Raiders Live, Ram Fans Must Wait

Good news for Raider fans. Saturday’s exhibition game against the Washington Redskins at the Coliseum will be televised live at 1 p.m. by Channel 9, then repeated by Prime Ticket and Channel 9 on Sunday.

Because NFL blackout policies are not in effect for exhibitions, it’s up to the teams whether to show a game live.

Al Davis wanted to televise the game live, so all he had to do was get permission from Redskin owner Jack Kent Cooke.

Too bad it’s not that simple during the regular season.

More good news for Raider fans is that Joel Meyers will handle the play-by-play.

Bob Speck, who packages the exhibition telecasts, had to scramble for the Raiders’ first two games.

Meyers was in Barcelona working on the Olympic Games for NBC during the Raiders’ first exhibition, then missed the second because of a Dodger commitment on SportsChannel.

For the first game, against the 49ers in San Francisco, Speck tried Channel 9’s Tom Murray, who had never done play by play--and it showed. Murray didn’t make it past the first cut.

Murray’s main contribution seemed to be asking commentator Al LoCasale if the Raiders would accept his check for season tickets.

For the Raiders’ second game, against the Rams at Anaheim Stadium, Speck tried to get Charlie Jones or Jim Lampley, but both had NBC commitments.

So Speck asked Chick Hearn. At least, he would lend class to the telecast.

Problem was, Hearn, just back from Barcelona, where he did two basketball games a day on the Olympic TripleCast, had only one day to switch gears and prepare to do pro football, which is unfamiliar territory.

Hearn was able to offer little information beyond a player’s height, weight, college and years of experience--information anyone can get out of a program.

Hearn also had trouble with some of the names. He opened by calling Jay Schroeder Jay Schroder, Mervyn Fernandez became Marvin Fernandez and he called Ram quarterback Mike Pagel (pronounced Pa-gel) Mike Page-l.

The Rams’ exhibition game against the Green Bay Packers at Anaheim Saturday night at 6 will be shown on Channel 2 tape-delayed at 11:30.

The Rams, in a news release, blame NFL polices for the delay. They should take a closer look. As the Raiders know, it’s up to the teams.

Rookie commentator Vince Ferragamo won’t win any Emmys for his performance in the Rams’ first exhibition game against the Seahawks in Seattle two weeks ago.

“All big-time plays this far,” was one of his insightful comments.

After play-by-play man Jim Hill said of Seahawk linebacker Rufus Porter, “They’ve been running over him all night,” Ferragamo’s non sequitur was, “He’s a big-time player; he’s been making big-time plays all night long.”

It appears that Chris Roberts, as expected, will replace his close friend, John Rebenstorf, as the play-by-play announcer on UCLA football and basketball.

But there is a catch: The position is temporary.

Roberts might get the job on a permanent basis, but the parties involved--Nashville-based national syndicator American Network Group, which acquired the rights this summer, flagship radio station KMPC and UCLA--want to take their time before committing.

Rebenstorf’s death of congenital heart failure came only a month before UCLA’s opener on Sept. 12 against Cal State Fullerton.

Roberts, a KMPC employee who announced Cal State Long Beach football for 10 years until the school dropped the sport after last season and also has broadcast 49er basketball, is probably the top candidate for the permanent UCLA job.

Another candidate is Mike Walden, who has done both USC and UCLA sports, but may be best known for his role on the “Super Dave” Osborne show on Showtime.

Here’s a sleeper: Angel television announcer Ken Wilson, who would prefer working year-round in Southern California. Wilson is also the St. Louis Blues’ television announcer.

Former UCLA quarterback David Norrie will return for his second season as the UCLA football commentator. Norrie, despite a lack of experience, had a fine rookie season behind the microphone, and all parties are high on him.

TripleCast update: Dick Ebersol, NBC Sports president, was recently quoted as saying: “The (International Olympic Committee) has made it abundantly clear that there will be no pay-per-view (for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.)”

Bill Daniels, owner of Prime Ticket and a leader in the cable television industry, responded: “Don’t believe it!”

Daniels knew what he was talking about. Since then, Dick Pound, chairman of the IOC’s TV negotiating committee, has said pay-per-view is an option for the ’96 Games.

John Severino’s retirement as the president of Prime Ticket last week came as a surprise, but his reasons for doing it make sense.

When Daniels hired Severino four years ago, he gave Severino 5% of Prime Ticket. That interest is now fully vested, meaning Severino can cash it in and be financially set.

“God bless Bill Daniels,” Severino said.

Severino, 55, said that since his sons, Mark, 28, and David, 26, are out on their own, he and his wife Sally will be able to travel extensively.

“My best friend, Lew Erlicht (former president of ABC’s entertainment division), retired three years ago and has been on me to do the same thing,” Severino said. “My brother Larry (a former radio sales representative) retired 12 years ago when he was 40 and loves it.

“You’d be amazed how many people have called to say, ‘Hey, you’re doing the smart thing.’ ”

She’s back: Randi Hall called to say she wasn’t MIA at Barcelona, as reported. She was there under contract to NBC but wasn’t used.

Hall was signed to be the gymnastics reporter but was replaced by Beth Ruyak. Since she already had a deal with NBC, Hall went to Barcelona as a backup.

Hall will marry Peter Desnoes, a Chicago-based television executive, on Sept. 26, and will continue to serve as Prime Ticket’s Laker reporter and will do profile pieces.

TV-Radio Notes

The college football season gets off to a big start Wednesday at 6 p.m. with Stanford and Texas A&M; meeting in the Disneyland Pigskin Classic at Anaheim Stadium. It is being televised by Raycom, a national syndicator, to 101 markets and will be shown on Channel 5 in Los Angeles. The announcers will be Phil Stone and former Raider Dave Rowe. Apparently, no major Southern California radio station will carry the game, which is unfortunate, considering the 6 p.m. kickoff. . . . Channel 5 also will carry the Kickoff Classic, Iowa vs. North Carolina State, at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on Aug. 29.

Channel 2 will have its own pre-pregame show during the NFL season, beginning at 9 a.m. each Sunday. It will precede CBS’ “NFL Today.” Jim Hill will serve as host of the new show, tentatively called “L.A. Football Company.” Cyndy Truhan also will be a part of the show, as will Doug Krikorian of the Long Beach Press Telegram and KMPC. Cyndy Truhan? She’s the former Cyndy Garvey. . . . Former Los Angeles sportscaster Ted Dawson, who has been working at the CBS affiliate in Dallas since 1987, was fired because of poor ratings. Dawson is also the radio voice of Southern Methodist football, and will continue in that role.

The L.A. ratings for the Seal Beach Open volleyball tournament were 3.7 Saturday and 6.5 Sunday, compared to 2.7 and 3.5 for the PGA Championship. Nationally, the volleyball got 3.5 Saturday and 3.7 Sunday, compared to 3.3 and 4.0 for the golf tournament. . . . NBC kept alive its streak of snafus, leaving the volleyball last Saturday before it concluded.

Two Southland athletic directors, USC’s Mike McGee and UCLA’s Peter Dalis, will have their own weekly KMPC radio show on Monday nights, 7 to 8, beginning on Aug. 31. A host has yet to be named. . . . On Irv Kaze’s show on KIEV tonight at 7, Texas A&M; Athletic Director John David Crow and Channel 4 movie critic David Sheehan will rate sports movies. . . . Reader Bob Seaman sent a fax complaining that KMPC, unlike other talk stations, does not have an 800 number. . . . For KMPC’s afternoon “McDonnell Douglas Show,” an 800 number wouldn’t do much good. Joe McDonnell and Krikorian rarely take calls anyway. They seem to prefer listening to themselves talk. Don’t they realize the callers are supposed to be the stars of talk radio, not the hosts?