricardo Williams, one of the first things I would do when I got back from Sydney is call Stan Chesley and have him sue NBC.
The network's complete neglect of boxing until the finals has cost Williams and his boxing teammates money. Williams' victory over Cuban Diogenes Luna in the semifinals was as thrilling a bout as you'll see. Sugar Ray Leonard didn't look any better in 1976. The difference is, by the time Leonard made the gold medal fight, he was a household name.
Williams had been relegated to CNBC until he made the gold fight. NBC will show his gold medal fight today, between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m., but couldn't the NBC wizards running things in Sydney find 12 minutes in the network's five hours of coverage Friday night to show Williams' bout? It was much more compelling than the things NBC did show.
Williams will get a fat contract as a pro, but it probably would have been a lot fatter if NBC hadn't ignored his story. NBC thinks if it's not gymnastics or diving or Marion Jones no one will watch it. That is flawed logic. People watched Leonard, didn't they?
So call Stan, Ricardo. He'll probably be able to get NBC to settle for a half-million.
LAP ON UC: Dave Lapham will make his play-by-play debut when he calls the UC-Houston football game Saturday on Channel 19. He'll work with John Arena. WXIX had to find a play-by-play man to replace Dan Hoard, who now does the games in radio.
Dave Ashbrock, who produces and directs the broadcasts, isn't sure who's going to do the UC-Miami game Oct.28. Andy Treinen, a 19 reporter/anchor, is a possibility. Treinen was unavailable for the Houston game (he's getting married that day).
Thom Brennaman, who seemed to be a lock to replace Hoard on 19's UC basketball broadcasts, won't be doing the games because of schedule conflicts.
“We talked three or four times,” Ashbrock said, “but it just didn't work out.”
Ashbrock has a candidate in mind, if the schedule can be worked out. It is not a local broadcaster.
OOPS: WCKY-AM (1360), the Sports Animal, slipped into the NBC mode Thursday and ran one of its sports attacks that was 24 hours old.
RANTS & RAVES: Harry from Colerain Township agreed with my bashing of NBC on the job it has done on the Olympics: “I think NBC really missed the ball. I haven't watched hardly any of it. They've done a very poor job of it.”
Bob, also from Colerain, agrees: “It's been terrible, especially that idiot who yells goal for five minutes every time someone scores in soccer.”
Dave from Blue Ash called in to praise the University of Cincinnati announcing team of Hoard and Jim Kelly: “I'd like to put in a good word for them. They do a really, really great job. I wish they were doing the Bengals games and get rid of Brad Johansen.”
Marty from Symmes Township wasn't pleased with Channel 12's decision to show the Cleveland-Oakland NFL game last week. “First we have to watch the Bengals, then instead of showing the best game of the year — Jets and Bucs — we're forced to watch Cleveland. People at Channel 12 have to get something decent for people to watch.”
Sorry, Marty, but you're going to get the Browns every chance 12 gets to show them.
“We didn't have a choice last week,” said 12 general manager Bill Moll. “But if we had a choice, we would have shown the Browns. They have a lot of fans here. The ratings are terrific.”
THE RATINGS GAME: Fortunately for Channel 12, the Bengals get better ratings than they play. Last week's game drew a 16.8 rating and 36 share.
PROPS: Channel 5 took advantage of the late start time for its sports news broadcast Friday night to stay at the Moeller-St.Xavier game until the end. That allowed 5 to get a terrific shot of Ryan Hamby's game-winning catch, something no other station had.
John Fay covers radio/TV sports for The Enquirer. He can be reached at 768-8445.
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