Dierdorf Is Giving Viewers Shades of Humble Howard

Someone should tell Dan Dierdorf that humility is an admirable trait.

It’s something Howard Cosell could never recognize. Maybe Dierdorf, a genuinely good guy, still can.

When Dierdorf first moved from CBS to ABC’s “Monday Night Football” a few years ago, he was being compared to John Madden. These days, he’s more likely to be compared to Cosell.

KMPC’s Jim Healy, who has been pounding Dierdorf on the air, has a new name for him: Mr. Obnoxious. Healy is one who has made the Cosell comparison.

Dierdorf isn’t that bad, but maybe he began believing all those rave notices he used to get. He’s simply taking himself too seriously.

With Al Michaels at the stretched-out World Series the past two Monday nights, Dierdorf, working only with Frank Gifford, has been out of control.

The wit and the ability to communicate are still there. It’s the humility that’s missing.

Gifford could probably give Dierdorf a few lessons in humility.

Criticized for making too many mistakes and for being too bland, Gifford’s popularity among viewers hasn’t seemed to wane.

Gifford has outlasted them all on “Monday Night Football.” And it’s not just luck.

The key to Gifford’s success is the pleasant personality most people perceive when they see and hear him.

Lyle Alzado, who worked only three pro football telecasts for NBC, has apparently worked his last.

Alzado actually wasn’t under contract for more than three games, but Terry O’Neil, executive producer of NBC Sports, was hoping that he’d found a nugget in the rough.

Now O’Neil is admitting that he misjudged Alzado. There was no nugget, just rough.

Alzado, paired with Fred Roggin, opened the season with a Denver-Kansas City game. Even though Alzado is still somewhat of a hero in Denver, where he played for the Broncos, the NBC affiliate there received a number of complaints about Alzado.

Dusty Saunders, TV columnist for the Rocky Mountain News, wrote that Alzado used the word nice--”nice run,” “nice catch,” “nice call,”--about 1,500 times, no exaggeration.

Saunders also referred to Alzado and Roggin as NBC’s answer to twins Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito.

Alzado next worked a Phoenix-San Diego game with Jay Randolph and had little to say.

Then he had his worst game, Miami at Cincinnati, two weeks ago.

How bad was he? Well he called Dolphin nose tackle Brian Sochia, a seven-year veteran, Mike Scioscia.

NBC is probably more to blame than Alzado, throwing him into a tough job without enough preparation.

Will the networks ever learn?

The fickle business of broadcasting claimed another victim this week: Channel 9 sportscaster Scott St. James.

St. James, a fixture at Channel 9 the past 7 1/2 years, was let go in the housecleaning done by Disney, the station’s new owner.

St. James, who will leave the station Nov. 3, was the last of the old Channel 9 news team to be given a pink slip.

His replacement will be Joe Fowler, former Philadelphia sportscaster who has done some fill-in work at Channel 4. Fowler is sort of a poor man’s Todd Donoho.

Channel 9, which goes to a format with three hours of nightly news on Jan. 15, will add two more sportscasters before then.

The station is said to be interested in Jim Hill, but Hill is still under contract to Channel 7, and his agent, Ed Hookstratten, said a move is unlikely.

Other possibilities include Alan Massengale, former ESPN sports anchorman now working for the ABC affiliate in Miami; Terry Chick, who was at CNN until Oct. 1, and Eric Clemens of ESPN.

So what’s next for St. James, a likable and popular sportscaster?

“I might start selling jewelry . . . my jewelry,” he said, trying to make light of the situation.

Shaky debut: Paul Olden, who became the host of KMPC’s “Sportsline” this week, has a fine voice, but the early impression is that, as a talk-show host, he talks too slowly and is too bland.

He’s got to pick up the pace if he’s going to compete with KABC’s Superfan, who keeps things moving on his show. Also, Olden should cut back on interviews. Most are simply boring.

On a talk show, the callers should be the stars.

Olden has had some technical problems, as well. Monday night, he let his first caller, a Notre Dame fan, ramble on too long, for which he apologized the next night.

And Tuesday night, four times during Healy’s half-hour-plus show, Olden left the mike on in his studio, and a conversation with his producer was going out over the air.

Finally, Healy said: “Will somebody please go into Paul Olden’s studio and tell him to turn off his mike.”

Who goofed? No doubt about this one. It was Olden.

Olden, a news assistant for KLAC in 1978, was the person who asked Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda, after Dave Kingman of the Chicago Cubs had three home runs and eight RBIs against the Dodgers, that infamous question: “What did you think of Kingman’s performance.”

Tuesday, more than 11 years later, Lasorda, a surprise guest on Olden’s show, apologized for his outburst.

It’s about time.

TV-Radio Notes

Look for ABC-TV to play it relatively straight when it resumes World Series coverage today at 5 p.m., PDT. The network isn’t saying what it has planned for the pregame show, but don’t expect any fancy openings or glitzy features. . . . CBS Radio will focus on the earthquake aftermath on its pregame show, which begins at 5:07.

ABC will donate two 30-second public service spots each night on World Series telecasts in which players will ask for donations for earthquake relief. . . . Channel 2’s Keith Olbermann, who delivered a lengthy, impassioned editorial last Sunday night asking viewers to donate to earthquake relief funds, put his money where his mouth is and contributed half-a-week’s salary. . . . Here’s a good idea: Joey Altobelli, owner of Joey’s La Brique, a sports bar-restaurant in Bellflower, says he will show the Series games on a big screen, offer a free buffet and contribute 25 cents of every bar dollar to earthquake relief.

It’s a good college football Saturday, highlighted by an ESPN doubleheader of Pittsburgh-Notre Dame at 2 p.m., followed by Miami-Florida State. That’s four top-10 teams, including Nos. 1 and 2. . . . UCLA will be on ABC at 12:30 p.m. for the second straight week (hasn’t anyone told ABC that UCLA is no good this season?), and USC will be on Prime Ticket at 3:30 p.m. . . . Now figure this one out: You get a top-notch doubleheader on ESPN, Alabama-Penn State on CBS, Michigan-Indiana and UCLA-Washington on ABC and USC-Stanford on Prime Ticket, and it costs you nothing. Yet, on Sports- Channel, a pay service costing as much as $12 a month, you get Tulane-Virginia Tech, Eastern Michigan-Central Michigan, delayed no less, and a replay of Pitt-Notre Dame at 10 p.m.

The Rams’ game against the Bears in Chicago Sunday will be on Channel 2 at 10 a.m., with Pat Summerall and John Madden making their first Los Angeles appearance of the season. On Channel 4 at 1 p.m., it will be the San Diego Chargers against the Seahawks at Seattle, with Charlie Jones and Merlin Olsen. . . . NBC has gone down a notch or two since replacing Olsen with Bill Walsh on its No. 1 announcing team. . . . NBC showed a lengthy feature on Walsh during its pregame show last Sunday. It was a nice piece but very self-serving.

The Dream Bowl, with the 1972 Miami Dolphins facing the 1978 Pittsburgh Steelers, will be on ESPN Sunday at 5 p.m. An Elvis Presley impersonator will conduct the coin flip and reportedly will leave two tickets for Houston Oiler Coach Jerry Glanville. . . . A week from Sunday, ESPN’s real NFL schedule begins with Dallas at Washington at 5 p.m.

It was noted in this space last week that the Kings, increasing in popularity, now have a radio network. But the Kings still have a way to go. Their game last Saturday at St. Louis was knocked off KLAC by a Laker exhibition game, and was carried by KGIL, which delayed its broadcast until 10 p.m. KGIL preempted the Kings to carry a Cal State Northridge football game. Yes, Cal State Northridge.