Mathews Interview Falls Short of Mark

When Eddie Mathews was a guest on Gabe Kaplan’s “Sportsnut” program on KLAC radio Tuesday night, he slurred his words and rambled.

Kaplan interviewed Mathews from the Hall of Fame third baseman’s home in Del Mar about half an hour before the start of the All-Star game.

Kaplan believed that Mathews had been drinking.

The interview was reminiscent of the Tommy Kramer tape that KMPC’s Jim Healy often plays. Kramer, then the quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings, was in similar condition when he did an 8:30 a.m. phone interview with a Chicago radio station.

Mathews had agreed to be on Kaplan’s show because, in part, he wanted to promote an old-timers’ game. But he never got around to mentioning the game during the five-minute interview.

The interview was somewhat humorous, but it mostly was embarrassing--and sad.

The next night, Sam McDowell was a guest of Kaplan, and the subject of McDowell’s battle against alcoholism came up.

Kaplan, on the air, told McDowell about the interview with Mathews. “We had a famous ballplayer on our show last night who was inebriated,” Kaplan said. “I won’t mention his name, but those who listened last night know who I mean.”

Kaplan asked McDowell if he should have asked Mathews on the air if he had been drinking.

McDowell said no, he shouldn’t have embarrassed him on the air, but if Mathews was a friend, he should have embarrassed him off the air and talked to him about it.

Kaplan said Mathews was a childhood idol, but he wasn’t a friend.

In that case, McDowell suggested that Kaplan write Mathews a letter, which Kaplan did, although he has yet to send it. Kaplan said he wants Mathews to come back on the air next week.

Mathews touched on his drinking recently. “I’ve always enjoyed a drink,” he told Bob Wolf in a recent Times article. “I’ve been fired a few times, but whether that was the reason or not, I don’t know.”

Mathews, reached at his home Thursday, declined comment.

With the new college bowl alliance that was announced this week, it’s possible that the Fiesta Bowl will have the No. 1-ranked team playing No. 2 on NBC, while on ABC, the Rose Bowl, with its Pacific 10-Big Ten contracts, will have something like No. 17 playing No. 21.

The Rose Bowl, once the granddad of them all, may soon be the grand dud of them all.

A low point of Tuesday’s All-Star telecast was the AT&T-CBS; viewer poll that asked viewers, for 95 cents, to call a 900 number and vote on whether instant replay should be used for officiating sports.

Really tacky. It was a cheap way to make a few bucks.

How many people were naive enough to participate? A CBS spokesman said that information wouldn’t be available until next week. Surely, the total is nothing to brag about.

Par for the course: CBS had a legitimate golf tournament last weekend, the Western Open, while NBC had a celebrity affair at Lake Tahoe. On Saturday, NBC got the better rating in Los Angeles, 3.7 to 3.4, but on Sunday, CBS won, 4.2 to 2.6.

Wimbledon aftermath: NBC was on the air from Wimbledon for nearly 33 hours and offered plenty of good tennis.

But it also was heavy into tabloid television. You might have thought at times you were watching “Entertainment Tonight” or “Hard Copy,” and not just because “ET” host John Tesh was part of the NBC team.

Gayle Gardner’s seven-minute-plus interview with Martina Navratilova’s former companion, Judy Nelson, during Wimbledon’s first weekend reeked of sensationalism. Also out of place was Steffi Graf being asked about her father’s alleged affair and David Wheaton being asked about his relationship with Mary Joe Fernandez.

Another problem was that viewers often were left confused about what was going to be shown when, and what was live and what wasn’t. Actually, everything was delayed in the West.

One more thing. A German-speaking reader called to complain that Stich does not mean stick in German, as Dick Enberg said. It means stitch.

“I didn’t know that,” Enberg said after arriving back home in Rancho Santa Fe. “I guess I got some bad information.”

Add Enberg: He deserves praise for the pieces he wrote at Wimbledon. The Jimmy Connors tribute was especially well done, even though it was a little self-serving because Connors also works for NBC.

Vic Braden, who has one of the brightest minds in tennis, announced this week that he is closing his tennis college at Coto de Caza in southeastern Orange County.

“After 17 years of seven days a week, 51 weeks a year, I want a chance to do other things,” Braden said.

One thing he wants to do is make instructional videos on several sports at his new $1-million communications center on his Coto de Caza property.

Another thing is more television commentary than the four or five events a year he does for Prime Ticket.

“There are myths and untruths that I would like a chance to expose,” he said.

For example, Braden said his research shows that, despite recent claims, a ball hit with an old Jack Kramer wood racket travels faster than when hit by the new, wide-body models. “The key is hitting the ball in the center of the racquet,” he said.

Also, Braden snickers when players such as John McEnroe argue line calls. “It’s impossible for the naked eye to see a ball actually hit an out-of-bounds line,” he said. “But at least the line judge is in a lot better position to make the judgment.”

TV-Radio Notes

A spokesman for the promoters of the Nov. 8 Evander Holyfield-Mike Tyson fight said the recommended retail price of the pay-per-view telecast will be $40. TVKO, the pay-per-view arm of HBO, will televise the fight. . . . Pete Rose, in his first in-depth interview since his release from prison for tax evasion, talks with Jane Pauley on “Real Life” on NBC Sunday night at 8:30.

The “Occasional Game of the Week” on CBS will be the Angels against the New York Yankees in Anaheim Sunday at noon. . . . Another problem with CBS’ helter-skelter baseball schedule is you never know when “This Week in Baseball,” with Mel Allen, will air on Channel 2. This weekend, the show will be on Sunday at 11 a.m. and offer a recap of the All-Star game and its festivities. . . . XTRA has signed Lee Hamilton to a long-term contract extension. Besides serving as host of his popular “Sportsnite” show, Hamilton is the voice of the San Diego Chargers. At one time, Hamilton was rumored to be headed to Los Angeles.

KABC radio will broadcast from tonight’s Olympic Festival opening ceremony at Dodger Stadium, from 8 to 10 p.m., with Steve Edwards, Ira Fistel and Eric Tracy reporting. Also, the station will honor 79 of its own Olympic gold medalists, ordinary people selected by blue-ribbon panel as winners in everyday life. The 79 were selected from hundreds of nominations.

Highlights of “Battle of the Basketball Stars,” sort of a mini-Superstars competition held recently at UC Irvine, will be televised by SportsChannel Saturday at 8 p.m. The event benefits the Charles Smith Youth Foundation. Besides Smith, other competitors are Clipper teammates Gary Grant and Olden Polynice plus Kurt Rambis, A.C. Green and Pooh Richardson. Geoff Witcher, Rick Barry and the Detroit Pistons’ John Salley are the announcers.