Viewers Pick, Hearn-Lantz Team Rolls

Something new in this space this week is the inclusion of cable ratings in the “What Los Angeles Is Watching” box.

Cable ratings may seem pretty minuscule, even keeping in mind that only 63% of L.A.’s television households are wired for cable.

But that doesn’t fully explain the disparity for the Lakers’ series-clinching victory over Seattle on Tuesday night. Channel 9 got a 16.1 rating with a 22 share, compared to 3.5/5 for TNT. That’s about 2.4 million viewers for Channel 9, 525,000 for TNT.

The Utah-San Antonio game on TNT that preceded the Laker game had a 4.0 rating, so L.A. viewers made a conscious effort to switch.

This tells us that L.A. must love Chick Hearn and Stu Lantz--well, that at least a good portion does.

Sure, Hearn has his critics. But they are mostly out-of-towners or newcomers to L.A. who can’t look past his occasional slip-ups to understand what this beloved legend is all about.

Bill Walton, working the Laker-Utah Jazz series for NBC, understands.

“I love listening to Chick and Stu,” he said. “I love their banter. They make me laugh, they entertain me, they inform me.

“I grew up listening to Chick, and he is the one who made me fall in love with the game of basketball.

“And Stu and I go back to the days when he was playing with the San Diego Rockets and I was a 15-year-old at Helix High and I had to get the key to the gym so Stu and some of his teammates could come over and practice.

“I used to play against Stu. People forget that he was a great player, the best ever out of Nebraska.

“And I’ve told the Clippers’ Eric Piatkowski that too.

“Stu Lantz is a very smart man who knows basketball and can communicate that knowledge, and he is also a quality individual, a community leader.”

A little-known fact about Lantz is that he still lives in San Diego and commutes to games at the Great Western Forum.

“My wife and I just love the area,” Lantz said, “and I really don’t mind the hour-and-a-half commute. There are people who live near L.A. who commute an hour and a half.”

The thing that has made Lantz a quality broadcaster is that he is way past just saying, “That’s right, Chick.”

When Hearn messes up, Lantz doesn’t hesitate to correct him.

If Hearn has trouble seeing something, Lantz is there to tell him what happened.

Sometimes you sense the tension between the two. But that’s all part of the fun.

“If there is tension, it only lasts for a second,” Lantz said.

“Chick has never said anything to me after a telecast. Our friendship is too deep for any of that.”

On Saturday, the NBC crew of Tom Hammond, Steve Jones and Walton will call the action on TV. But there’s always the Chick-’N-Stu Show on KLAC, and Hearn and Lantz will be back on Channel 9 for Game 2 on Monday and on Fox Sports West for Game 3 on Friday. We can’t wait.

A TROJAN GETS NOTRE DAME JOB

Look for NBC to announce next week that Pat Haden is the network’s new permanent commentator on Notre Dame football. The former Trojan will be paired with Dick Enberg. Haden will have to wait a year to do a Notre Dame-USC game since the Irish play here this season. NBC only does the home games. This season, NBC opens with Michigan at Notre Dame on Sept. 5.

20,000, BUT WHO’S COUNTING?

ESPN will air what it claims is the 20,000th edition of “SportsCenter” Sunday at 8 p.m. with longtime anchors Chris Berman, Bob Ley and Dan Patrick serving as hosts. But is it really a big deal?

“I didn’t realize anyone was keeping count,” Patrick said during a conference call with reporters this week. “I think someone in our public-relations department came up with this.”

He’s exactly right. It’s one of those contrived number things public-relations people are paid to promote.

In defense, ESPN publicist Rob Tobias said, “With our competitors [mainly Fox Sports News and CNN-SI] making a lot of noise to get noticed, we just want to let people know that ‘SportsCenter’ continues to be the most complete, analytical, accurate and entertaining presentation of the day’s sports news.”

WAS WRIGHT WRONGED?

Ben Wright, the deposed golf commentator, has told Sports Illustrated that CBS told him to deny the remarks he made about lesbianism in women’s golf during the 1995 LPGA Championship.

“I was so bloody stupid; stupid, naive and weak. A day doesn’t go by that I don’t regret how I reacted,” Wright is quoted as saying in Sports Illustrated’s May 18 “Golf Plus” edition. “I should have come out and said, ‘Hey, I said all these dumb things, and they were wrong.’ ”

CBS spokeswoman Leslie Anne Wade said, “It’s unfortunate that Ben Wright’s version of the truth is as distorted today as it was in 1995.”

SHORT WAVES

ABC will use jockey Chris McCarron on its Preakness coverage Saturday. . . . Channel 9 executive producer Susan Stratton takes time off from the Lakers to produce Saturday night’s Forum-promoted Marco Antonio Barrera-Geronimo Cardoz fight at Las Vegas. . . . The Charlotte Hornets’ Anthony Mason had agreed to appear on ESPN’s “Up Close” on Monday until host Chris Myers told him he would have to at least mention the rape charge Mason faces because of an alleged incident in New York around the All-Star game. Mason walked off 10 minutes before Myers was to do a live satellite interview.

What Los Angeles Is Watching

A sampling of L.A. Nielsen ratings for May 8-9, including cable :

SATURDAY

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Event Channel Rating Share NBA: Jazz-Spurs 4 7.1 23 NBA: Pacers-Knicks 4 6.3 20 MLB: Dodgers-Marlins 5 3.4 8 Gymnastics 2 2.7 8 Golf: PGA BellSouth 2 2.4 8 Boxing HBO 1.9 4 Bowling 2 1.4 5 NHL: Oilers-Stars ESPN 1.3 3 Boxing 34 0.9 2 NHL: Senators-Capitals ESPN 0.6 2 MLB: Tigers-Angels FSW 0.7 1 College Bowling ESPN2 0.6 1 Tennis: German Open ESPN 0.7 1 Gymnastics 7 0.7 2 NASCAR Busch Series TNN 0.4 1 Soccer: MLS 34 0.3 1 NASCAR Trucks TBS 0.2 1 Golf: Senior PGA ESPN 0.2 1 Illinois Derby 7 0.2 1 2Day at Races ESPN2 0.2 1 Ironman Australia ESPN 0.2 1 MLB: Padres-Braves TBS 0.2 0

*--*

SUNDAY

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Event Channel Rating Share NBA: SuperSonics-Lakers 4 14.0 38 NBA: Bulls-Hornets 4 9.3 25 NBA: Pacers-Knicks 4 8.8 25 Golf: PGA BellSouth 2 3.0 8 NBA: Jazz-Spurs TNT 2.9 9 Gymnastics 2 2.9 8 Will Rogers ‘Cap 2 2.3 6 MLB: Dodgers-Marlins 5 2.0 6 Soccer: Mexican league 34 2.0 6 CART Rio 400 7 1.2 3 Indy 500 practice 7 1.1 3 NHL: Blues-Red Wings 11 0.9 3 Soccer: MLS 34 0.5 1 Tennis: German Open ESPN 0.5 1 MLB: Padres-Braves TBS 0.4 1 MLB: Indians-Rangers ESPN 0.3 1 Soccer: U.S. Women-Iceland ESPN2 0.3 1 Golf: Senior PGA ESPN 0.2 1 NFL Europe FSW 0.1 1 Indy 500 practice 7 0.1 1

*--*

WEEKDAY RATINGS: Lakers-Seattle, Tuesday: Ch. 9, 16.1/22, TNT 3.5/5.

Note: Each full rating point represents 50,092 L.A. households. Cable ratings reflect the entire market (cable in 63% of L.A. households).