Hearn Is Not the Retiring Type

Three questions often arise about Chick Hearn.

1. How old is he?

2. When will he retire?

3. How does he do what he does at such an advanced age?

Hearn keeps his age a secret--”It doesn’t mean anything,” he says--but here’s our educated guess: He turned 84 on Nov. 27.

As for Hearn retiring, the answer may be never.

In 1990, he was saying he might retire in three or four years.

This week, during an interview with Chick and wife Marge at their home in Encino, he said he might retire in two years.

At this rate, it will be down to one year around 2012.

As for how he continues to do what he does, there is no answer. He is a natural wonder. Laker owner Jerry Buss calls him a historical monument.

“He’s the most important historical monument of the entire Laker franchise,” Buss said. “He’s more than just simply the Laker announcer because he’s introduced so many words and phrases into our everyday vocabulary.”

He invented the slam dunk, the finger roll, the stutter step, the dribble drive, the prayer (which is answered or not answered), the ticky-tack foul, garbage time and no harm, no foul.

And the witty lines keep coming. During Channel 9’s last Laker telecast of the season, from San Antonio, there was a shot of NBA Commissioner David Stern in the stands. “With all those fines, he can now afford to travel,” Hearn quipped.

Hearn is the only play-by-play announcer the Lakers have had since moving to Los Angeles from Minneapolis in 1960.

He hasn’t missed a game since 1965, and his streak is now 3,312. The streak is important to Hearn, but the job is the main thing.

“It keeps me young, it keeps me healthy,” Hearn said. “And it appears as though the Lakers are going to be a championship team for quite a while.”

He has a new two-year contract. “The second year is an option year, my option,” he said.

“I’m definitely coming back next season, then I have some things to think about. One is my marriage. Marge has spent a lot of winter nights here alone.”

Buss says it is Chick’s call.

Not Road Weary

Buss’ longtime business partner, Frank Mariani, did Hearn’s new deal. He suggested that maybe Hearn could work only home games.

Although most people might welcome working half as often for the same amount of money, Hearn’s initial reaction to the idea was an emphatic no.

“I enjoy being around the players and I enjoy going to all the games,” he said.

But he seems to be softening on that stance.

“I’m not ruling out the possibility of doing only home games at some point,” he said during this week’s interview. “But for now the answer is no, I’m not going to work just the home games.”

Only on Radio

Since NBC took over with Game 3 of the San Antonio series, Hearn and partner Stu Lantz are only on KLAC radio.

There was a time, believe it or not, that Laker games weren’t even on radio. In 1960, Hearn’s first year, only playoff games were broadcast, and only on radio.

In the early years, Hearn also worked for NBC-TV and CBS Radio and announced USC football and other major sporting events on the weekends. He also did the nightly sportscasts for Channel 4. On nights there was a Laker game, he’d do the sports for the 6 o’clock news, go by helicopter to the Sports Arena, work the Laker game, then return to Channel 4 in Burbank by helicopter and do the 11 o’clock news.

Hey, maybe Fred Roggin could do something like that if Hearn were to ever retire.

Pity whoever does replace Hearn one of these years. It will be nearly impossible to follow the legend that is Chick Hearn.

Short Waves

Saturday’s Dodger game is on Channel 11 because Fox begins its weekly “Saturday Game of the Week.” Preceding the game at 12:30 p.m. will be the “This Week in Baseball” pregame show with new host Jeanne Zelasko and analyst Kevin Kennedy. . . . No, it’s not your imagination that the Angels are rarely on TV. On their last trip, which included the Memorial Day holiday weekend, there were seven games, and none were televised. Angel Vice President Tim Mead said that because of scheduling conflicts with Channel 9 this time of year, more telecasts were scheduled for later in the season. “We’re aware of the problem and will try to rectify it next season,” he said.

Fans who had been required to buy a full season of games on DirecTV’s “NFL Sunday Ticket” will now be able to purchase them on a week-by-week basis. The new policy is the result of a class-action lawsuit against the NFL that was settled last week. Under an agreement, subscribers can purchase individual weeks for $29.99 each for the next two years--the last two years of the existing contract. A season package costs $169.99.

NBC’s Hannah Storm returns from maternity leave this weekend and will work with husband Dan Hicks on coverage of the U.S. Women’s Open. . . . Attention golf fans: “Jack Nicklaus: His March Through the Majors,” the outstanding 90-minute special that was shown on CBS last October, is now available on video cassettes and DVDs (Information: (800) 648-1188). . . . ESPN has named Nancy Lieberman-Cline as its lead analyst for its expanded WNBA coverage, which includes 22 regular-season games plus playoffs. . . . In a one-hour “Outside the Lines” special Tuesday at 5 p.m., the star-crossed 1986 NBA draft will be examined. Those drafted that year included Len Bias, Roy Tarpley, Chris Washburn and William Bedford. . . . Wonder if ABC will invite Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler back to sing the national anthem at next year’s Indy 500? His substituting “the home of the brave” with “the home of the Indianapolis 500” angered a nation.

The new documentary series on Fox Sports Net, “Beyond the Glory,” has been outstanding. But the next installment Sunday at 8 p.m. on the Waltrip brothers is an amateurish production with too many gimmicks and trite attempts at special effects. When Darrell Waltrip tells a story about his youth and police shooting at his car during a chase after a passenger dropped a beer can out a window, viewers are shown a Budweiser can hitting the ground. Then comes a shot of bullet holes in the side of a car, as if those are the actual bullet holes. What saves the show is that Darrell and younger brother Michael are such good talkers.

In Closing

Wilt Chamberlain is featured on ESPN Classic’s “SportsCentury” series tonight at 5 and 8. Dick Schaap says: “My theory is that there are four really important numbers in Wilt’s life. In ascending order: 0 for the number of times he fouled out; 50 for the number of points he averaged for one full season; 100 for the number of points he scored in a single game, and 20,000 for the number that will never be forgotten.”

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What Los Angeles Is Watching

A sampling of L.A. Nielsen ratings for May 26-27.

SATURDAY

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Over-the-air Channel Rating Share NBA playoffs: Philadelphia at Milwaukee 4 6.3 16 Golf: Senior PGA Championship 4 2.1 6 Auto racing: Busch Grand National 300 11 1.5 4 Golf: Kemper Open 2 1.0 3

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*

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Cable Network Rating Share Baseball: Houston at Dodgers FSN2 1.8 3 Stanley Cup finals: New Jersey at Colorado ESPN 1.6 4 Boxing: Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Carlos Hernandez HBO 1.6 3 Horse racing: Hollywood Park Today FSN2 1.1 3 NCAA softball: California vs. Michigan ESPN 1.2 3 Auto racing: Winston Cup Happy Hour FX 0.6 2 Soccer: WUSA, San Diego at Carolina TNT 0.4 1 NFL Europe: Berlin at Barcelona FSN 0.3 1

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SUNDAY

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Over-the-air Channel Rating Share NBA playoffs: San Antonio at Lakers 4 18.3 41 Auto racing: Indianapolis 500 7 5.6 15 Auto racing: Winston Cup Coca-Cola 600 11 3.5 8 Golf: Senior PGA Championship 4 2.3 6 Superstars: All-Star competition (tape) 7 2.3 6 Golf: Kemper Open 2 1.5 4 NFL Europe: Rhein at Frankfurt 11 0.9 2

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*

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Cable Network Rating Share Baseball: Houston at Dodgers ESPN 1.7 4 Baseball: Chicago White Sox at Detroit ESPN 0.8 2 Drag racing: NHRA Advance Auto Parts Nationals ESPN 0.7 2 NCAA softball: UCLA vs. Stanford ESPN2 0.5 1

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Weekday ratings: FRIDAY, May 25--San Antonio at Lakers, Ch. 4, 19.5/35. MONDAY--NBA, Philadelphia at Milwaukee, Ch. 4, 8.9/19; Colorado at Dodgers, Ch. 5, 2.6/6; WNBA, Sparks at Houston, Ch. 4, 2.1/5; NCAA softball final, Arizona vs. UCLA, ESPN, 1.6/4. TUESDAY--NHL, New Jersey at Colorado, ESPN, 1.5/3. WEDNESDAY--NBA, Milwaukee at Philadelphia, Ch. 4, 8.5/15.

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:

Kevin Greene, Rick Mahorn, actor Noah Wyle--”The Last Word With Jim Rome,” tonight, 5:30 and 11:30, Fox Sports Net

Bill Bertka--”Southern California Sports Report,” tonight, 10, Fox Sports Net

Eric Morales (in studio), Forum Boxing promoter John Jackson--”Rich Marotta’s Neutral Corner,” tonight, 10-midnight, KXTA (1150)

Jeff Burton--”NASCAR This Morning,” Saturday, 7:30 a.m., Fox Sports Net

Bill Shoemaker--”Thoroughbred Los Angeles,” Saturday, 9-10 a.m., KSPN (1110)

Derek Fisher--”NBA Inside Stuff,” Saturday, 3:30 p.m., Channel 4

Vince Ferragamo, author Steve Delsohn--”The Irv Kaze Show,” Saturday, 6-7 p.m., KRLA (870)

Darrell and Michael Waltrip--”Beyond the Glory,” Sunday, 8 p.m., Fox Sports Net

World Boxing Hall of Fame President Ken Thompson, Carmen Basilio, Frans Botha, trainer Eddie Roach--”Ringside With Johnny Ortiz,” Sunday, 8-11 p.m., KSPN (1110)

Ron Wolf--”Up Close,” Monday, 2:30 p.m., ESPN, 11:30 p.m., ESPN2

Mark Cuban, Ray Buchanan--”The Last Word,” Monday

Wally Szczerbiak--”Up Close,” Tuesday

Tiger Woods--”Millennium Man,” Wednesday, 7 p.m., the Golf Channel