By Any Name, Games on Late

The countdown is finally over, and the Winter Olympics are here.

It all begins with tonight’s opening ceremony, which will be on Channel 4 from 7:30-11, a delay of 2 1/2 hours. Bob Costas, Katie Couric and Jim McKay will host the festivities for NBC.

Following the opening ceremony and the 11 o’clock edition of Channel 4 news will be NBC’s late-night Olympic show, which is now being called “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno.”

There had been some confusion regarding Leno’s involvement. The NBC schedule originally made it appear as though Leno was being preempted by the “Olympic Late Night Show.”

But Leno will be very much involved in those shows, and this week NBC changed the name to reflect that.

Although Leno will do his regular monologue from Burbank, there will be nightly reports from Salt Lake City by comedians Dave Chapelle and Howie Mandel, as well as Ross “The Intern” Matthews.

Also, the shows will feature appearances by Olympic athletes, musical performances from Salt Lake City and medal ceremonies hosted by Pat O’Brien. There also will be a 10-minute nightly recap by Dan Hicks at the end.

Tonight, Leno will check in with Costas and Couric in Salt Lake City after his monologue.

Next week, Leno’s guests include First Lady Laura Bush and Britney Spears on Monday, the U.S. women’s bobsled team Tuesday and Picabo Street on Wednesday.

All or Nothing

One of the highlights of tonight’s opening ceremony will be the lighting of the caldron. Who will light it is anybody’s guess.

One person it won’t be is Eric Heiden.

The five-time gold-medal winning speedskater, a guest on the Sporting News radio network Thursday morning with Jay Mariotti and Jim Litke, said, “They asked if I’d be one of the guys carrying the torch, and I told them I wanted to be the last guy.

“They said they couldn’t do that, and I said, ‘Well, then I have other things to do.’ So I turned them down.”

Heiden said he was disappointed. “I thought it’d be an honor,” he said. “I thought I was a pretty good candidate.”

New Radio Show

Phil Jackson has agreed to do a one-hour radio show for the Sporting News network, beginning next week. It will be broadcast nationally and carried locally on KMPC (1540) Mondays at 3 p.m. Chris Myers, who will serve as the host, said, “It will be about a lot more than just hoops.”

Motor Sports

Speedvision, now owned by Fox, is being re-launched as Speed Channel on Monday. Fox has spent the last six months revamping the channel. A big plus is that Speed Channel will have NASCAR programming. Also, according to channel President Jim Liberatore, there will be a lot more live racing than before.

The new channel’s lineup will include the popular “Inside Winston Cup” on Mondays at 4 p.m.

The channel is available in 46 million homes, and Liberatore said that number should increase to 60 million within the next two to three years.

Elsewhere, this weekend’s Winternationals at Pomona mark the beginning of the second year of a five-year partnership between the NHRA and ESPN. The first year was regarded a success, and ESPN and its family of networks will devote more than 110 hours of programming to the 23-event, $50-million Powerade drag racing series this year.... TNT has hired Tony Stewart as a special contributor for its Daytona 500 coverage, beginning with Sunday’s Bud Shootout.... Cross promotion: A Daytona 500 promo NBC will be running during the Olympics next week has Dale Earnhardt Jr. driving a zamboni at a hockey venue.

Flexibility Needed

ABC has been trying to get the NFL to give it some flexibility with its “Monday Night Football” schedule, and it now has some more facts to back its case.

The New England Patriots were not on “Monday Night Football” this season, and that makes the third time in four years the Super Bowl champion wasn’t on the schedule. And of the last eight Super Bowl teams, six weren’t on the schedule.

Volleyball News

The Assn. of Volleyball Professionals will be back on NBC for the first time since 1997 with live coverage of two tournaments this summer--the Manhattan Beach Open on Aug. 11 and the Chicago Open on Aug. 25.

“I think we have this potential to build this relationship with [NBC] if we can prove the sport is hot again,” said AVP chief executive Leonard Armato, who purchased the AVP last year. “It’s uplifting to see them willing to get involved with the sport again.”

Angel Announcers

The Angels announced their new radio broadcast team this week.

Rory Markas, who will be the lead announcer, is from the San Fernando Valley and is familiar to most sports fans.

His new partner, Terry Smith, 46, comes from Columbus, Ohio, where he was the announcer for the Columbus Clippers for the last 19 years. The Clippers are the New York Yankees’ triple-A affiliate.

Smith also did Ohio State football and basketball from 1986-97.

Smith, a native of Philadelphia, attended Temple for two years and then Jones College in Jacksonville, Fla. During his junior year at Jones he began his broadcasting career as an announcer for the Jacksonville Suns, a double-A team.

A source close to the selection process said nearly 70 applicants and their audition tapes were reviewed before Markas and Smith were hired.

Short Waves

Fox Sports Net will be moving its regional offices from the Westside to downtown L.A. at 1100 Flower in early April. At the same time the “Southern California Sports Report” will begin broadcasting from a new studio inside Staples Center.... Former Playboy playmate Lisa Dergan, a sports reporter for Channel 2, has moved to Fox Sports Net.

Here’s good news for NBC, which is hoping to attract young viewers to the Olympics: The just-concluded Winter X Games on ESPN and ESPN2 drew a record number of viewers. Sunday’s telecast on ESPN got a 1.04 cable rating.

As part of NBA All-Star weekend, Kobe Bryant and Allen Iverson will be interviewed by Roy Firestone on the 8 a.m. edition of ESPN’s “SportsCenter” on Sunday. On the same show, Dick Vitale will present his All-Will Smith team of versatile players. UCLA’s Jason Kapono is on the team.

ESPN’s “The Block” on Sunday begins at 5 p.m. with the first of a two-part documentary, “The Season: Behind Bars.” It’s about a Texas football team made up of juveniles in maximum-security detention.

At 6:30 p.m. will be “SportsCentury: 1980,” the first of a series of year-by-year reviews. At 7 p.m. will be “Sidelines: L.A. Hoops,” which offers a behind-the-scenes look at the Clippers.

In Closing

John Wooden, a guest on KSPN (1110) Thursday with Joe McDonnell and Doug Krikorian, was asked what he’d do differently if he were coaching today. “I guess I’d have to let the players have tattoos,” he said.

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In The Spotlight

Mark Martin, Antoine Walker--”Unscripted With Chris Connelly,” today, 2 p.m., ESPN, and 11:30 p.m., ESPN2.

Charles Woodson, Harry Edwards, agent Drew Rosenhaus--”The Last Word With Jim Rome,” tonight, 5:30, Fox Sports Net 2; 6 and 11 p.m., Fox Sports Net.

Michael Moorer, Paul Gonzalez (in studio); Lou Duva, Jeff Lacey--”Rich Marotta’s Neutral Corner,” tonight, 9-11 p.m., KXTA (1150).

James Toney, Bones Adams--”Ringside With Johnny Ortiz,” tonight, 9-11 p.m., KSPN (1110).

Aaron Sele, Troy Percival--”Southern California Sports Report,” tonight, 10, Fox Sports Net.

Ty Law, Ted Johnson, Shawn Springs--”Under the Helmet,” Saturday, noon, Channel 11.

Bill Stoneman, Bob Goalby--”The Irv Kaze Show,” Saturday, 6-7 p.m., KRLA (870).

Christian Fittipaldi, Andrew Cowin, Johnny Sauter--”SpeedFreaks,” Sunday, 7-9 p.m., KLSX (97.1)

T.J. Simers, Jason Reid--”Southern California Sports Report,” Sunday.

Sterling Marlin, Jerome Bettis--”Unscripted,” Monday.