Barber keeps making gains in his career after football

During his NFL career, Tiki Barber was always seen as being well-spoken, personable and having the marquee value that came with being a star running back for the New York Giants. He was, in short, a broadcasting natural. Barber has since proved that.

And now it means more airtime.

NBC, which won the bidding war and made him a correspondent on the “Today” show and a studio analyst for its NFL coverage, announced this week that “Today” is being expanded by an hour, and Barber will be given a more prominent role.

Sunday he makes his debut on NBC Sports, appearing at halftime of the 5 p.m. PDT game that, fittingly, has the Giants playing at Baltimore. Because it is an exhibition game, there is no pregame show.

In college at Virginia, Barber had his sights set on a career in computer programming.

“Broadcasting wasn’t even on my radar,” he said during an interview last week at NBC in Burbank before appearing on the “Tonight Show With Jay Leno.”

His broadcasting career, however, didn’t exactly get off to a roaring start. His first job was for New York radio station WFAN in 1999.

“I was on at 10 o’clock following the Rangers, just me and the callers, talking hockey,” he said. “No one wanted to talk about football, everyone wanted to talk about hockey, and I had no clue.”

His next broadcasting job was doing early morning sports reports for TV station WCBS during the off-season in 2000.

“That was the year we ended up going to the Super Bowl [in which the Giants lost to Baltimore], and I had my first 1,000-yard season,” he said. “It was kind of my arrival as a player. I went back to WCBS the next year to do the same thing, and a couple of the stagehands said, ‘Hey, if we had known you were that good we would have treated you better.’ ”

A not-so-grand farewell

Dan Patrick’s final show for ESPN Radio is today, but it is being preempted by Angels baseball. However, the show can be heard on Sirius Satellite Radio’s Channel 120 or via 710ESPN.com and ESPNRadio.com.

KSPN found out just how popular Patrick’s show is Wednesday when the station preempted it for a new local show. The station was hit with complaints, and program director Larry Gifford, responding to e-mails, acknowledged it was a mistake and apologized.

So, Patrick’s show was back on the air Thursday, and it was an interesting one. Among the guests was Jerry West, who said he is now definitely retired. Of Kobe Bryant, West said it was up to the Lakers star to set the tone for a positive image of the team. However, West also said he understood how an athlete of Bryant’s caliber can get frustrated.

Little memories

Dusty Baker, now working for ESPN, is among the announcers assigned to the Little League World Series, which begins today in Williamsport, Pa. His first assignment is a 5 p.m. game Tuesday on ESPN2, when he will join Gary Thorne and Orel Hershiser.

Baker, who is being enshrined in the Little League Museum’s Hall of Excellence, played Little League in Riverside before moving with his family to Sacramento when he was 15.

His father, Johnnie B. Baker Sr. -- Dusty is Johnnie B. Jr. -- was his coach.

“He cut me from the team three times,” Baker said from his new home in Sacramento before heading to Williamsport. “All three times were for bad attitude -- tossing my hat to the ground, kicking a foul ball and quitting after my best friend hit me with a pitch, on purpose. Those were great lessons, though.”

His son Darren, who almost was run over at home plate while serving as a San Francisco Giants batboy during the 2002 World Series against the Angels, is now an 8-year-old Little Leaguer. So it is Baker’s turn to be the disciplinarian father.

Short waves

The $1-million Pacific Classic, along with the Del Mar Mile and the Pat O’Brien Handicap, will be televised on ESPN2 on Sunday at 2 p.m. The winners of all three races qualify for the Breeders’ Cup races at New Jersey’s Monmouth Park on Oct. 26-27. . . . FSN Prime Ticket offers a USC preview show Tuesday following Dodgers baseball and a UCLA preview the following night. Previews of other Pacific 10 teams will be shown throughout the week. . . . During the NFL regular season, Reggie Bush can be heard every Wednesday at 2:15 p.m. on Sirius Satellite Radio’s Channel 124 on “The Afternoon Blitz.” . . . Fox has announced that Ryan Seacrest will be part of its Super Bowl pregame show.

A tribute, “Karch Kiraly: King of the Beach,” will air on FSN West on Monday night following the Angels and Yankees. Kiraly will appear on the Angels’ pre- and postgame shows and will be in the booth during the fourth inning. . . . On Thursday, there will be a traditional telecast of the Angels’ home game against Toronto on FSN West and a special “dugout view” telecast on Prime Ticket. . . . The syndicated radio show “Tee It Up” is holding its second charity golf tournament Aug. 27 at Trump National in Rancho Palos Verdes. (Information: teeitupshow@aol.com).

larry.stewart@latimes.com