They Weren’t Interested in 15 Minutes of Fame

Ted Nathanson, stepping aside as an NBC sports director to form his own production company, has had a long and varied career.

“He worked at all three networks in his early days in the business after World War II,” said Stan Isaacs of Newsday. “He did game shows, sports, entertainment and studio shows, including a grocery show hosted by Art Modell, now the owner of the Cleveland Browns. Modell was then a food broker.

“Nathanson did an entertainment show, ‘America After Dark,’ which consisted of doing live TV from various locales.”

Said Nathanson: “At a nightclub, we would tell people, ‘You are going to be on national television. So if you are here without your wife and with a girlfriend and don’t want to be seen, you might want to think about leaving.’ And invariably some people would get up and leave.”

Add Nathanson: Recalling the New York Jets’ victory in Super Bowl III, he said, “NBC had been covering the AFL those early years and it was thrilling to see the Jets upset the lordly NFL. My recollection is seeing Pat Summerall in tears in the Baltimore dressing room.”

Trivia time: What do the Oakland Athletics and Sacramento Kings have in common?

Hanging on: In the wake of Chicago’s 6-10 season, the Sporting News reports that Mike Ditka has been dumped by Campbell’s Chunky Soup, McDonald’s, Firestone, Dristan, Midway Airlines and Hanes.

He still has contracts with Peak antifreeze, Budget car rental, Toyota and TCBY yogurt. He also has opened a second restaurant, Ditka’s Northwest, near O’Hare airport, and has a 16-page licensed sportswear catalogue.

Add Ditka: Of William Perry, who watched brother Michael Dean take the play away from him at Cleveland last season, Ditka said he’s going to try get him down to 300 pounds, maybe 285.

“I guarantee you he’ll play as good (as) or better than Michael Dean at that weight,” Ditka said.

Bombs away: Ever since he beat the Lakers with a last-second three-pointer, Utah’s Karl Malone has been thinking long distance. “It’s both for entertainment and to add a new weapon to my game,” he said. “Now I find I can’t live without the three-pointer. I can’t just go in and bang bodies all night.”

Add Malone: When he returned to Miami for the first time after the All-Star game, which he threatened to boycott after not being named a starter, the fans chanted, “A.C. Green, A.C. Green.”

Trivia answer: Both moved from Kansas City.

Quotebook: Dave Newhouse of the Oakland Tribune, on Atlanta outfielder Lonnie Smith, who put on 35 pounds over the winter: “Lonnie Smith had an abdominal transplant and he’s now Bob Horner.”