CBS Has a Big Hit With Daly Double in Golf Coverage

In these lazy days of summer, it’s a little tough getting worked up for sports viewing. The real football season has yet to begin, there are about 50 games left in the baseball season, basketball is still months away, and viewer interest in the Pan American Games seems to be lacking.

But there is golf on television this weekend, and suddenly that’s a big deal.

John Daly has single-handedly made it so with his captivating performance in the PGA Championship last weekend.

Now, with Daly competing in The International at Castle Rock, Colo., south of Denver, that tournament has become a television event.

Daly had four birdies and two bogeys Thursday for a plus-6 under a scoring system in which golfers get two points for a birdie and lose one for a bogey. Once again, he wowed his large gallery with drives approaching 400 yards.

Today’s second round will be on ESPN at 1 p.m., with CBS handling the weekend coverage, which also begins at 1 p.m. each day.

One thing CBS did this week was take Daly out to an airport runway and let him hit away to see just how far his ball would roll.

Speaking of CBS, something has finally gone right for the network. Picking up the PGA Championship, formerly an ABC event, turned out to be a stroke of good fortune.

CBS, which hadn’t televised a PGA Championship since the early 1960s, simply bid for the tournament after ABC couldn’t come to terms on a new contract.

Roy Firestone scored a coup this week, getting Cincinnati Reds’ reliever Rob Dibble to appear on “Up Close” on ESPN. It was Dibble’s first in-depth interview since he got off with a $500 fine for allegedly throwing at baserunner Doug Dascenzo of the Chicago Cubs.

Firestone said he was able to land Dibble through the persistence of booker Cindy Katz.

On the show, Dibble actually came across pretty well.

Dibble still denies that he intentionally threw at Dascenzo. “If I had wanted to hit him, I would have stopped, set and thrown at the middle of his back,” Dibble told Firestone. Dibble hit Dascenzo in the legs.

Since he was fined but not suspended by National League President Bill White, Dibble reasoned: “Bill White saw it my way.”

Dibble did concede that he has some problems. “I’m a poor loser, a baby, I need to grow up. . . . I was taught to win at all costs,” he said.

He said therapy is something he decided to undergo in spring training, not after the Dascenzo incident. “I made my first appointment three months ahead,” he said.

So how’s it going?

“It took 27 years for me to get like this, it’s going to take a few years to unravel it all,” he said.

Add Dibble: Also on Firestone’s show, he admitted he has used “very poor judgment” at times, such as throwing a ball into the stands that hit and injured a teacher.

Among the things he regrets saying is this comment about the Reds’ owner, Marge Schott: “If she was a guy, someone would have slugged her by now.”

To which Schott said: “If he were my child, I would have slapped him by now.”

Said Dibble: “I’m off the wall. Marge knows that. I love Marge. We have a good relationship.”

Add ‘Up Close’: Formerly known as “SportsLook,” the show is even better than it used to be. Normally shown on weekdays at 3:30 p.m., and repeated at midnight, it is almost always must viewing.

The guest on today’s program is Channel 7 sportscaster Jim Hill, and that might surprise a few people. When Hill and Firestone worked together at Channel 2, there were rumors that the two didn’t always see eye to eye.

Add Hill: Rather than relying on his usual studio interviews, he has been going out and doing some good features.

He went to the hospital where amateur boxer John Bray was recuperating after accidentally shooting himself in the mouth. Bray looked bad but sounded great. He said he will be boxing again in two months.

Hill was at the Beverly Hills Country Club to tape profiles of young tennis players Serena and Venus Williams of Compton and their close-knit family, and he also had a nice piece from Ram camp on offensive tackle Jackie Slater, who is in his 16th season.

NBC football commentator Paul Maguire, who suffered a heart attack last weekend, is in serious condition at Buffalo General Hospital after underdoing bypass surgery Wednesday night.

Friends of Maguire--and he has plenty--have been concerned about his lifestyle. It’s a familiar story: bad diet, no exercise.

NBC has yet to name a replacement for him as Marv Albert’s partner on NFL football. Maguire is not scheduled for an assignment until Sept. 1, the day the NFL regular season begins.

Said Albert: “I was knocked out when I heard. I talked to Paul Friday night, the night before he had the attack. He was planning to play golf that day.

“I guess he’s doing OK. I talked to one of his daughters, who said before (Wednesday’s) surgery he was bothering the nurses. That’s a good sign.”

Mike Walden, a solid pro who has lived and worked in Southern California for 25 years--he has done play-by-play of both USC and UCLA sports events at various times on radio and TV--got an unpleasant surprise recently when he learned that he won’t be doing UCLA football for Prime Ticket this fall.

“Back in June, I thought we were all set,” Walden said.

Then he went to Toronto to tape the “Super Dave” Osborne cable TV show. Walden, as Super Dave fans know, is a regular on the show.

When he came back two weeks ago, Walden learned that Prime Ticket had decided to replace him on Bruin telecasts with Bill Macdonald.

“That’s their prerogative,” Walden said. “I’m an optimist and I’m sure things will work out. The only thing is, it’s now so late, it will probably be impossible to find football work this season.”

This weekend, Walden will be calling the Virginia Slims of Los Angeles tennis tournament in Manhattan Beach for Prime Ticket, along with Vic Braden and Tracy Austin.

Tom Ramsey will return as Prime Ticket’s UCLA commentator.

TV-Radio Notes

UCLA’s new radio commentator, former quarterback David Norrie, next week will work with Mike Lamb on “Sports Beat,” a lively, topical show on KORG (1190) weekdays at 3:30 p.m. Coincidentally, Lamb is a former USC offensive lineman. This match between a Bruin and a Trojan was made because Lamb’s regular partner, Larry Kahn, is being married Sunday in Encino--the bride is Nanci Larsen, the best man former Dodger pitcher Doug Rau--and will be on his honeymoon next week.

The Chicago Bears-Raiders game at the Coliseum Saturday will be televised twice on Sunday, at 5 p.m. by Channel 9 and at 10:30 p.m. by Prime Ticket. Rich Marotta and Raider executive assistant Al LoCasale will call the action. Bill King and Jim Plunkett will call the game on KFI radio. . . . Tom Murray’s outstanding one-hour special on L.A.’s sports owners will be repeated on Channel 9 following Sunday’s Raider telecast. . . . There will be no TV for the Rams’ home exhibition game against the Seattle Seahawks Saturday night. The only coverage will be on KLAC, with Paul Olden and Jack Youngblood reporting. . . . Channel 9 and sportscaster Joe Fowler have parted company. His last night was Monday. He reportedly wanted to come back Tuesday to say goodby but was told no. Tom Murray and Gary Cruz will fill the void until a replacement is found.