Flu Bug Has Put Iron Chick’s Streak of 2,189 in Jeopardy

No need to panic quite yet, but one of sports’ incredible streaks may be in jeopardy.

The flu that is sweeping Southern California, knocking people out of commission everywhere, has hit Chick Hearn.

The Lakers’ announcer hasn’t missed a workday since 1965--a streak that has reached 2,189 games.

Will he make it to Forum tonight to do the radio and Prime Ticket simulcast for the game between the Lakers and the Charlotte Hornets?

This flu is brutal, but somehow, you figure, Hearn will be there. He has been sick before during the streak, one time even with pneumonia, and still refused to call in sick.

Hearn has said, “Marge (his wife) props me up, we take the proper medication and somehow make it.”

Marge answered a call to the Hearn home Wednesday and said Chick was napping.

“If he feels like talking, I’ll have him call,” Marge promised.

Chick, who always feels like talking, did not call back later Wednesday or all day Thursday. Not a good sign.

But Marge told Laker publicist Josh Rosenfeld Thursday that Chick was able to sit up and eat some chicken soup and that she expected him to be at tonight’s game.

It apparently will take a lot more than a bout with the flu to sideline Hearn.

He started feeling ill Tuesday, and he mentioned it during the pregame show that night.

But during the Lakers’ game against the New York Knicks, Hearn was his usual entertaining, fast-talking self, a style that recently earned him an Ace Award, cable television’s version of an Emmy.

Add Hearn: It wasn’t sickness that caused Hearn to miss two Laker assignments in 1965, the only two he’s missed in his 29 seasons with the team.

He missed one game when he worked the Bob Hope Desert Classic for NBC. Then a few weeks later--in late November--he missed another because of a snowstorm in Fayetteville, Ark.

Hearn had just worked an USC-Arkansas football game. The pilot of his small charter said, “We shouldn’t fly in this weather.”

Hearn told the pilot: “That’s good enough for me.”

Rich Marotta has been fired by Prime Ticket.

Marotta, the host of the talk show, “It’s Your Call,” the host of the King pregame shows, and the cable network’s USC football and boxing announcer, got the word earlier this week.

Marotta also works for radio station KRLA and is the Raiders’ radio commentator.

Sources said the firing was the result of an interview Marotta did with astrologer Joyce Jillson early last week. Jillson was on “It’s Your Call” at the request of Prime Ticket President John Severino, and apparently Severino did not like the interview.

But was it so bad that it justifies firing a solid, all-around announcer?

“I really can’t comment until I’ve talked directly with Severino to find out what I did,” Marotta said. “It wasn’t one of our better shows, but no way did I have any kind of argument, disagreement or flare-up with Joyce Jillson.”

Severino declined comment.

Bud Furillo has replaced Marotta on “It’s Your Call.”

Hockey is now popular in Los Angeles, but, except for the Kings’ game on Prime Ticket, Los Angeles viewers have been getting shut out.

That’s because SportsChannel, the carrier of the national package, has no outlet here. But that is about to change.

Although details have yet to be worked out, SportsChannel figures to own Z Channel before the National Hockey League playoffs begin April 3.

Z Channel is already scheduled to carry SportsChannel’s coverage of the All-Star game Feb. 7 at Edmonton.

SportsChannel lawyers are currently re-negotiating Z Channel’s contracts with the Dodgers, Angels and Clippers.

The new deals probably will mean more exposures at a reduced rights fee. Z Channel’s current management negotiated the deals with the assumption that commercials could be shown. But the courts later ruled that they couldn’t.

The Dodgers Thursday announced a 50-game Channel 11 schedule.

Super Bowl aftermath: The national Nielsen rating for the game was a 43.2 with a 68 share, which is a 4% increase over the 41.9 and 62 of last year.

The postgame show earned a 32.5 and a 49, a 27% increase over last year’s 25.5 and 40.

But the pregame show, which started an hour earlier this year, was down from a 14 rating to a 13.4.

The ratings for the pregame shows have been dropping steadly--from a 21, to an 18, to a 14 and now a 13.4--but look for CBS to go with a 2-hour pregame show next year.

“Where else can you get that kind of rating for something that has no rights fee,” said Neal Pilson, president of CBS Sports.

More Super Bowl: For high camp, it’ll be hard to ever top the “Fred and Tommy Show,” Channel 4’s post postgame show with Fred Roggin and Tom Lasorda.

Among the highlights was Lasorda telling Christie Brinkley, “Say hello to Joel.” Brinkley is married to singer Billy Joel.

To Lasorda, everything was outstanding. “It was an outstanding game.” “Joe Montana was outstanding. “ And so on.

According to KMPC’s Jim Healy, Lasorda used the word 73 times.

What was Healy’s opinion of Lasorda’s performance? What do you think was Healy’s opinion of Lasorda’s performance?

Lasorda himself probably thought: “This job ain’t that . . . easy.”

Kudos: The best recap of the Super Bowl was on “George Michael’s Sports Machine” late Sunday night.

Highlights from the entire week, including the rioting in Overtown--something NBC chose to ignore in its coverage--plus game highlights were edited into an excellent piece.

TV-Radio Notes

Channel 4’s vacationing Brett Lewis--he’s been gone forever, it seems--returns a week from today. . . . NBC is expected to announce soon that Ahmad Rashad has signed a new 4-year agreement. . . . The Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year will be announced at Santa Anita Saturday by John Forsythe and Tom Durkin and the announcement will be televised at halftime of the Nevada Las Vegas-Oklahoma college basketball game, which starts at 1 p.m.

Channel 13 will again cover the Los Angeles Marathon. This year’s race is scheduled March 5. . . . An interview ESPN’s Chris Meyer did with Jerry Buss will appear on Sunday’s 8 p.m. “SportsCenter” show. . . . Guaranteed to happen: CBS next year will knock NBC for its Talent Challenge, saying its pregame show will include nothing such as that.

KMPC is carrying a weekly Angel talk show Tuesdays from 6 to 7 p.m., with Joel Meyers as the regular host and Angel announcers Al Conin and Ken Brett doing guest spots. Once the exhibition season begins March 20, the show will run nightly. . . . Boxing on Z Channel next Tuesday night at 7 has heavyweights Donnie Coats and Mike (the Bounty) Hunter squaring off at the Irvine Marriott.

Golf on CBS this weekend is the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, and next week it is the L.A. Open. . . . Roscoe Tanner, who helped the United States win the 1983 Davis Cup championship, will join announcers Cliff Drysdale and Fred Stolle in the booth for ESPN’s U.S.-Paraguay Davis Cup coverage next weekend. . . . Correction: It was reported here last week that a new version of the old “Sports Challenge” show will return to television in September, and some of the old shows would be shown. Actually, only the new shows, and re-runs of those, will be shown. Channel 4 will be the L.A. outlet.

Roone Arledge always got a lot of credit for ABC’s success in covering the Olympics, but there were plenty of behind-the-scenes people who contributed just as much, if not more. Marvin Bater, vice president of Olympic operations and an ABC employee for 34 years, was one of those. Bater, 61, has been forced to retire from the network because ABC is no longer in the Olympic business. Said Dennis Swanson, ABC Sports president: “Marvin’s contributions to ABC Sports during 3 1/2 decades has justifiably earned him the respect of his peers around the world.” Bater says he plans to start his own consulting business.