HBO Should Have Run Audible

Newspapers across the country Thursday ran a wire-service photo showing a solemn Brian Billick in training camp Wednesday telling his Baltimore Raven players about the death of Minnesota Viking lineman Korey Stringer.

It was a far different Billick seen late Wednesday night on the debut of HBO’s six-episode reality series, “Hard Knocks.” Billick was shown vacationing with his family in northern Minnesota, kidding with his players and using colorful language, the kind HBO seems to love to broadcast because it can.

“Hard Knocks” put HBO between a rock and a hard place.

What to do? After an NFL training-camp tragedy in the morning, was NFL training-camp frivolity appropriate for that night? Apparently so.

“It was already in the can,” co-executive producer Rick Bernstein said. “It was too late to do anything with the show.”

Talk about bad timing. Unfortunate, too. The show was informative and good for a few laughs. Tony Siragusa, who would fit right in on “The Sopranos,” was a scream. It was just the wrong day for such a show.

What Bust?

A lot of people seem to think Monday’s Battle at Bighorn was a ratings bust. It got a 6.1 nationally and a 7.1 in Los Angeles, and those are good numbers. It’s just that they were below what ABC was expecting.

Even though it was bad golf, it was entertaining golf. How often do you see a right-handed player hit left-handed? You got to see Tiger Woods and Annika Sorenstam do it Monday night.

ABC Vice President Mark Mandel said the field for next year’s event won’t be determined until a few months beforehand.

“All we know is that Tiger will be there,” Mandel said.

Woods is committed to a summer golf special on ABC for the next five years.

They’re Everywhere

The Dodgers and Chicago Cubs will be on Fox Sports Net 2 tonight, the Fox network Saturday and ESPN2 Sunday.

The Fox announcers Saturday will be Joe Buck and Steve Lyons. Buck is usually paired with Tim McCarver, but he gets Lyons this weekend. Should make for a few laughs.

On the ESPN2 telecast Sunday at 5 p.m., Orel Hershiser will work with Brent Musburger.

Also, Fox has picked up the Dodger game at Philadelphia Aug. 11 as a game of the week.

Racing Beat

It’s a big weekend for Bob Baffert. The trainer’s top 3-year-olds, Point Given and Congaree, will be the main attractions on ESPN’s “Road to the World Thoroughbred Championships.”

On Saturday, Congaree is in the Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga on ESPN at 2 p.m., and Sunday, Point Given will run in the Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park on ESPN2 at 3 p.m. Gary Stevens rides both horses.

Short Waves

Fox Sports Net is close to hiring Warren Moon as a college football analyst. He would work with Barry Tompkins and sideline reporter John Jackson on the network’s Pacific 10 Conference syndicated package, replacing Doug Plank. . . . According to a source, Fox Sports Net has agreed to let Chris Myers serve as the host of the USA network’s U.S. Open tennis coverage, beginning Aug. 27.

Rare encounter: A special edition of “Southern California Sports Tonight” brings Bob Toledo and Pete Carroll together tonight at 6:30 on Fox Sports Net. They’ll join co-hosts Tom Ramsey and Todd Donoho. . . . Gary Sheffield, who normally shies away from sports-talk radio, went on with Joe McDonnell and Doug Krikorian on KSPN (1110) this week. About remaining a Dodger, he said: “I got a ring, I got the big contract, I got basically everything I wanted from this game. Now I want stability to know this is where I’m going to be.”

CBS announced this week it has acquired the rights to the Pac-10 basketball tournament championship game, to be held March 9 at Staples Center. . . . Major League Soccer has been a television bust and may be dropped by ESPN, but international soccer in Los Angeles is a big hit. Colombia’s 1-0 victory over Mexico in Sunday’s Copa America final on Univision’s Channel 34 got a 6.1 rating, by far the best sports rating of the weekend and only one rating point below the 7.1 Channel 34 got for the 1998 World Cup final between France and Brazil.

Fox already has Jeanne Zelasko as the host of its baseball coverage, and Saturday the producer and director of the studio show also will be women. Nancy Bernstein will produce and Jennifer Love will direct. Producer Gary Lang and director Bob Levy have the weekend off. . . . The first edition of Showtime’s Saturday afternoon “ShoBox” last weekend was impressive. Good fights, good production and good announcing.

Coverage of the 10-day World Track and Field Championships at Edmonton, Canada, begins Saturday at 1 p.m. on Channel 7. Sunday’s coverage at 11:30 a.m. is also on Channel 7, with ESPN2 handling weeknight coverage. The event runs through Aug. 12. The announcing team includes Michael Johnson.

NBC will televise Sunday’s NASCAR Brickyard 400 at 11:30 a.m. from Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which is a special place for commentator Wally Dallenbach. As a kid, Dallenbach hung out at the track when his father, Wally Sr., raced. “A lot of people think the Daytona 500 is the biggest [NASCAR] race,” Dallenbach said. “But to me the Brickyard 400 is the biggest.”

Hall of Fame weekend: ESPN2 will televise the Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremonies Saturday at 8:30 a.m., and Sunday at 10:30 a.m. ESPN Classic will carry baseball’s Hall of Fame ceremony. . . . Fox Sports Net will televise the quarterfinals and semifinals from the Acura Tennis Classic at the La Costa Resort in Carlsbad today at 11 a.m. and Saturday at 1 p.m. And the final Sunday at noon will be on the Fox network. The announcers are Tompkins and Tracy Austin.

In Closing

Remember a year ago how much was made of ABC’s coverage of the Hall of Fame game at Canton, Ohio? That’s because it marked the debut of Dennis Miller. Well, this year’s game is Monday at 5 p.m., and Miller is back for his second season in the “Monday Night Football” booth. And the reaction? No big deal.

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What Los Angeles Is Watching

A sampling of L.A. Nielsen ratings for July 28-29.

SATURDAY

*--*

Over-the-air Channel Rating Share Baseball: Colorado at Dodgers 11 2.8 8 Auto racing: Busch Grand National 250 4 1.7 5 Boxing: Thunderbox, Robert Davis-Marion Wilson 9 1.2 3 Soccer: MLS All-Star game 7 1.2 3 WNBA basketball: New York at Houston 4 1.2 3 Golf: John Deere Classic 2 1.1 3 Horse racing: Whitney Handicap 2 1.0 3 Golf: Senior British Open 7 0.8 2

*--*

*

*--*

Cable Network Rating Share Baseball: Atlanta at Montreal TBS 0.7 2 Baseball: San Francisco at Arizona FX 0.6 1 Tennis: ATP Mercedes-Benz Cup, semifinals FSN2 0.6 1 Horse racing: Test Stakes ESPN2 0.5 1

*--*

*

SUNDAY

*--*

Over-the-air Channel Rating Share Soccer: Copa America, Mexico vs. Colombia 34 6.1 14 Soccer: Copa America, Uruguay vs. Honduras 34 3.2 9 Triathlon: Ironman World Championship (tape) 4 2.3 7 Golf: John Deere Classic 2 2.2 6 Cycling: Tour de France (tape) 2 1.7 5 Golf: Senior British Open 7 1.2 4 Auto Racing: CART Grand Prix of Chicago 7 1.3 3 Outdoor Games at Lake Placid, N.Y. (tape) 7 1.3 3 WNBA basketball: Phoenix at Sacramento 4 1.1 3

*--*

*

*--*

Cable Network Rating Share Baseball: St. Louis at Chicago Cubs ESPN 2.1 4 Auto racing: Winston Cup Pennsylvania 500 TNT 1.9 5 Drag racing: NHRA Northwest Nationals ESPN2 1.0 2 Tennis: ATP Mercedes-Benz Cup, championship FSN 1.0 2 Golf: Senior State Farm Classic CNBC 0.7 2

*--*

Weekday ratings: MONDAY--Golf, Battle at Bighorn, Ch. 7, 7.1/14.

Note: Each rating point represents 53,542 L.A. households. Cable ratings reflect the entire market, even though cable is in only 63% of L.A. households.

Look Who’s Talking

Sports figures to be featured on TV and radio, today through Thursday:

Bert Blyleven--”Up Close,” today, 2:30 p.m., ESPN; 11:30 p.m., ESPN2

Jackie Joyner-Kersee--”SportsCentury,” tonight, 5 and 8, ESPN Classic

Al Michaels, singer/songwriter Bryan McKnight, Joe Carter--”The Last Word With Jim Rome,” tonight, 5:30 and 11:30, Fox Sports Net

Pete Carroll, Bob Toledo--”Southern California Sports Tonight,” tonight, 6:30, Fox Sports Net

Rob Johnson--”Sports Illustrated--Cover to Cover,” Saturday, 6 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., CNN/SI; 8:30 p.m., CNN

Marion Jones--”The Life,” Saturday, 7 a.m., ESPN

Dave Winfield, Kirby Puckett--”Page One,” Saturday, 9:30 a.m., CNN; 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., CNN/SI

Dick Williams, Sanex WTA Tour COO Josh Ripple--”Irv Kaze Show,” Saturday, 6-7 p.m., KRLA (870)

Marshall Faulk, Eddie George, Doug Flutie, Steve McNair--”Up Close Special With Roy Firestone,” Saturday, 4 p.m., ESPN

Jack Youngblood--”Southern California Sports Report,” Saturday, 10 p.m., Fox Sports Net

Jim Fassel--”NFL Preview,” Sunday, 7 a.m., CNN

Bobby Labonte, Jeff Gordon, Dale Jarrett, Ricky Rudd--”NASCAR This Morning,” Sunday, 7:30 a.m., Fox Sports Net

Julio Gonzalez, Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini, boxing writer Robert Morales--”Ringside With Johnny Ortiz,” Sunday, 8-11 p.m., KSPN (1110)

Dave Winfield--”Southern California Sports Report,” Saturday

Lance Armstrong--”The Last Word,” Monday

Curtis Strange--”Up Close,” Wednesday

Joe Frazier--”Up Close,” Thursday