ABC Won’t Be Camera-Shy at Belmont

Whether or not Charismatic wins the Triple Crown in the Belmont Stakes on Saturday, ABC will be prepared. It is giving the race Super Bowl-type coverage and will have 37 cameras at the track.

“We may not use all 37, but we’ll have them at our disposal,” director Craig Janoff said from Belmont on Thursday.

Two cameras will be isolated on Charismatic as he tries to become the 12th Triple Crown winner, one will focus on jockey Chris Antley’s family in the stands, and another, called a gyrocam, will be attached to a moving car on the inside of the track.

ABC planned to use the gyrocam at the Kentucky Derby, but Churchill Downs officials resisted because the camera had never been used before.

“We experimented with it today and everything looks good,” Janoff said. “It should provide us with some interesting shots.”

It most likely will be used only for replays, but Janoff said it might be used briefly during live coverage as the horses come down the backstretch.

ABC will also delve deeper into the fascinating story of Antley. The network this week sent a crew to his hometown, Elloree, S.C.

FATHER-SON TEAM

The producer of ABC’s Triple Crown coverage for years has been Curt Gowdy Jr., the son of the legendary sportscaster.

Another father-son team makes its network debut on Saturday. Al Michaels, besides serving as the host of the live Belmont coverage, is also the host of a taped, two-hour “SportsCentury” special, “Greatest Games of the Century,” which follows the Belmont at 3 p.m.

The “Greatest Games” show was produced by Steve Michaels, Al’s 27-year-old son and a USC graduate.

“Steve spent a year and a half traveling the country doing interviews and all I did was come in and do the narration,” Al Michaels said.

GOOD GUYS

Two of the really good guys in local broadcasting are leaving us, although one figures to resurface soon.

KNX’s Fred Gallagher, 62, of Santa Clarita, retired Monday, and Ed Arnold, 59, of Fountain Valley was told by Channel 5 that his contract will not be renewed.

Arnold and the station had an amicable split--you wouldn’t expect anything else from the classy Arnold--and he will continue to work until the end of June.

Gallagher, a Syracuse graduate whose father, Roger, was a prominent New York radio personality who later worked at KNX, came to Los Angeles in 1967 as an announcer on “Tom Harmon Sports” on ABC radio after stints in Barstow and Monterey. For 11 seasons, beginning in 1980, he was Tom Kelly’s sidekick on USC football.

Arnold, who has worked in L.A. television since 1969, is known for his charity work. In 1975, he was named one of California’s Five Most Outstanding Young Men. He helped start the California Special Olympics, is involved with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the Multiple Sclerosis Society and the March of Dimes, and serves on the Salvation Army and Goodwill Industries advisory boards. He’s a member of the Crystal Cathedral and for 30 years has been the volunteer announcer for Rev. Robert Schuller’s “Hour of Power.” From 1975-85, he was a volunteer announcer for Channel 28, and on the Fourth of July he will again host the Huntington Beach Parade and donate his fee to charity.

Channel 5 news director Jeff Wald agreed Arnold is a great guy, but said the station simply decided to go in a different direction. But will a new weekend sportscaster, replacing a known and popular one, make a dent in the ratings? It doesn’t seem likely.

SHORT WAVES

The rest of the NBA playoffs are on NBC, including tonight’s San Antonio-Portland game, which means we won’t have to endure any more of TNT’s bad camera work. TNT missed the first of Patrick Ewing’s two free throws in the final minute Tuesday night, and then showed us a shot of Reggie Miller’s wife rather than the Knicks’ all-important inbounds pass with two seconds left. . . . It’s a big weekend for NBC, which besides the NBA, has French Open tennis and the U.S. Women’s Open golf tournament. Mainly because of Andre Agassi, NBC got some great French Open ratings last weekend, particularly in Los Angeles. The L.A. number for Sunday was an amazing 5.4, and the national overnight was a 2.5.

Fox, beginning its baseball coverage, has the Angels and Dodgers Saturday at 1 p.m., and Channel 11’s “Fox Extra Innings” will be on after the game with Rick Garcia, the Dodgers’ Eric Young and the Angels’ Todd Greene. . . . Fox’s “In the Zone” pregame show with Steve Lyons makes its seasonal debut at 12:30. Mike Piazza and Ken Griffey Jr. will have segments each week. . . . On the heels of Oscar De La Hoya’s victory over Oba Carr, HBO offers another top boxing attraction Saturday at 6:30 p.m.--Roy Jones Jr. vs. Reggie Johnson in a light-heavyweight unification title bout from Biloxi, Miss. . . . Fox Sports West will televise three Sparks games this season, beginning July 11, with Chick Hearn and Ann Meyers Drysdale announcing. . . . HBO’s “Arli$$” begins its fourth season Sunday at 9:30 p.m. The show includes a guest appearance by Sammy Sosa.

IN CLOSING

Ahmad Rashad’s lack of interviewing skills came to the forefront on NBC Monday when he had time for several questions but didn’t ask San Antonio’s Sean Elliott about his incredible, game-winning shot against Portland. . . . Rashad should take some lessons from Vin Scully, who is more than just the best play-by-play announcer in the business. His interview with Atlanta pitchers Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine on the Dodger pregame show Sunday was excellent. And when Maddux homered during the game, the sometimes hip Scully, borrowing a line from a Nike commercial, said, “Chicks love the long ball.”

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What Los Angeles Is Watching

A sampling of L.A. Nielsen ratings for May 29-30, including sports on cable networks:

SATURDAY

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Over-the-air Channel Rating Share NBA playoffs: Portland at San Antonio 4 7.5 21 Tennis: French Open 4 4.0 12 Baseball: Dodgers at Atlanta 5 3.4 9 Auto racing: CART Motorola 300 7 2.5 7 Golf: Kemper Open 2 1.7 5 Bowling: PBA Oregon Open 2 0.9 3

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Cable Network Rating Share Boxing: Felix Trinidad vs. Hugo Pineda HBO 2.6 5 Baseball: Kansas City at Angels FSW 1.0 2 Auto racing: NASCAR Busch Grand National TBS 0.9 3 Golf: Senior Boone Valley Classic ESPN 0.6 2 Prep track: Masters Meet at Cerritos FSW2 0.6 2 Volleyball: ATP New Orleans Open FSW 0.5 1 NHL playoffs: Toronto at Buffalo ESPN 0.4 1 College lacrosse: Syracuse vs. Georgetown ESPN2 0.4 1 Baseball: Dodgers at Atlanta TBS 0.4 1 Arena football: Houston at Arizona ESPN 0.3 1 College lacrosse: Virginia vs. John Hopkins ESPN2 0.2 0 Horse racing: The Californian FSW2 0.2 0 Baseball: New York Yankees at Toronto FX 0.1 0 NFL Europe: Barcelona at Amsterdam FSW 0.1 0 Soccer: MLS, Galaxy at Columbus FSW2 0.1 0

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SUNDAY

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Over-the-air Channel Rating Share NBA playoffs: New York at Indiana 4 8.5 23 Auto racing: Indianapolis 500 7 5.9 17 Tennis: French Open 4 5.4 15 Baseball: Dodgers at Atlanta 5 4.5 13 Golf: PGA Kemper Open 2 2.2 6 Track and field: Nike Prefontaine Classic 2 1.9 5 Horse racing: Los Angeles Handicap 2 1.2 3 NHL playoffs: Colorado at Dallas 11 1.0 3

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Cable Network Rating Share Auto racing: NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 TBS 1.7 4 Baseball: St. Louis at Chicago Cubs ESPN 1.1 3 Baseball: Dodgers at Atlanta TBS 0.4 1 Golf: Senior Boone Valley Classic ESPN 0.4 1 Auto racing: Formula One Spanish Grand Prix FSW 0.2 1 Horse racing: Hollywood Park Today FSW2 0.2 1 Softball: UCLA vs. DePaul ESPN2 0.1 0 Softball: Washington vs. California ESPN2 0.1 0 Track and field: Pacific 10 championships FSW 0.1 0

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WEEKDAY RATINGS: Monday--NBA playoffs, Portland at San Antonio, Ch. 4, 7.9/19; baseball, Dodgers at Pittsburgh, Ch. 5, 3.8/10; tennis, French Open, USA, 1.2/5; NHL playoffs, Buffalo at Toronto, ESPN, 1.0/2; softball, NCAA championship game, UCLA vs. Washington, ESPN2, 0.4/1.

Note: Each rating point represents 51,350 L.A. households. Cable ratings reflect the entire market, even though cable is in only 63% of L.A. households.