TV-RADIO / LARRY STEWART : Magic Still Needs a Couple of Assists in His NBC Work

At last year’s NBA All-Star game at Orlando, Fla., all the talk was about MVP Magic Johnson, who scored 25 points and made three three-pointers, including a 25-footer on the final shot of the game, in the West’s 153-113 romp.

At Sunday’s game at Salt Lake City, Johnson will be one of the talkers.

Johnson and Mike Fratello will be NBC’s game commentators, with Dick Enberg handling the play-by-play. Marv Albert gets the weekend off.

Originally, Enberg and Albert were supposed to alternate between the All-Star game and the NBA finals, but because Enberg has the French Open tennis tournament in the spring, he gets the All-Star game, Albert the finals.

NBC’s coverage on Sunday begins at 3 p.m. with “NBA Showtime.” The game isn’t scheduled to begin until about 3:30 p.m.

Last year’s All-Star game got a 12.8 national Nielsen rating, the fourth-highest ever, and attracted a record 35 million viewers.

Johnson’s presence no doubt contributed. Because he will be wearing a headset this year instead of a uniform, the rating probably won’t be as high.

But NBC and the NBA are hoping the later start--much of the game will be during prime time in the East--will boost ratings.

Add Johnson: He was talking the other day about working to improve his broadcasting skills and was asked to evaluate himself.

“I’ll leave that up to guys like you,” he said.

OK.

What Johnson has going for him, besides his marquee value, are knowledge of the game and his personality.

But if he is serious about this gig--and he says he is--he needs to practice, practice, practice.

And he could use some outside help with his diction and grammar. Too often he uses the wrong verb--”they has,” “he know,” or some such.

But Johnson has fewer speech problems than Bill Walton once had. And look how far Walton, who got some outside help, has come. It can be done, but it’s not easy.

TNT will cover much of what goes with the All-Star game, beginning with “All-Star Friday” tonight at 7. The one-hour special will offer interviews and features.

“All-Star Saturday,” from 4 to 7 p.m., will provide coverage of the slam-dunk competition, the three-point shoot-out, and the legends game.

Free agent Craig Hodges will be shooting for his fourth consecutive shoot-out championship.

Phoenix’s Cedric Ceballos won last year’s dunk contest while wearing a blindfold, and Boston’s Dee Brown won in 1991.

“It’s really a great opportunity for younger players with great athletic ability to make a name for themselves,” said Hubie Brown, who is among those working the TNT shows.

Clipper analysis: Brown, one of basketball’s most astute observers, has been keeping an eye on the Clippers.

He has already worked three Clipper telecasts, filling in for Walton, and will work three more--Feb. 28 against the Lakers at the Forum, March 7 at Orlando, and April 18 at Denver.

Brown’s tie to the Clippers is Channel 13 producer Dave Goetz. Goetz did Philadelphia 76er telecasts when Brown was the commentator.

Brown also worked last Sunday’s Clipper game at Portland for TNT, and liked what he saw.

“They played almost a perfect game on the road to beat a playoff contender,” he said. “They won because of the inside play of Stanley Roberts, and a strong second half by Danny Manning. Ron Harper and Mark Jackson also had excellent games.

“I’ll tell you, if everyone is healthy, this team could be dangerous in the playoffs. I wouldn’t want to play them in the first round.

“But they need to be healthy. They need Ken Norman. Without him, no one is filling the third lane on the fast break. That’s very noticeable to me.”

Brown is particularly impressed by the play of Roberts.

“He’s got great hands, and his week-to-week improvement is phenomenal,” he said. “And I’m not one to go overboard in making statements.”

At the other end of the spectrum is XTRA’s Jim Rome, who appeared as a guest of Roy Firestone on “Up Close” on Wednesday night.

Rome, who calls the Clippers “the fat farm,” was talking about Coach Larry Brown.

“Seven roster changes and the addition of two fat guys--what does he have to work with?” Rome asked.

With Hubie Brown working for TNT last Sunday, Walton’s fill-in on Channel 13 was former Laker commentator Keith Erickson, who did a nice job.

This was one time he had a chance to say more than: “That’s right, Chick.”

On the radio side, Clipper public relations director Mike Williams tried his hand at commentating, working with Rich Marotta, and he also did a nice job, particularly when you consider his lack of experience.

Boxing beat: A multi-fight pay-per-view card usually means the lack of a major single attraction.

And despite all the hype, that’s pretty much the case with Saturday night’s four-bout show from Mexico City, although Julio Cesar Chavez alone is a big draw.

So is Terry Norris.

The problem is, they are not fighting one another. Chavez battles Greg Haugen in a lightweight title fight, and Norris takes on Maurice Blocker in a welterweight title fight.

In the night’s first fight, scheduled to begin shortly after 6 p.m., Michael Nunn faces Danny Morgan. Next up is Azumah Nelson vs. Gabe Ruelas, then comes the Norris fight and, finally, the Chavez fight.

The suggested retail price is $24.95, although some cable systems are charging more now, and some are raising the price to at least $29.95 on Saturday.

TV-Radio Notes

KMPC will have its boxing expert, Johnny Ortiz, in studio tonight from 6 to 7 to discuss the Saturday fight card. . . . KMPC is considering starting a regular boxing show, with Ortiz and Doug Krikorian. . . . KMPC has hired Jeff Biggs of KWNK to serve as its Angel reporter, much in the same manner Larry Kahn reports on the Dodgers. . . . Let’s hope that all the ridiculous, juvenile badgering Kahn has been taking from Joe McDonnell and Krikorian, and the subsequent sideshows, are a thing of the past. “It got a little wacky,” admitted program director Len Weiner.

That’s talk radio: Down at XTRA last week, Steve Hartman proposed to his girlfriend on the air. . . . Good news for Roy Firestone: A year ago, he was sued by his former partner, George Wallach, who claimed Firestone had stolen the concept for “Up Close” from the show they did together, “SportsLook.” Firestone won the case on Thursday.

A KMPC listener faxed in a great suggestion this week--that Brian Golden and Paola Boivin should end their midday show with an air-raid siren to warn listeners that McDonnell and Krikorian are coming up. Listeners are now duly warned. . . . XTRA has been broadcasting from the Buick Invitational of California golf tournament at Torrey Pines, and next week, Wednesday through Friday, KMPC will be at Riviera for the L.A. Open. . . . The first two rounds of the L.A. Open will be on the USA network, with CBS carrying the weekend rounds. . . . John Hernandez’s one-hour “Thoroughbred Weekend” show on XTRA, which he does from Santa Anita, moves this weekend, from 7 to 8 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.

If you missed “Fallen Champ: the Untold Story of Mike Tyson” on NBC last Friday, it will be repeated on the USA network next Thursday at 9 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 28, at 3 p.m. . . . KMPC said this week that it will carry 15 games during the NCAA basketball tournament, beginning with the second round. The station will also carry the selection show on March 14.

Gabe Ruelas’ brother, Rafael, will fight Robert Cazprez Rivera at the Country Club in Reseda next Tuesday and that fight will be carried, delayed, at 9 p.m. by the USA network. . . . Prime Ticket President Roger Werner, along with jockey Kent Desormeaux, will be on Irv Kaze’s show on KIEV tonight at 7. . . . The Hershey Kisses Pro-Am Figure Skating Championships, featuring Brian Boitano and Nancy Kerrigan and scheduled for April 6-7 at the Sports Arena, will be taped and shown the following weekend on ABC’s “Wide World of Sports.”