ESPN Puts More Cameras on Nomo

When Joe Theismann was playing football at Notre Dame, the school changed the pronunciation of his last name so Theismann would rhyme with Heisman.

Well, no one is planning to change the pronunciation of Hideo Nomo’s first name--Hih-DAY-oh--so it would rhyme with video. But as soon as there’s a video on Nomo, the temptation will be there. We can see it now, the Hideo video.

In the meantime, television can’t get enough of this Dodger rookie pitching sensation from Japan, and it may be a long time before anyone says, “No more Nomo.”

ESPN gets into the act today, taking an in-depth look at Nomo and the impact he has had in Los Angeles and Japan as one of three parts of a Roy Firestone special at 4:30 p.m., which is prime time in the East.

“I think what is really important about this story is that Nomo has given Asian Americans in Los Angeles and throughout the country a sports hero to identify with,” Firestone said. “They’ve never really had one before.”

Coincidentally, Firestone’s wife, Midori, was born in Kobe, Japan, Nomo’s home town.

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Another segment in Firestone’s one-hour special today deals with Dallas Cowboy quarterback Troy Aikman and his involvement with victims of the Oklahoma City bombing.

Aikman’s sister, Tammy, works at the hospital in Oklahoma City where many of the injured were taken.

The other segment is on golfer Greg Norman.

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Nomo will start Saturday against the Florida Marlins, and that game will be televised on Channel 7 at 8 p.m., as the lame-duck Baseball Network makes its regular-season debut.

The Baseball Network is televising all 14 games regionally that day, Los Angeles getting the Dodgers.

ABC has the first six prime-time, regular-season telecasts, and will show them either on a Saturday or a Monday. NBC gets the next six, showing them all on Friday nights.

Saturday’s game begins at 8 p.m. because that is the time block set up by the Baseball Network.

The announcers will be Joel Meyers and Tommy Hutton.

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Sports is in need of more uplifting stories, and ABC offers some on “Wide World of Sports” Saturday with coverage of the recent Special Olympics World Games at New Haven, Conn.

One particularly heartwarming feature deals with a real-life Forrest Gump.

He is Art Pease, 26, of Milton-Freewater, Ore. Pease, abused until he was 6, was introduced to sports by his adoptive parents, Virginia and Charlie Pease.

In 1990, Pease was entered in a 5-kilometer run in Portland but somehow ended up in the Portland Marathon, which was being run at the same time. He finished in a little more than four hours and has since run in eight marathons, including the Boston Marathon.

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Although she won’t become a regular on “Wide World of Sports” until January, Robin Roberts will serve as host of Saturday’s show.

Roberts recently signed a six-year, $3.9-million contract to work for both ESPN and ABC. That’s $650,000 a year, which isn’t bad for someone who joined ESPN only five years ago.

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Channel 4 has found a replacement for Brett Lewis, the station’s No. 2 sportscaster whose contract was not renewed.

Lewis’ replacement will be Carlos Del Valle, who will come to KNBC from KING-TV, the NBC station in Seattle. He will start in mid-August.

Bill Lord, KNBC news director, came to Channel 4 in April from Seattle’s KIRO and is familiar with Del Valle’s work.

Lewis says he hasn’t found another job yet, but he has been hired by Hollywood Park to work telecasts of the Bel-Air Handicap this Sunday and the Swaps Stakes the next Sunday.

The one-hour telecasts will be carried by Channel 9 at 4 p.m. both Sundays. Lewis will serve as a roving reporter. Trevor Denman, besides calling the races, will also serve as an analyst, and the host will be Gary Cruz.

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Glen Walker, one of the original anchors when Prime Sports, then Prime Ticket, started “Press Box” in 1990, is leaving Prime to become the No. 2 sportscaster at WNBC in New York. His last day on “Press Box” will be Aug. 19.

Also, Prime Sports has announced that Pat McClenahan, the regional sports network’s vice president of programming, has been promoted to assistant general manager, behind Kitty Cohen, effective immediately.

TV-Radio Notes

Recommended viewing: “Voices of the Game II,” a 90-minute show featuring legendary baseball broadcasters, will be shown on ESPN Sunday at 2:30 p.m. It is a sequel to “Voices of the Game,” which was on ESPN April 6. The shows are based on the book by Curt Smith, who co-produced and co-wrote the television show with Pat Smith, nephew of legendary sportswriter Red Smith. Curt Smith has a new book about baseball announcers on the market entitled “Storytellers,” published by Macmillan.

Boxing beat: The Forum card Saturday night featuring Humberto (Chiquita) Gonzalez against Saman Sorjaturong of Thailand is a TVKO pay-per-view event. The televised undercard starts at 6 p.m., and the recommended price is $29.95. . . . Last Saturday’s Forum-promoted boxing show on Channel 9 from Caesars Palace was wacky, but it got ratings that peaked at 8.2. The show featured Jorge Paez entering the ring in a wedding gown, headdress and veil, and then his disqualification for hitting his opponent while he was on his knees.

The fourth Jim Thorpe Pro Sports Award Show on ABC got a 3.8 rating, respectable for a Saturday night. A good addition this year was Crystal Bernard of NBC’s “Wings,” who joined Mark Curry as co-host. . . . XTRA has a golf show, “Southern California Talkin’ Golf” with Joe Buttitta on Sundays, 10-11 a.m., and beginning Wednesday, KMAX-FM (107.1) will have its own golf show. “Golfers’ Guide on the Air,” with Dave Mills, publisher of the Golfers’ Guide, will be shown Wednesdays, 7-9 p.m. Mills’ first guest will be Jim Ritts, the new commissioner of the LPGA.