Evert Back at Wimbledon

A year ago, Chris Evert was supposed to be at Wimbledon, working as a commentator for NBC. Instead, she was flat on her back at home in Boca Raton, Fla., going through the rougher stages of a difficult pregnancy.

Her son, Alex, now healthy and 8 1/2 months old, was born on Oct. 12 and is with his mom and dad in England.

Evert signed with NBC shortly after she retired from tennis three years ago, but she has worked only four previous tournaments. One of those was Wimbledon two years ago.

She will join Dick Enberg, Bud Collins and, when he becomes available, John McEnroe for NBC’s coverage, which begins Saturday and runs through July 5.

There will be weekday coverage next week, except Tuesday, plus update shows every night at 11:35 with Hannah Storm, who also will appear on the daytime coverage.

With NBC televising matches every day and HBO on weeknights, not much will be missed.

Keep in mind, everything is tape-delayed, even the finals next weekend. Coverage of the women’s final July 4 will begin at 8 a.m., a delay of two hours, and NBC will go on the air with the men’s final July 5 at 7 a.m., a delay of one hour.

Add Evert: During a conference call this week, she talked about her longtime relationship with 16-year-old Jennifer Capriati.

Evert and Capriati have been close since Capriati, as a 5-year-old, was coached by Evert’s father, Jimmy.

Being so close to Capriati puts her in a difficult spot as a broadcaster, Evert acknowledges.

“I’m in a conflict about that because a relationship of trust has been built,” she said. “I think there are certain things we talk about in confidence, like two friends would, and I’m certainly not going blab that to the whole world.”

Although Capriati has lost the 20 excess pounds she had at the Italian Open and has been playing well at Wimbledon, Evert said Capriati is going through a difficult time.

“I don’t think she likes being away from her school friends,” Evert said. “I don’t think she really knows what is reality. Is reality at home with her friends, or is reality here on the big-time pro circuit with all of the publicity?

“She leads a double life, and she is just trying to find reality right now and it is a struggle.

“I’m not surprised this is happening because everything happened so quickly for her as a 13-year-old. She had a whirl-wind year where everything was great, and now she’s going through adolescence, maybe even noticing boys, and it’s a big change for her.”

Evert said that above all, Capriati loves to play tennis.

“She’s probably happier on the court than off,” Evert said.

Evert’s picks: She likes Stefan Edberg and Monica Seles. She doesn’t believe Jim Courier will win because he spends too much time at the baseline. In choosing Seles over Steffi Graf, she cites Seles’ return serves and passing shots.

NBA draft: It was apparent on TNT Wednesday night that Magic Johnson knew that the Lakers were going to draft Anthony Peeler. In a live interview from La Jolla, Johnson told viewers whom the Lakers would take.

After the pick was made, Johnson said it was up to the veterans--James Worthy, Byron Scott and A.C. Green--to sit down and talk to Peeler and help him get his life straightened out. Johnson said that he, too, planned to talk to Peeler.

On the possibility of Johnson’s playing next season, interviewer Ernie Johnson Jr. got off a good line in asking: “Do you think you could crack the starting lineup?”

Magic, smiling, said: “I think so.”

Overall, TNT had all the bases covered Wednesday night and Doug Collins and Hubie Brown, in particular, were outstanding.

It would have been even better, though, if clips had been shown on the lesser-known players, such as the Clippers’ top choice, La Salle’s Randy Woods, before they are drafted rather than after. That way viewers would be more informed about available players.

There was plenty of time. It took three hours to go through the first round.

Give KMPC an A-plus for hustle in its draft coverage. Producers Leland Young and Kurt Kretzschmar tracked down a bevy of impressive guests, including eight of the first-round draft picks, for Joe McDonnell and Doug Krikorian, who were on live from the Sports Arena until 9 p.m.

About the only significant person missing was No. 1 pick Shaquille O’Neal.

The guests included Clipper General Manager Elgin Baylor, who recently stiffed McDonnell and Krikorian, prompting them to, tongue-in-cheek, put out an all-points bulletin that Baylor was missing.

Baylor seemed to take it all in stride and uncharacteristically showed some humor on the air Wednesday night, poking fun at Krikorian, a longtime friend.

It sure wouldn’t have looked good had Baylor stiffed KMPC again, because it is the Clippers’ new flagship station.

Earlier, Clipper owner Donald Sterling had been on the show and all but confirmed the Olden Polynice-Don MacLean deal, which McDonnell and Krikorian broke. They also correctly predicted that the Lakers would draft Peeler.

With the addition of the Clippers, KMPC is one of the few stations to have an NBA team, a major league baseball team, an NFL team and a major college team. KMPC also carries the Angels, the Rams and UCLA’s football and basketball games.

KTMJ in Milwaukee has the Brewers, Bucks, Packers and Marquette, and KOA in Denver has the Broncos, the Nuggets and Colorado and will carry the expansion Rockies when they begin playing baseball next season.

Add KMPC: Jack Snow, former Notre Dame All-American and Ram all-pro wide receiver, has signed a two-year contract to replace Jack Youngblood as the Rams’ radio commentator.

Youngblood lives in Sacramento and works for the Surge of the World League.

Another former Ram soon will be added to the broadcast team that includes play-by-play announcer Paul Olden. Vince Ferragamo is among the candidates for the yet-to-be-determined role.

TV-Radio Notes

CBS’ Pat Summerall, who underwent treatment for alcohol-related problems at the Betty Ford Center in Palm Springs, makes his return this weekend, working the Buick Classic at the Westchester Country Club in Harrison, N.Y. . . . John Daly, who was scheduled to play in the Buick Classic but withdrew after he either departed or was thrown off a flight from Denver to New York on Tuesday, is scheduled to be interviewed during Sunday’s coverage.

The U.S. Olympic basketball team makes its first television appearance Sunday on NBC when it plays Cuba in the Tournament of the Americas at Portland, Ore. Missing will be Patrick Ewing, who dislocated a thumb on Thursday. The Dream Team will be on TNT next Wednesday and Friday nights. . . . Phyllis George back on television? It may happen. CNN is exploring the possibility of using George as the hostess of a monthly, half-hour sports-oriented interview show.

Boxing beat: Razor Ruddock, on the verge of a heavyweight championship shot, faces Phil Jackson, 25-0 with 23 knockouts, on Showtime tonight, delayed at 10. . . . Saturday night’s co-main event at the Country Club in Reseda--Engels Pedrosa vs. Louis Howard and Gabriel Ruelas vs. Paul Molefyane--will be shown on Prime Ticket Sunday at 2 p.m.

A new Dodger pregame show, with Joel Meyers, Duke Snider and KABC radio’s Eric Tracy, made its debut on SportsChannel Thursday night. Fred Claire was the featured guest. . . . “Standings” in the KMPC-XTRA radio war will be available soon. The Arbitron spring rating results come out July 14 for the rating period that ended Wednesday.