Parcells Reunion Bash in TNT Package

TNT is on a hot streak. Last Sunday, it had the Arizona Cardinals’ stunning overtime victory over the Dallas Cowboys, and this Sunday it has the New York Jets at the New England Patriots, featuring Bill Parcells and all kinds of story lines.

TNT will have cameras trained on Parcells from the minute he walks out of the tunnel until he leaves the field at the end of the game.

Besides Parcells’ exodus from the Patriots to the Jets shortly after the Patriots’ Super Bowl appearance last January, another subplot is that Patriot Coach Pete

Carroll used to coach the Jets. There is also Patriot quarterback Drew Bledsoe and his dislike of Parcells.

It all adds up to what might be one of the most hyped confrontations in sports since Tonya Harding vs. Nancy Kerrigan.

“The teams should settle in after the first five minutes, and then it becomes just another game, hopefully a good one,” TNT’s Pat Haden said.

TNT couldn’t ask for a much better game than it got last Sunday. The Cardinals and Cowboys averaged a 9.8 rating, TNT’s fifth-highest of all time.

CBS KICKS OFF NEW SHOW

CBS begins its college football coverage Saturday and unveils its new half-hour pregame show at noon, featuring newcomer Lou Holtz with host Jim Nantz and analyst Craig James.

Look for Holtz, with his wry humor and ample opinions, to become a star.

“You look around you in this business and you see people with good looks and charm. As for me, I’ve got a lisp,” the former Norte Dame coach said. “Fortunately, nobody has asked me to be anybody but myself.”

Holtz said he might someday return to coaching, but for now he is committed to CBS.

Besides, he currently has more important things to think about than his career. His wife, Beth, has throat cancer and is undergoing radiation treatment after surgery.

“She’s doing OK,” he said. “When I took the studio job in New York, she was looking forward to making the trips with me and taking in plays and enjoying the city. But we’ll have to put that on hold.”

Terry Donahue begins his second season with CBS with a new partner, Sean McDonough.

“I’m going to miss Jim Nantz--he’s a good friend and a terrific talent--but Sean and I did the Army-Navy game together last year and I’m looking forward to working with him,” Donahue said. “And our first game should be a good one.”

It’s Arizona State at Miami at 12:30.

Meanwhile, ABC counters with UCLA at Texas, with Brad Nessler and Gary Danielson announcing.

Saturday’s Washington State-USC game will be on Fox Sports West at 3:30 with Barry Tompkins and Tom Ramsey. Ramsey, who replaced former Cowboy quarterback Danny White on this Pacific 10 Conference package, did a fine job with Tompkins on the recent Thursday night Oregon-Arizona game.

ABC has Colorado at Michigan at 9 a.m. Saturday, and a sidebar here is that commentator Bob Griese’s son Brian will start at quarterback for the Wolverines.

IT’S A SMALL WORLD

Channel 5 is carrying the Dodgers from Houston throughout the weekend, and Fox offers the Angels’ game against Kansas City on Saturday at 1 p.m., with Thom Brennaman and Steve Lyons announcing. Michael Weisman, the Fox producer, will meet Bill Robertson, the Angels’ director of communications, face to face for the first time since 1974.

Weisman was surprised to learn in a phone conversation with Robertson about their first meeting. Weisman was a 24-year-old production assistant for NBC and Robertson was a 12-year-old fan attending a Minnesota Twin game in Bloomington, Minn. Robertson got Weisman to give him an NBC banner.

Robertson learned of Weisman’s name after seeing his picture in a newspaper in 1976, when Weisman became the youngest network producer of a World Series. Weisman went on to become the executive producer of NBC Sports and win 15 Emmys. Weisman, besides working for Fox, is also the president of NMT Productions. Robertson has always been a fan, and the NBC banner still hangs in his parents’ home in Bloomington.

“I’m going to give him a Fox banner when I see him,” Weisman said.

SUCCESSFUL DEBUT

The new “Los Angeles Times High School Sports Show” made its debut on Channel 2 last Sunday at 5 p.m. and got an impressive 2.4 rating.

The show, which gives high school sports quality exposure, was created by Ross Productions of Philadelphia. The company has started similar shows in a number of other major markets. Ross hired F & L Productions of Santa Monica to produce the weekly shows, and Times sports writer Thomas Bonk is the host.

The first show last weekend was filled with a lot of well-produced features. Future shows will concentrate on game highlights.

SHORT WAVES

Acting Commissioner Bud Selig will appear on the pregame segment of Fox’s baseball coverage Saturday. He will talk realignment with Chip Caray and Lyons. . . . ABC announced it will abandon “Wide World of Sports” in its traditional format next year and use “Wide World” as an umbrella for weekend sports programming. “It will be the same programming, just in an expanded format,” said Steve Anderson, ABC Sports’ executive producer. . . . Fans of ESPN’s “Up Close” can catch Chris Myers making the first of several periodic appearances at Champions at the LAX Marriott on Monday night. Bubba Smith also will be on hand. . . . Channel 7’s Rick Lozano has been added to the usual TVKO crew that will work the pay-per-view telecast of the Oscar De La Hoya-Hector Camacho fight Saturday night. Lozano will serve as a reporter.

“Sports Illustrated for Kids” makes its debut on CBS Saturday at 11 a.m. . . . “NFL Films Presents” is one of the best sports shows on television, yet Channel 11 chooses to show it on Sundays at 7:30 a.m. The main topic of Sunday’s edition is the amount of power a coach should have, with guests John McLaughlin and Pat Buchanan leading a spirited debate. Parcells is at the center of the debate.

Oops Dept.: The second half of the Hawaii-Cal State Northridge game on Fox Sports West 2 last Saturday night got preempted on TCI East Valley’s Channel 40. But there weren’t many complaints. The cable company automatically switched to the Adam & Eve adult network. “We’re going to ask that they waive their automatic switcher,” Fox Sports West spokesman Steve Webster said.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

What Los Angeles Is Watching

A sampling of L.A. Nielsen ratings for sports programs Sept. 6-8.

SATURDAY

*--*

Event Ch. Rating Share College football: Florida State at USC 7 10.4 21 College football: Tennessee at UCLA 7 6.8 16 Baseball: Florida at Dodgers 2 4.9 12 College football: Georgia at Notre Dame 4 4.7 11 Tennis: U.S. Open (afternoon session) 2 4.5 11 Tennis: U.S. Open (morning session) 2 3.9 8

*--*

SUNDAY

*--*

Event Ch. Rating Share Pro football: San Francisco at St. Louis 11 13.7 32 Pro football: Green Bay at Philadelphia 11 11.7 25 Tennis: U.S. Open 2 6.8 15 Pro football: Denver at Seattle 4 5.3 11 Gymnastics: World Championships (women) 7 4.5 8 Gymnastics: World Championships (men, team) 7 2.6 6 Soccer: World Cup qualifying, Costa Rica-U.S. 7 2.3 5 Soccer: MLS, Tampa Bay at Galaxy 34 2.3 5

*--*

MONDAY

*--*

Event Ch. Rating Share Pro football: Kansas City at Oakland 7 18.0 29

*--*

Note: Each rating point represents 49,424 L.A. households.