Angel Broadcasts? Expect Delays

Fox is again opting for the Dodgers. Their game at Philadelphia on Saturday at 10 a.m. is one of Fox’s regional game-of-the-week telecasts.

But this time Fox is not snubbing the Angels. For one thing, the Angel game against the New York Yankees on Saturday starts at 7 p.m., so it was not available to Fox. It will be televised locally on Fox Sports Net.

For another, Fox, which can’t show one team more than nine times during the regular season, has only one more Yankee game available. Fox wants to save that one exposure until the final two weeks of the season.

However, Angel fans have more things to complain about. One is that Sunday’s 1 p.m. game against the Yankees isn’t on television.

Originally, it was a 5 p.m. game. Because it couldn’t oppose ESPN’s Sunday night baseball, it wasn’t scheduled for local television. The start time was changed to 1 p.m. because the Angels have to fly to Detroit for a make-up game Monday night.

Going into Sunday’s game, the Angels will have been on television for seven consecutive days. So maybe no television on Sunday is not a big deal.

But this is: Four Channel 9 road telecasts this month will be tape-delayed, and the radio broadcasts will also be delayed.

Games at New York against the Yankees Aug. 20 and 22 will start at 4 p.m. PDT but shown at 5 p.m. It’s the same for games Aug. 23 and 26 at Boston.

This is setting a bad precedent. Channel 9 has always delayed Laker telecasts from the East. Now, for the first time, it is doing the same thing with the Angels.

Pat McClenahan, station manager for both Channel 9 and new sister station Channel 2, defends the move.

“We can get a higher rating for a telecast that runs from 5-8 p.m. than for a telecast that runs from 4-7 p.m.,” he said. “They key is the last hour.

“The higher rating tells us we are servicing Angel fans by making the games available at a time when more people can watch.”

McClenahan said he is aware an argument can be made that in an era of VCRs and TiVo, the start time may not be as important as showing games live. But he and his station are sticking with the tape-delay plan.

Let’s hope there will be such an outcry, the practice will be scrapped.

And while we’re at it, here’s one more plea to scrap tape-delayed Laker telecasts as well.

Summerall Hospitalized

Pat Summerall has been hospitalized since Tuesday in Los Angeles, where he was attending Fox’s annual seminar for NFL announcers.

Summerall suffered some internal bleeding, which has since been controlled. He is expected to be released and return home to Dallas this weekend. Summerall’s family has requested that the identity of the hospital remain private.

Summerall, although he has a new partner in Brian Baldinger, has been retained as an NFL announcer by Fox. He’ll announce mostly Dallas games, but his first assignment is Arizona at Washington Sept. 8. He is expected to be ready for that assignment.

Local Moves

Channel 7 will promote Rob Fukuzaki to the position of No. 1 sports anchor, replacing Bill Weir, program director Bill Burton said. Weir plans to leave the station sometime before his contract expires in September to pursue other interests.

Curt Sandoval will move up to Fukuzaki’s weekend spot and the station will hire a reporter to replace Sandoval.

Channel 13 dumped weeknight sports anchor Michelle Bonner last October, and now weekend anchor Geraud Moncure is gone. The station will have news anchors reading the “Sports In a Minute” on weekends now too, news director Larry Perret said.

Fox Sports Net will soon begin using national anchor Van Earl Wright on the regional “Southern California Sports Report.” He replaces Todd Donoho, whose contract was not renewed. Donoho is now at KSPN (1110) and KLOS-FM (95.5). Wright’s former national partner, Kevin Frazier, has moved on to ESPN.

Here’s a rarity: Fox Sports Net used two female anchors, Suzy Shuster and Carolyn Hughes, for the first time on “Southern California Sports Report” Tuesday through Thursday.

Cameras Everywhere

It usually takes about 60 cameras to cover a NASCAR race. NBC will use 79 to cover Sunday’s Brickyard 400.

Why so many cameras?

“It’s a combination of two things,” NBC producer Sam Flood said. “One, the event is obviously the biggest event on the calendar this weekend. Secondly, Indianapolis Motor Speedway is unlike any other track, and one camera cannot follow the leaders around the track.”

As if 79 cameras weren’t enough, there’s also In Demand’s NASCAR’s In-Car supplemental pay package, which has been available on digital cable since mid-June.

The $99 package includes six channels with in-car cameras, plus a seventh channel that offers statistical data.

A complaint from subscribers is that when they’re watching the In-Car channels they can’t follow the race.

“It’s definitely for hard-core NASCAR fans who are looking for something extra,” said Jeffrey Pollock, the executive producer of the package.

Interesting Prospect

ABC will televise the final of the Acura Classic women’s tennis tournament from La Costa Sunday at 1 p.m., with Terry Gannon and Pam Shriver calling the action.

Could it be Venus Williams vs. Anna Kournikova?

“One of the great things about women’s tennis is, no matter what, you can bank on a marketable, fun final,” Shriver said. “It makes my job easy because there is always a story line.”

Short Waves

Viewers will get their first look at the new team of Al Michaels and John Madden Monday at 5 p.m., when ABC televises the Hall of Fame game with the expansion Houston Texans playing the New York Giants.

The ratings may have been off for Monday’s “Battle at Bighorn” on ABC, but it was a great show. The star was Lee Trevino, even though he was on the losing team. His constant chatter was a big hit. Hopefully he’ll be invited back. ... CBS has a special on first-time winners on the PGA Tour Saturday at noon.

Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner War Emblem headlines Monmouth Park’s Haskell Invitational, which will be televised Sunday at 2 p.m. on ESPN2 along with the Jim Dandy Stakes. War Emblem’s trainer, Bob Baffert, is getting married Saturday in San Diego, then taking a 5 a.m. flight Sunday to get to the track in Oceanport, N.J. The race is the first for War Emblem since the death of owner Prince Ahmed bin Salman.

Race driver Tony Stewart has been hired as a commentator to work three Busch Grand National races for TNT. He makes his debut Saturday. ... The USA network has hired Jim Courier as a commentator for tennis’ U.S. Open, which begins Aug. 26.

Recommended Viewing

Need a lift? Check out the one-hour special on the Southern California Special Olympics Saturday at noon on Fox Sports Net or Sunday at 2 p.m. on Fox Sports Net 2. The event was held in June at Long Beach State.

The one-hour special, with hosts Bill Macdonald and former Miss America Leanza Cornett, is outstanding. It presents a nice overview and features several competitors. And it shows what is really important in life.

The special first aired last Sunday and will be repeated throughout the month on both Fox Sports Net and Fox Sports Net 2.

In Closing

From Robert Wuhl, the creator and star of HBO’s “Arli$$” who was a guest on Fox Sports Net’s “Sports Roundtable” show this week: “Why would you want Ted Williams’ DNA when you see what his kids are like?”