Playoffs Extra Special So Far

Odds are, Sunday’s NFC championship game between the Carolina Panthers and Philadelphia Eagles will not go into overtime.

If it somehow does go into overtime, then Fox would be four for four, and how crazy would that be? Fox has done three NFL playoff games so far, and all three have gone into overtime.

CBS is on a pretty good run too, although it had the Denver embarrassment against Indianapolis the first weekend. The one good thing about that game was watching perfection, in the form of Peyton Manning.

The ratings have reflected the quality of the games.

In Los Angeles, three of the four top-rated shows on television last week were NFL playoff games. Green Bay-Philadelphia was No. 1 with an 18.9, Indianapolis-Kansas City was No. 2 (15.3) and Carolina-St. Louis on Saturday was No. 4 (14.8). Sneaking in at No. 3 was “CSI” with a 15.2.

Nationally, the Packers and Eagles on Fox drew a 23.8 rating and a 40 share, making it the highest-rated divisional playoff game since the Dallas Cowboys and Carolina got a 27.6/49 in 1997.

The Packers and Eagles got a whopping 54.5/76 in Milwaukee.

The only bad thing about this weekend is that there are only two games.

Audible King

One of the amazing things about Manning, besides his accuracy, is the performance he puts on at the line of scrimmage.

Fox’s Troy Aikman was asked, as a former quarterback, what he thought of Manning’s antics.

“It’s different from anything we did when I was playing and what any quarterback’s doing from any team today,” Aikman said. “When he’s going through a lot of the different hand signals and gestures, a lot of it is to communicate -- to the receivers, the offensive linemen and backs. But a lot of times, he’ll come up and go through a variety of different checks that don’t mean anything.”

Jimmy Johnson, in a conference call with Aikman, said no quarterback has ever been as convincing as Manning. “When I was a defensive coach, we could usually tell when a quarterback was using dummy signals. But Peyton is so good, even on the dummy signals, you can’t tell.”

The Marino Move

Johnson was asked about Dan Marino’s surprising announcement this week that he is leaving CBS and HBO after the Super Bowl and returning to the Miami Dolphins in a front-office capacity. Johnson sees some rough spots ahead.

“I think, as evidenced by Matt Millen going into an administrative role in Detroit, it’s very difficult to go there straight from the field without any experience,” Johnson said. “But there are enough quality people within the organization. He will have time to learn on the job. I’m sure he’ll do great.”

Simms’ Viewpoint

CBS’ Phil Simms, who will work Sunday’s AFC championship game with Greg Gumbel, was asked whether he would ever leave television for a front-office job.

“When I make that move, just call [CBS Sports President] Sean McManus, because that means he’s ready to fire me,” he said. “So I’d be one step ahead.

“No, I do not see myself doing that, for a lot of reasons. It’s very complicated, it’s hard. I’ve been out of football and even though I study it, I tell Greg this every weekend and we laugh about it -- whatever I did as a player I’ve forgotten 80% of it.”

Don’t look for Simms to be moving into the studio to take Marino’s spot on “The NFL Today” either.

“I get frustrated doing games, because I don’t get to say enough and I’m accused of talking too much,” he said. “So how do you think I would feel in a studio chair? My gosh, it would drive me crazy.”

Lowdown on SkyCam

Readers have been e-mailing complaints about those high-angle cameras CBS and Fox have been using. CBS calls it Cable Cam, Fox calls it SkyCam. The cameras are supported by cables. They must stay behind the offense and a certain height above the field.

They are fine for certain replays, but they are disconcerting during live action, particularly pass plays. Ed Goren, Fox Sports president, defended their use during live action and said it would continue, but on a limited basis.

The camera will be used “maybe once or twice a quarter,” he said. “At times it can be tremendously effective, depending on the play that’s called and the execution of that play. It really gives a unique perspective and one that you often see when you’re playing a video game.”

Sideline Report

Tony Siragusa, who worked as a sideline reporter during Saturday’s Panther-Ram game, will not be used on Sunday’s NFC championship game. Pam Oliver can aptly handle that assignment by herself.... CBS will have Armen Keteyian on the sideline at the AFC championship game. Maybe CBS also could use Colt punter Hunter Smith, because so far he’s had plenty of free time.

College Basketball

The big sports event Saturday is Arizona-UCLA basketball on ABC at 3 p.m.... At the same time, the UCLA women play at Arizona on Fox Sports Net 2. Wonder how many Bruin fans will opt for the women’s game?.... ABC’s versatile Terry Gannon, who worked the U.S. figure skating championships last weekend, will serve as ABC’s basketball studio host Saturday. ABC also announced this week that Gannon would serve as the host of a few golf tournaments this year as well.... Attention John Wooden fans: “UCLA Sports Magazine,” which was on Fox Sports Net 2 on Thursday night and repeats today at 4:30 p.m. and Saturday at 10:30 a.m., includes a replay of the dedication of John and Nell Wooden Court.... Lisa Leslie, working with Chris Marlowe, again will be the commentator on the USC men’s game against Arizona State on Fox Sports Net 2 on Saturday at 6 p.m.

Radio News

Here’s one good Dodger acquisition: The versatile and capable A Martinez, one of the original members of what is now XTRA (690, 1150) when it went all-sports in February 1997, has been hired by Dodger flagship station KFWB (980). Martinez will travel with the team and, among other duties, be host of the postgame “Dodger Talk” show.... Dan Weiner, the director of sales at XTRA, has been promoted to station manager.

Eclipse Winners

NBC won an Eclipse Award for its coverage of the Preakness Stakes, and KSPN (710) tied with a Baltimore station for an Eclipse for a Laffit Pincay tribute co-produced by Kip Hannan and Vic Stauffer. Also, Mike Willman, the host of “Thoroughbred Los Angeles” on KSPN, won an honorable mention for an interview he did with trainer Richard Mandella.

Short Waves

Brad Nessler will work with Doc Rivers on ABC’s NBA coverage Saturday because Al Michaels is taking a post-football break.... ABC has hired Hal Sutton as a part-time golf commentator. He’ll work nine of ABC’s 21 golf tournaments, beginning with next week’s Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. Sutton is scheduled to also be a part of the USA Network’s early-round coverage of the Hope.... NFL Network, which has shown one-hour, high-definition versions of last weekend’s NFC games, will show Indianapolis-Kansas City tonight at 6, followed by Tennessee-New England at 7. This weekend’s championship games will be shown Wednesday and Thursday nights at 9.

In Closing

Fred Roggin, describing the injury-plagued Lakers’ game against Denver on Wednesday night, said: “It’s like the Beatles scheduling a concert and only Ringo showing up.”