Avoiding Arbitration, ABC Re-Signs Michaels

Al Michaels and ABC, after calling off a scheduled arbitration hearing in Century City, reached an agreement on a multiyear contract Wednesday.

“It’s a good feeling,” Michaels said. “Now I can get on with life.

“It’s all history now. I’ve always been someone who looks ahead, and there’s no better time to do that than right now.”

Brent Musburger, hired by ABC on May 2 and in line to take over Michaels’ play-by-play job on “Monday Night Football” had Michaels left, said: “I think it’s great. If I were running ABC, I would want to keep Al Michaels, too.

“When I was hired by Dennis Swanson (ABC sports president), he told me about the problem with Al, but said he hoped to work things out.

“He was very honest about it, and, after what I’ve been through, it’s nice to deal with a management that tells the truth.”

The trouble between Michaels and Swanson apparently started during the World Series, when Michaels gave a flippant treatment to a promo for “Monday Night Football.”

Things came to a head in March when Swanson suspended Michaels for two weeks without pay because Michaels’ teen-age daughter worked as a runner for ABC at a figure-skating event in Salt Lake City in February.

When CBS fired Musburger on April 1, leaving an opening for the No. 1 play-by-play job on baseball, Michaels, in an effort to be released from his ABC contract, filed a grievance with the American Federation of Radio and Television.

An arbitration hearing was scheduled for this week and next in the Century City office of labor lawyer Stuart Herman. But the hearing was called off Monday morning, and a settlement was reached Wednesday.

Art Kaminsky, Michaels’ New York agent, also represents Jim Valvano, who was hired by ABC this week as a basketball commentator.

“The Valvano negotiations opened up a line of communications between myself and Swanson,” Kaminsky said. “That helped a lot.”

Michaels and Kaminsky also gave credit to Michaels’ Los Angeles attorney, Richard Hessenius. “I can’t say enough about him,” Michaels said. “He was tremendous.”

Wednesday’s development means that Jack Buck’s role as CBS’ top baseball play-by-play announcer is safe.

There was speculation that Michaels might replace him, and during a recent interview, Buck said he hadn’t been assured he would keep the No. 1 job if Michaels ended up at CBS.