Austin Loves Her New Racket

Tracy Austin, who won the U.S. Open as a 16-year-old tennis phenom and again as an 18-year-old, is 38.

It has been 20 years since her second Open title.

“I know that’s scary to people who think of me as a 16-year-old kid,” she said. “What’s scary to me is that in another 20 years I’ll be 58.”

At this year’s Open, which begins Monday, she’ll again serve as a commentator on the USA network’s weekday coverage. This will be the 12th Open she has worked for USA.

Austin also works six events a year for Fox and one for NBC, the recent estyle.com tournament at Manhattan Beach.

Her first broadcasting assignment came at Wimbledon in 1983. She had to withdraw from the competition because of a stress fracture in her back, and NBC invited her to step into the booth.

“I was 20 at the time and not even thinking about ever being a commentator,” she said.

She started thinking more about it as her playing career waned because of a series of injuries. The back injury at Wimbledon started the decline, and her career ended at 25 after a serious car accident in Shore Hills, N.J.

She was playing Team Tennis at the time and had just left her hotel at 10 a.m. when her car was hit by a van whose driver ran a red light. Austin, thrown from the car, suffered numerous injuries, including a crushed right knee.

These days, besides the broadcasting assignments, Austin is a busy mom. She and her husband, real estate developer Scott Holt, have three sons: Dylan, 5, Brandon, 3, and Sean, 5 months. They live in Rolling Hills, near where Tracy grew up.

She sees the women’s field at the Open as wide open.

“If I had to pick only one, it would be Venus Williams,” she said. “If I could pick three, it would be Venus, Jennifer Capriati and Lindsay Davenport.

“Venus has always had power and mobility. Now she has increased her consistency and improved her forehand and second serve.”

Austin says women’s tennis has never been more popular than it is now, and even John McEnroe, who’ll work the Open for USA and CBS, has jumped on the bandwagon.

The women certainly will be the ones drawing the most attention on USA and CBS. The women’s final Sept. 8 will be on CBS at 5 p.m., which is 8 p.m. in the East.

“That’s unbelievable for women’s tennis,” McEnroe said Thursday. “It’s great for women’s tennis.”

SoCal Group

Austin is among a contingent of Southern Californians who will be working the Open for USA. Play-by-play announcer Bill Macatee, who will be paired with Austin on daytime matches, lives in Newport Beach. Host Chris Myers calls Agoura Hills home, and daytime producer Harold Hecht Jr. is from Beverly Hills. His father won Academy Awards for producing “Marty” and “Vera Cruz.”

Hecht, a freelancer who also produces tennis for Fox Sports Net, was the one who initially recruited Myers, who had to get permission from Fox Sports Net, his full-time employer.

Macatee, who works for CBS and USA, seems to be everywhere these days. He was at the PGA Championship last weekend, offering analysis from the 13th hole and interviewing David Toms and Phil Mickelson after their dramatic battle.

He’s currently at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio, working the first two rounds of the NEC Invitational golf tournament for USA. And he’ll warm up for the Open by serving as host of Arthur Ashe Kids Day on Sunday at 9 a.m. on CBS.

It is an appropriate assignment for Macatee. A single father, Macatee will have his daughter, Caitlin, 12, with him in New York.

USA’s night-time announcing team will again be Ted Robinson and McEnroe. This will be their 10th U.S. Open.

Pat Cash is back for his second year as a commentator, and Michael Barkann and newcomer Summer Sanders will serve as reporters.

Channel 9 Clipped

The Clippers and Channel 9, at the end of a five-year contract, are parting company. Negotiations were cut off Thursday when terms on a new contract could not be reached.

The two entities had a revenue sharing deal, but the Clippers now want a straight rights fee, which the Lakers have. The Lakers will begin their 25th season on Channel 9 this year.

The Clippers have made the playoffs once in the past five years.

Andy Roser, Clipper executive vice president, said, “First, from our standpoint, it was not a contentious parting. This was just simply a matter of two parties respectfully disagreeing on one party’s worth. In no way does it mean our TV profile will be dramatically different.”

Channel 5 or Channel 11 could possibly become the Clippers’ new over-the-air station.

College Football

Look for Fox Sports Net to bring Matt Stevens and Petros Papadakis aboard as analysts for the “Southern California Sports Report.” . . . Fox Sports Net has hired Joel Meyers and James Lofton to announce mostly Big 12 national telecasts this season, although they’ll start out on the Eddie Robinson Classic, in which Virginia plays at Wisconsin Saturday at 11 a.m. . . . Warren Moon, as expected, has been hired by Fox Sports Net to work Pacific 10 games with Barry Tompkins. . . . Best game this weekend may be Fresno State at Colorado at 5 p.m. Sunday on ESPN2. Next up for Fresno State is a home game Sept. 2 vs. Oregon State.

Larry Kahn’s Pacific West Radio Sports company will broadcast 18 games on national radio this season, beginning with Saturday’s 10 a.m. Pigskin Classic between Texas Christian and Nebraska. The game, with Kahn and Bruce Snyder announcing, will be carried in Los Angeles by KSPN (1110). Snyder will work nine of the 18 games with Kahn, Stan Brock will do four, Dave Krieg three and Gino Torretta two. . . . USC has put together an eight-station radio network for football, including KPLS (830) in Orange, KFMB (760) in San Diego and KAOI (1110) in Wailuku, Hawaii. KPLS and KFMB should fill in some of the gaps where flagship KMPC (1540) doesn’t reach.

Recommended Viewing

Bud Greenspan has come up with another winning Olympic documentary. His two-hour “Sydney 2000 Olympics” will make its debut on Showtime Sunday at 8 p.m. The first of six segments features Tom Lasorda and the U.S. baseball team’s gold-medal run. The final segment differs from the usual Greenspan approach in that it is results-oriented. It features what has been called “the greatest night in track and field history,” the night of Sept. 25.

Sunday at 10 p.m., USA offers a sometimes zany U.S. Open preview, “McEnroe Holding Court.” McEnroe’s “state of the game” address and his comments about Capriati and the women’s game in general are among the highlights on the show that will be repeated Monday at 6 p.m. . . . The ESPN Classic “SportsCentury” show tonight on Billie Jean King is a good one. King was voted the 59th greatest North American athlete of the 20th century. . . . ESPN Classic will televise a Major League Baseball Productions documentary, “Fernandomania,” at 4 p.m. Tuesday. The show examines the effect Fernando Valenzuela had on Los Angeles.

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What Los Angeles Is Watching

A sampling of L.A. Nielsen ratings for Aug. 18-19.

SATURDAY

*--*

Over-the-air Channel Rating Share Golf: PGA Championship 2 4.5 12 Pro football: NFL exhibition, Baltimore at N.Y. Jets 2 2.8 7 Baseball: Angels at Cleveland 11 1.9 6 Basketball: WNBA playoffs, Sparks at Houston 4 2.0 5 Tennis: ATP RCA Championships, semifinals 4 1.3 4

*--*

*

*--*

Cable Network Rating Share Pro football: NFL exhibition, San Diego at Miami FSN 2.0 5 Baseball: New York Mets at Dodgers FSN 1.8 4 Golf: PGA Championship TNT 1.2 4 Auto racing: NASCAR Busch Grand National 250 TNT 1.0 3 Little League World Series: Third game ESPN2 1.0 2 Little League World Series: Second game ESPN2 0.6 1 Horse racing: Arlington Million; Beverly D. Stakes ESPN 0.5 1 Little League World Series: First game ESPN2 0.4 1 Tennis: ATP Legg Mason Classic, first semifinal FSN 0.3 1 Golf: Senior Utah Showdown CNBC 0.3 1

*--*

SUNDAY

*--*

Over-the-air Channel Rating Share Pro football: NFL exhibition, Oakland at San Francisco 2 6.5 15 Golf: PGA Championship 2 6.0 15 Baseball: New York Mets at Dodgers 5 2.4 6 Auto racing: American Lemans Grand Prix of Mosport 4 2.2 6 Basketball: WNBA playoffs, Miami at New York 4 1.8 5 Arena football: Arenabowl, Nashville at Grand Rapids 7 1.3 3 Tennis: ATP RCA Championships, final 4 1.2 3

*--*

*

*--*

Cable Network Rating Share Auto racing: NASCAR Winston Cup Pepsi 400 TNT 1.7 4 Golf: PGA Championship TNT 1.6 5 Baseball: Atlanta at San Francisco ESPN 1.5 3 Horse racing: Pacific Classic ESPN 1.2 3 Little League World Series: Second game ESPN2 1.1 3 Little League World Series: First game ESPN2 0.9 2 Auto racing: CART Road Motorola 220 ESPN 0.9 2 Tennis: ATP Legg Mason Classic, final FSN 0.4 1 Basketball: WNBA playoffs, Miami at New York ESPN 0.3 1

*--*

Weekday ratings: FRIDAY--NFL, Tennessee-St. Louis, Ch. 11, 4.2/9. MONDAY--NFL, Denver at Green Bay, Ch. 7, 7.0/14.

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:

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

Rebecca Lobo --”Player’s Journal,” today, 5 p.m., Lifetime

Billie Jean King -- “SportsCentury,” tonight, 5 and 8, ESPN Classic

Chris Byrd, Jerry Cooney, author Dr. Margaret Goodman -- “Rich Marotta’s Neutral Corner,” tonight, 10-midnight, KXTA (1150)

Allen Iverson, John Lynch, Marcus Camby, John Force, Joey Harrington, Ken Simonton, Rob Blake, Cris Carter, Trajan Langdon -- “The Life” (two-hour season finale), 9 a.m., ESPN

Vin Scully, Tim McCarver, Sparky Anderson, Steve Lavin (sports superstitions, part one) --”Irv Kaze,” Saturday, 6-7 p.m., KRLA (870)

Shaquille O’Neal --”Southern California Sports Report,” Saturday

Doug Flutie --”NFL Preview,” Sunday, 7 a.m., CNN

Sterling Marlin --”NASCAR This Morning,” Sunday, 7:30 a.m., FSN

Johnny Tapia, James Toney, Sugar Ray Leonard, L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca --”Ringside With Johnny Ortiz,” Sunday, 8-11 p.m., KSPN (1110)

John McEnroe --”McEnroe Holding Court,” Sunday, 10 p.m., USA

Roger Clemens --”Up Close,” Monday

Curt Flood --”SportsCentury,” Monday

Fernando Valenzuela --”Fernandomania” documentary, Tuesday, 4 p.m., ESPN Classic