Superfan Wasn’t Invulnerable to Ratings, Rumors

When Ed (Superfan) Bieler went to work for radio station KABC in 1973, he was a novelty. In an era dominated by housemen and apologists in the electronic media, Bieler took on the Establishment. He fought for the little guy.

Bieler, a former trucking executive, came out of nowhere to become a star and a ratings success, No. 1 in his time slot.

But the station fired Bieler in 1976, saying he was irresponsible. He was threatened with several lawsuits. He also criticized the Dodgers and, worse yet, Dodger Dogs, which didn’t go over too well with the team that helped make KABC one of the top-rated stations in Los Angeles.

All was forgiven last year when George Green, KABC general manager, rehired Bieler. Green, who was the station’s sales manager during Bieler’s earlier stint, was well aware of his ratings success.

But Bieler, try as he might, failed to repeat it.

In a different climate, with more announcers not afraid to be critical, Bieler was no longer a novelty. He was no longer the only one going against the grain.

And he seemed to have lost touch with the L.A. market. He made more mistakes than he should have, and his critics and competitors were quick to point them out.

Meanwhile, almost from the start, there were rumors of his demise. Who would replace Superfan? Would it be Lee Hamilton of San Diego’s XTRA? Or would Stu Nahan come back? Or Fred Wallin? Would it be Eric Tracy? Or Joe McDonnell?

Some of the rumors were believable, others were not. But they took a toll on Bieler.

In August, Bieler was given a short contract extension, running through early 1991. But after the baseball season, his “Sportstalk” show was cut from four hours to two.

It is known that station management talked with Hamilton and McDonnell, and Tracy submitted a proposal in which he suggested that he and McDonnell work together.

So maybe Bieler was on the way out, anyway. Whatever, he finally threw in the towel.

Bieler declined interview requests but said on the air that he and station management had different ideas about the direction of the show.

Bieler’s manager, Ron Bain of San Diego, said there were a lot of factors behind his client’s decision, and the rumors were among them.

While in Las Vegas for the Evander Holyfield-Buster Douglas fight, Bieler told people he was “gunning for Hamilton,” whom he apparently viewed as a threat.

Hamilton said he has no idea why Bieler would feel that way toward him.

Bieler made his decision to quit while in Las Vegas, and he told KABC management shortly thereafter. He made his on-air announcement last Friday.

Hamilton, some people figure, is the favorite to become the host of “Sportstalk.”

“Yes, we’ve talked,” Hamilton said. “But I’ve got some other possibilities to consider.”

Hamilton, who is also the voice of the San Diego Chargers, is under contract to XTRA, but he has an out clause that would allow him to leave the San Diego market after the NFL season.

His other offers include one from radio station WWWE in his hometown of Cleveland, a position in Minneapolis as the voice of the Minnesota Vikings, and a play-by-play job with the Montreal Expos.

Hamilton said he may decide to stay at XTRA, a station he has put on the sports map during his four years there. “They’d like me to stay,” he said.

Ira Fistell, the interim “Sportstalk” host who is doing double duty while continuing as host of his 9 p.m.-to-midnight show on KABC, is another solid candidate.

“I just don’t know if I could continue to do both shows,” Fistell said, although he did both for a year and a half in 1979-80.

Asked which he would choose if it came to that, Fistell said, “I don’t know.”

Tracy, a workhorse who has been at KABC for nine years, and McDonnell, of KFI, are longshots.

Michael Fox, KABC program director, said: “We’re being upfront about this. We’re going to open it up.”

Fox said some of the candidates will be used on the air. “We plan to take a look at a lot of people,” he said. “We aren’t working under any timetable.”

NBC debut: Pat Riley made his first full-fledged appearance as co-host of NBC’s “NBA Showtime” telecast last Saturday and, all things considered, came off pretty well.

He appeared a little uncomfortable, as anyone would trying something new, but to his credit, he didn’t try to be overly cute or opinionated. He seems to be smartly easing into his new role.

Riley did get in a jab at new colleague Bob Ferry, former general manager of the Washington Bullets, after co-host Bob Costas said Ferry had a career shooting percentage of .439. “That’s better than he was as a general manager,” Riley chided.

After a feature on the Lakers and the relationship with their new coach, Mike Dunleavy, Costas asked, “You rode the lads--were you cracking the whip too hard?”

Riley, laughing, said he broke only one blackboard last season.

After returning home, Riley said: “That was just a throwaway line. Yeah, sure, there were times I got pretty mad, but for some reason, I’ve been turned into Atilla the Hun.”

TV-Radio Notes

Early favorite for NBC’s NBA rookie of the year is commentator Mike Fratello. He’s tremendous. And what a catch for the Clippers and Channel 5. He and Ralph Lawler are an excellent team. . . . The weak link in NBC’s NBA lineup may turn out to be sportswriter Peter Vecsey. He doesn’t have good television presence, his beard looks awful, and he could use some diction lessons. Last Saturday, he called arenas “areners” . . . . Someone should have told NBC newcomer Steve Jones not to try to speak over the national anthem before the Laker-San Antonio game.

The announcers for Sunday’s Ram-Giant game at Anaheim will be Pat Summerall and John Madden. . . . The NBC game at 10 a.m. is Seattle at Kansas City, with Jim Donovan and Paul Maguire. Donovan is filling in for Marv Albert, who has the weekend off. . . . ESPN takes over Sunday night games from TNT this weekend, with San Francisco playing at Dallas. Mike Patrick and Joe Theismann are the announcers. . . . The Cowboys’ lone victory last season, against Washington, came on ESPN. . . . ESPN announced this week that the Hearst Corp. has purchased 20% of the network.

ABC has a college football doubleheader Saturday. Originally, the network was planning to show Michigan vs. Illinois at 9 a.m., but has switched to Ohio State at Iowa. The second game, at 12:30 p.m., will be UCLA at Washington. Brent Musburger and Dick Vermeil will work the first game, Keith Jackson and Bob Griese the second. . . . No definite word yet on whether ABC will televise the USC-UCLA game at the Rose Bowl next Saturday. Washington-Washington State is a possibility, particularly if Notre Dame loses to Tennessee Saturday and the Huskies beat UCLA and become No. 1.

Fred Roggin’s new syndicated show, “Roggin’s Heroes,” set to make its debut in January, has been cleared in 125 markets, representing 85% of the nation, MCA TV announced. . . . The Kings’ Bob Miller has been nominated for an ACE Award, his second nomination for the cable television honor. He was also nominated in 1988, when Chick Hearn was the winner. Marv Albert won last year for his work on the Madison Square Garden network. Other nominees this year are Jim Lampley for his HBO work, Jon Miller of ESPN, and Bob Neal of Turner Broadcasting.