Garagiola Comes Up With a Good Call on Parker in Last Game

Way back in the first game of the National League playoffs, ABC’s Tim McCarver said the Dodgers were playing the New York Mets’ Gary Carter too deep, right before he dropped the game-winning hit into center field.

Thursday night, in the final game of the World Series, NBC’s Joe Garagiola made a similar call. In the eighth inning, when the Athletics had runners on second and third with two outs and Dave Parker at the plate with a 1-and-1 count, Garagiola said: “Parker will chase a curveball low and inside.”

So what did Orel Hershiser throw Parker? Two straight curveballs low and inside. Parker swung at both, and that basically was the ballgame.

Add Series: After the game, NBC scrapped the credits and instead paid tribute to director Harry Coyle, working his 36th and possibly last Series.

It was a nice touch, and an NBC official said that after it played, there wasn’t a dry eye in the production truck.

Earlier in the Series, Coyle, who suffered a heart attack in June, said he’d like to come back. But if he does, it probably will be in a reduced capacity.

After the Coyle tribute, NBC provided an excellent wrap-up piece to the song, “One Moment in Time,” sung by Whitney Houston.

And what a Series it was for Los Angeles.

Last add Series: If you’re wondering where the World Series was bigger, Los Angeles or the Bay Area, the answer is clearly Los Angeles.

Through the first 4 games, the Series had an average Nielsen rating of 40.0 in Los Angeles, compared to a 36.8 for the Bay Area--where at least half the people are San Francisco Giant fans, who have a real dislike for both the Dodgers and A’s.

The highest-rated was Game 3, with a whooping 44.4 in Los Angeles and a 38.9 up north. The 44.4 means that the game was watched in 44.4% of the television homes in the Los Angeles market.

Nationally, the first 4 games drew an average rating of 23.1. Through 4 games last year, the Series averaged 22.5

Card saved: When Fulgencio Obelmejias had to withdraw from his Nov. 4 fight with Thomas Hearns because of broken ribs he suffered in his last fight, the pay-per-view card at the Las Vegas Hilton appeared to be in jeopardy.

But promoter Bob Arum found a replacement--James Kinchen, the North American Boxing Federation super-middleweight champion.

Hearns planned to go after an unprecedented fifth world title against Obelmejias, who is the World Boxing Assn. super-middleweight champion. But instead, Hearns will fight for Kinchen’s NABF title.

Hearns (45-3) has not fought since being knocked out by Iran Barkley in the third round of their World Boxing Council middleweight title fight June 6. Kinchen (44-4-2) is ranked No. 5 by the WBA in the 168-pound class and No. 2 by the International Boxing Federation.

Hearns-Kinchen may not be much of an attraction, but there are two other fights on the card that should justify the $19.95 price tag.

Michael Nunn, undefeated IBF middleweight champion from the Ten Goose stable in North Hollywood, will defend his title against Juan Domingo Roldan, and IBF junior-middleweight champion Matthew Hilton will defend his 154-pound title against No. 1 contender Robert Hines.

Add pay-per-view: Only 3 nights after the Hilton card, Sugar Ray Leonard will fight Donny Lalonde at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The fight, which will cost $29.95 to view, is being promoted by Titan Entertainment, a division of wrestling promoter Vince McMahon’s Titan Sports, Inc.

Channel 4 this week threw a surprise reception for Alice Brown, the leadoff runner for the United States’ gold-medal 400-meter relay team at Seoul. Before the Olympics, she worked in the station’s community relations department in a job-opportunity program sponsored by the U.S. Olympic Committee.

Brown, 28, of Panorama City, a former star at Pasadena Muir High School and Cal State Northridge, said she now must find another job. She has no commercial or endorsement deals, and that kind of bothers her. Why, she wonders, does Florence Griffith Joyner get so many offers and she none?

“Nothing against Florence, she’s a good friend,” Brown said. “But I worked very hard, too, and I have three Olympic medals.”

In 1984, she won a gold in the 400-meter relay and a silver in the 100 meters.

“In track and field, only the major stars get any publicity, and thus all the endorsement deals,” she said. “I think reporters make a mistake by not working harder to find out more about athletes such as myself.”

Sheila Echols ran the second leg on the relay team Griffith Joyner the third, and Evelyn Ashford anchored. Said Brown: “Sheila and I came into the press room in Seoul first, and the only questions we were asked were about Florence. I told myself, ‘One more question about Florence and I’m walking out.’ ”

So here’s one more question about FloJo: “Why has she emerged as such a superstar?”

Brown said: “Because she’s an incredibly hard worker. I did some road work with her, and she’d run off and leave me behind.”

TV-Radio Notes

ABC will televise the UCLA-Arizona game at Tucson Saturday at 12:30 p.m., PDT, to about one-third of the nation. The rest of the country gets Indiana-Michigan.

Because of ABC’s interest in No. 1 UCLA and No. 3 USC, the Pacific 10 has decided to be more lenient in the number of television appearances it allows each team per season and has increased the quota from five to six. Odds are that the UCLA-Oregon game Nov. 5 and the USC-Arizona State game Nov. 12 will get network coverage. Oregon was shortchanged 2 weeks ago when its game with USC was bypassed by ABC, and now the network has a chance to appease Duck fans.

Prime Ticket has added the Kings’ home game with the Minnesota North Stars Saturday night to its telecast schedule and will not show its delayed UCLA-Arizona telecast until after the hockey game. . . . NBC gives Los Angeles viewers another dose of Joe Namath Sunday. Namath, who worked last Sunday’s Raider game at Kansas City with Tom Hammond, works this Sunday’s Raider game at New Orleans with Mel Proctor. Namath is slightly improved from his ABC days, but he still has a long way to go. He mainly just states the obvious.

Brent (Mr. Hyperbole) Musburger struck again last Saturday, calling Notre Dame’s win over Miami possibly the biggest upset in college football in 30 years. Didn’t Mr. Hyperbole realize that the Irish were ranked No. 4 and playing at home?

Guest appearances: Kurt Rambis appears on Garry Shandling’s show on Showtime tonight at 10:30, and Marvelous Marvin Hagler appears on NBC’s “227” Saturday night at 8. . . . Z Channel will carry Notre Dame football games the next two Saturdays, against Air Force and Navy. . . . Randy Shields will be the guest commentator on Z Channel’s boxing show from the Country Club in Reseda next Tuesday night. In the main event, Mike Zena will box Armando Baeza in a junior-lightweight 10-rounder. Two of the three Weaver triplets, Floyd and Lloyd, will appear on the undercard.

ABC has named Curt Gowdy Jr., the producer of the National League championship series, as coordinating producer of major league baseball, a new position. Gowdy also was given a multiyear contract. . . . Santa Anita, which last year released a video on the history of the Santa Anita Handicap called “The Pursuit of Greatness,” is now selling one for $29.95 called, “The Right Track.” The 57-minute tape traces historical moments on Santa Anita’s turf course, such as Johnny Longden’s victory in the 1966 San Juan Capistrano in his last ride, and John Henry’s 3 victories in the Oak Tree Invitational. The video is available through the track’s marketing deparment.

TBS and ABC are covering this weekend’s McDonald’s Open basketball tournament in Madrid. Tonight’s semifinals will be on TBS, delayed, and ABC will cover Sunday’s title game, delayed, at 2:30 p.m. Tonight’s first game, at 5:05, has the Boston Celtics facing Yugoslavia, followed at about 7:30 by host Real Madrid against Scavolini Pesaro, the champion of the Italian League. Darren Daye, a former UCLA and Celtic player, is on the Scavolini Pesaro team. . . . With ABC’s Gary Bender in Madrid to work the basketball tournament, Chris Schenkel will announce the UCLA-Arizona football game with Dick Vermeil. Helping Bender in Madrid will be Dick Vitale and Cheryl Miller.