Monday, August 19, 2002
Under pressure, Wadkins pulls performance up to par
By Rudy Martzke
USA TODAY
If Lanny Wadkins exhaled loudly as CBS' PGA Championship ended Sunday night, he earned the right.
After struggling in several soft appearances as the successor to legendary CBS main golf analyst Ken Venturi, Wadkins likely felt pressure similar to that of eventual winner Rich Beem, Justin Leonard and runner-up Tiger Woods, who provided late drama by registering birdies on the last four holes.
CBS producer Lance Barrow gave Wadkins full backing at the start of Saturday's telecast, allowing him to demonstrate that he deserved his lofty post. And the rookie Texan earned a TV par, flirting with a birdie, as he offered criticism on the golfers and tips on the game to the viewing duffers. Wadkins:
• Noted that Fred Funk smartly tried to make a drop from the edge of the bunker so his ball wouldn't be buried in the sand. Never mind the strategy didn't work.
• Pointed out that Leonard, who also resides in Dallas, had the needed experience to handle Saturday's high winds with low shots. Leonard posted a 3-under 69.
• Didn't hesitate to criticize the suddenly fading Leonard midway in Sunday's round for a “very sloppy first nine for someone leading the PGA.”
• Boldly said, “Ever since Tiger saw the leaderboard on 13 when Beem's score was posted at 10 under, he got rattled. I've never seen Tiger rattled.”
Not that Wadkins' weekend wasn't bogey-free. Too often he lapsed into obvious statements, such as, “Tiger putts best when his speed is really on.”
But Wadkins did earn his PGA TV card in coming up to par with the other stalwarts of the highly rated CBS crew, led by Jim Nantz, Gary McCord, Verne Lundquist, Bill Macatee and Peter Oosterhuis and reporters David Feherty and Peter Kostis. Nantz, golf's top host, quipped “Rich and famous” as Beem won and Feherty and McCord once again excelled at providing entertaining lines when play lagged.
With Woods in contention, TV ratings soared. After TNT's Thursday round jumped 20 percent from last year to a 1.8 cable rating, CBS' Saturday big-market overnight rating zoomed up 37 percent to 5.6, second highest to 2000 when Woods won. CBS' PGA number helped the ensuing Eagles-Patriots NFL game to a 5.0 overnight, up 35 percent from last year.
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Best debut: Second-year analyst Troy Aikman, promoted to Fox's No. 1 NFL team, held his own with more experienced Joe Buck and Cris Collinsworth on Friday's Bears-Rams preseason game. He backed Rams coach Mike Martz's playcalling in the Super Bowl in a retort to Collinsworth.
Class move: Fox's Buck paid tribute to Fox's former No. 1 team, Pat Summerall and John Madden.
Thanks a lot: ABC handed off the low-rated Arena League to NBC for 2003 after Sunday's ho-hum 52-14 San Jose Arena Bowl blowout of Arizona.
Top pictures: TNT shot of Woods slamming ball on 18 out of a bunker 202 yards to the green Saturday morning; Fred Funk's elation after his chip shot out of the rough on 7 landing in the cup.
Top tip: TNT NASCAR prerace host Bill Weber noted that Dale Jarrett had won the only two Pepsi 400 races in Michigan on Aug. 18, hours before Jarrett captured his third on that date.
Shakiest production: TNT did not inform viewers up front that Saturday morning's PGA round was on a tape delay. After the round, host Ernie Johnson Jr. said, “I must explain what you watched this morning actually happened about 45 minutes earlier.”
Strongest comment: Mike Lupica on ESPN's “Sports Reporters” — “If the (baseball) players believe the owners are preying on them, then they need a reality check.”
Candor award: Fox baseball host Jeanne Zelasko said, “I'd like to be optimistic about avoiding a strike. Let's be honest: We couldn't get the two sides to agree to be in the same interview” for the show.
Say what? With the baseball season in doubt, what mattered most to Fox baseball studio analyst Kevin Kennedy was having players association head Don Fehr and owners rep Bob DuPuy explain the difference between the salary cap and a luxury tax.
Graphic award: CBS showed that Woods was 0-15 in majors when trailing after three rounds.
Best lines: 1. ESPN's Sal Paolantonio on the “Sports Reporters”: “Michael Vick is a Lexus and (Falcons coach) Dan Reeves basically is a Ford Taurus.” 2. Fox's Steve Lyons told former major league manager Ralph Houk, “You're the best manager I never played for.” 3. NBC WNBA announcer Paul Sunderland said Los Angeles' Lisa Leslie has “21 points, six rebounds and 12 floor burns.”
Best exchange: After TNT's Wally Dallenbach, miked while driving in Saturday's Busch race, complained that “I can't give any bad gestures ... and say any bad words,” recently fined Tony Stewart, doubling as a TNT analyst, said, “I feel your pain, pal.”
Top observations: 1. CBS' Phil Simms came up with a key note on CBS' Patriots-Eagles game Saturday night, pointing out that “nobody picks the Patriots to win their own (AFC East) division.” 2. When the Cubs' Mark Bellhorn was thrown out at third base, Fox analyst Jim Trabor said, “You don't make the first or third out at third base and you don't make it with Sammy Sosa at the plate.” Sosa slammed a home run.
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Under pressure, Wadkins pulls performance up to par
