NFL Shows Poor Judgment

The NFL season got off to a rocky start.

Although an NFL spokesman said earlier in the day that the league-produced kickoff party, televised by ABC Thursday night, would be toned down in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, it wasn’t. It was about as appropriate as a Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction.

The Rolling Stones opened the raucous festivities with a taped performance of “Start Me Up,” followed by more rock ‘n’ roll. The party was on at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., and the Coliseum in Los Angeles.

Although the Katrina disaster wasn’t forgotten totally, what was the NFL thinking? It was not a good time for a party, to say the least.

In contrast, Fox is planning a somber approach on Sunday, which coincidentally is the fourth anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks.

Fox expanded its NFL pregame show to begin at 8:30 a.m. in markets that want an additional half-hour. However, L.A. is not one of them since Channel 11 is committed to Fox News programming at that hour, at least part of which will be devoted to continuing coverage of the hurricane damage.

The regular hourlong Fox pregame show, which begins at 9 a.m. on Channel 11, will also devote a lot of time to the Katrina and 9/11 disasters. Included will be a report from Terry Bradshaw, a native of Louisiana who was dispatched to his home state, an interview James Brown conducted with Kiln, Miss., native Brett Favre, a report from Pam Oliver on the Saints from their game at Charlotte, N.C., and an update from NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue on the league’s relief efforts.

Fox’s pregame coverage also will include the introduction of Saint players before their game against the Carolina Panthers, plus Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson singing “America the Beautiful” before the game between the Chicago Bears and Washington Redskins at Washington. CBS’ Lesley Visser will also be at the Saint-Panther game.

Proper Perspective

The usually light-hearted, fun-loving Bradshaw was in a somber mood when he talked with reporters on a conference call Wednesday.

Asked if football will provide an escape for those affected by Katrina, Bradshaw gave a straightforward answer:

“If I were a resident of New Orleans and had lost everything that I have and had no home, and possibly lost a loved one,” he said, “I don’t think that football is something that’s going to help me escape from the present conditions that my family is currently in.

“I don’t really think for those that have been most affected that the NFL is something they’re glad to see come on board. ... I don’t really honestly think that football is something they can’t wait to see on Sundays, for the most part they’re not in front of their TV sets. They’re not in their homes. They’re in shelters across America. And if you think about that, that’s a pretty devastating situation these folks are in.”

As for the tone of Fox’s pregame show, Bradshaw said, “There won’t be a lotta yuks. I’m anxious to see some football, but to put it bluntly, it’s difficult to have a smile on your face.”

NFL commentator Troy Aikman and Fox Sports President Ed Goren were among those on Wednesday’s conference call.

“With all due respect to Troy and his former team [the Dallas Cowboys], for this day, at the very least, the Saints become America’s team,” Goren said.

The Net Result

Who’s to blame for DirecTV and Dish Network customers on the West Coast being deprived of seeing the end of Andre Agassi’s dramatic comeback victory over James Blake at the U.S. Open Wednesday night?

The USA Network, which is owned by NBC Universal, could not show the end of the match on its East Coast feed, which is carried by the satellite dish services, because CBS owns exclusive rights to U.S. Open coverage after 9:37 p.m. (12:37 a.m. in the East.) This does not apply to cable companies, which carry USA’s West Coast feed.

At the time it happened, Brian Walker, a spokesman for NBC Universal-USA, said CBS declined to give permission to USA to continue its national coverage past 9:37.

CBS spokeswoman LeslieAnn Wade said Thursday, “We have commitments to our affiliates and sponsors and cannot give up exclusivity. USA Network has exclusive rights on the West Coast and should be able to provide that coverage to their viewers.”

Whatever, somebody dropped the ball here, and the net result is a black mark for tennis that should have been a shining moment.

More Exposure

Haven’t seen much of Lisa Guerrero lately? You’ll soon have that opportunity. She posed for the January issue of Playboy magazine, due out the second week in December.

Guerrero said she would be talking about it on FM radio station 97.1 Saturday from 9 to 10 a.m., when she will be serving as a guest host.

Short Waves

Fox’s featured NFL game Sunday afternoon will be Dallas at San Diego, with Joe Buck and Aikman calling the game. With Oliver at the Saint game, FSN West’s Patrick O’Neal will fill in as the sideline reporter. ... FSN West and West 2 have beefed up their local college and high school football coverage. New features include “Bruin Rewind” on Mondays at 10:30 p.m. and “Trojan Rewind” on Tuesdays at 10:30 p.m. On Friday nights, beginning Sept. 16, will be “Fast Forward,” in which Petros Papadakis and Jim Watson will preview the USC and UCLA games. ... FSN West 2 will use former UCLA receiver J.J. Stokes on its Rice-UCLA postgame coverage Saturday night. ... FSN’s new national “Pro Football Preview” show makes it debut tonight at 5 and 10:30. The show is taped Thursday nights at the Fox Sports Grill in Irvine and will be repeated at various times on Saturdays and Sundays at 7 a.m.