Another Mickelson on Scene

A woman with a familiar name will be part of the Golf Channel crew covering the Champions Tour SBC Classic, which begins today at Valencia Country Club.

Tina Mickelson will be making her debut as a Golf Channel reporter. She is the sister of Phil Mickelson, although she doesn’t like to be introduced that way.

“It’s very important to me to be known as Tina Mickelson, not ‘Phil’s sister,’ ” she said during a phone interview. “My identity is unique to me, my identity is not who I am related to.

“I understand, with being related to someone like Phil, there comes that association, and that’s OK. However, it is important to me to show people who I am, aside from who I am related to.”

Tina Mickelson is an upbeat person with a personality fit for television. She knows a lot about golf, having been an instructor for years in San Diego.

A communications major at UC San Diego, she has been in broadcasting since 1998, when program director Bill Pugh began using her on XTRA (690).

She also writes a syndicated golf-tip column for Copley News Service and does a weekly golf-tip segment for San Diego’s KUSI, Channel 9.

After she’d made an appearance on the Golf Channel’s “Academy Live” last summer, program director Tony Tortorici offered her a job as a reporter on the Champions Tour. Tortorici wanted her for 26 weeks, but Mickelson balked at that. She eventually agreed to 12 weeks, with Donna Caponi doing the rest.

Caponi will be part of the Golf Channel’s crew at next week’s Toshiba Senior Classic at Newport Beach Country Club.

Mickelson said she had too many other things going on to commit to being on the road for 26 weeks. Also she was concerned about spending too much time away from her family.

“I don’t have a husband or kids, but I am very close to my parents and grandparents and everyone else in my family,” she said.

Another brother, Tim Mickelson, is the golf coach at UC San Diego. And you know about Phil.

“I am very proud of both my brothers,” she said.

It Means Something

“There is a lot more at stake this year,” said Marques Johnson before announcing the Pacific 10 Conference tournament’s night games for Fox Sports Net on Thursday. “Stanford, Arizona and Washington are playing for seedings in the NCAA tournament.”

Stanford, previously unbeaten, lost to Washington in its regular-season finale but romped past Washington State in the first round of the conference tournament. Johnson’s colleague, Dan Belloumini, said that was enough to ensure the Cardinal a top seeding in the NCAA tournament.

Johnson and Belloumini will be back at work tonight at Staples Center. Barry Tompkins and Belloumini will announce the first game, Steve Physioc and Johnson the second.

The championship game Saturday will be televised by CBS, with Dick Enberg and Matt Guokas announcing.

Talk show host Lee Hamilton has put on his play-by-play cap for radio coverage. He and Bob Myers announced two of the four first-round games Thursday, with the UCLA team of Chris Roberts and Don MacLean handling the other two. XTRA will broadcast at least one of the semifinals tonight and the championship game Saturday.

A Jackpot for GSN?

Can blackjack captivate television audiences the way poker has? The Game Show Network is banking on it.

The World Series of Blackjack makes its debut on GSN on Monday night at 10 from the Mohegan Casino in Connecticut, with five competitors playing 30 hands with hopes of moving on in the tournament.

One of the participants, Regina Guzior, likes to tell opponents, “I can beat you with my eyes closed.” Guzior is legally blind.

San Diego Padre announcer Matt Vasgersian, also known for his work on the XFL, “Sports Geniuses” and “Toughman,” is the host of the series. He is joined by commentator Max Rubin, a 30-year casino veteran and gambling consultant, and Melana Scantlin, former Kansas City Chief cheerleader and star of the reality show “Average Joe.”

New USC Radio Deal

USC and KMPC (1540) announced a new two-year agreement Thursday for football, men’s and women’s basketball and other selected USC sports. Part of the agreement requires KMPC to complete its plans to beef up its signal.

“KMPC has been a tremendous partner for us,” USC senor associate athletic director Daryl Gross said.

Short Waves

Val Pinchbeck, former head of broadcasting for the NFL who died Saturday night at 73, was well liked and respected throughout professional football. His duties included setting the NFL schedule.

He retired in 1998 but remained involved with the league and attended this year’s Super Bowl. Pinchbeck was walking in New York when he collapsed while crossing a street and was hit by a taxi. The cause of death has not been determined.

Channel 4’s L.A. Marathon coverage was a ratings and technical success. The combined rating of 7.7 for the telecasts on Channel 4 and sister station Channel 52 was the highest for the marathon since 1990.... With no marathon to televise this Sunday, Channel 4 is offering live coverage of the Avengers at Grand Rapids at 9 a.m.

DirecTV has hired Rick Majerus as its spokesman to promote its Mega March Madness NCAA tournament pay package.... Insight Communications, the nation’s ninth-largest cable operator, has reached a carriage agreement with the NFL Network.

NBA TV and Comcast announced a carriage agreement this week. The good news for the NBA is that 40% of Comcast’s

21 million customers have digital cable and can get the channel.

“Beyond the Glory” returns for a fourth season Sunday night at 8 on Fox Sports Net with a profile of Donovan McNabb.... A new half-hour show, “Fox Sports Net Across America,” makes its debut Sunday night at 9. The host is Carolyn Hughes, with Chicago Sun-Times columnist Rick Telander offering a weekly commentary. One of the segments on the first show features Gonzaga and its freshman star, Adam Morrison.

Attention boxing fans: The big fight is Shane Mosley-Winky Wright on HBO on Saturday night. The next day at 5 p.m., the “Sunday Night Fights” series returns to Fox Sports Net with the first non-pay-per-view showing of Cory Spinks vs. Ricardo Mayorga. The March 21 show will mark the debut of commentator Max Kellerman, formerly of ESPN.

The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach will be televised on Spike TV April 18 as part of the 16-race Champ Car series. The race will also be televised on HDNet.... KLOS’ fourth annual Mark and Brian celebrity golf tournament will be played March 20 at Industry Hills in City of Industry. This year, there is no charge for spectators.

In Closing

ABC’s Brent Musburger, announcing Washington’s victory over Stanford on Saturday, said the last time Washington had defeated a No. 1-ranked team was in 1979, when the Huskies “beat a UCLA team coached by John Wooden.” Mistakes happen, but Musburger should have known Wooden retired in 1975. Gary Cunningham was UCLA’s coach in 1979.