There is little doubt the television networks run sports.
The networks dictate the times and places of events. Heck, thenetworks even dictate the matchups.
Only one event —— the Masters —— has stood up to network TV. Andwhile I don’t like the pompous, arrogant attitude of the bigwigs atAugusta National, you have to admire their grit.
They have golf’s No. 1 product, and they —— not the networks ——dictate who, what, when, where and how their event will betelevised.
I detest the fact that officials at Augusta National had CBSannouncer Jack Whitaker pulled from the telecast after he referredto the gallery as a mob. And Gary McCord hasn’t worked for CBS atthe Masters since 1994 when he said the slick greens at Augustawere bikini-waxed.
For 50 years, CBS has put up with the stuffed shirts at AugustaNational. And I’ve taken shots at CBS for bending down and gettingtheir butts kicked. But when you realize sports is a business andthat the Masters is great business for CBS, you understand why thenetwork is willing to put up with the antics.
Generally, the Masters is golf’s highest-rated event.
While a normal golf event has 10 to 14 minutes of commercialsper hour, Augusta National allows only four minutes an hour. Tomake up the difference, CBS charges prime ad rates and advertisersfall over themselves to get on the air.
Augusta National dictates that CBS cover all 18 holes of theMasters, a huge cost for the network in time and manpower.
Generally, this event is a headache for CBS. But if the networkwalked away, a line would immediately form to replace it.
“Augusta National is about the golf tournament, not about moneyor sponsors,” said Sean McManus, president of CBS Sports. “Theywant us to present the tournament, and that’s what we try todo.
“We recognize the history, tradition and prestige of the event.Augusta National feels like home to us. We feel comfortable there,and Augusta National is comfortable with us.”
With golf’s top four players —— Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods,Vijay Singh and Ernie Els —— in the field, along with 15 formerMasters champions, all playing on perhaps the best course in theworld, McManus said that “with good weather we could be set up fora pretty magical Masters.”
McManus and CBS coordinating producer Lance Barrow said thatdespite this being the 50th anniversary of CBS at Augusta, thenetwork won’t go crazy in its coverage.
“We’ll customize some features to the 50th anniversary, but itwon’t be obvious,” McManus said.
Pat Summerall, part of the CBS broadcast team at the Mastersfrom 1968-94, will do the voice on the billboards —— the lead-insto commercials —— giving the event a nice traditional flavor.
Dick Enberg will conduct interviews and provide essays.
Check those times
The USA Network has second-round coverage of The Masters at 1p.m. today with a replay at 8 p.m. CBS picks up the coverage at12:30 p.m. Saturday and 11:30 a.m. Sunday. CBS has a 15-minutehighlight show tonight at 11:35.
Chargers update
Jim Richards, the man making the decisions at Clear ChannelCommunications, said he’s “making progress” in naming a newplay-by-play voice on Chargers radio broadcasts.
“It would be nice to have someone in place before the NFL draft(on April 23-24), but I’d rather make the right decision than aquick decision,” he said.
The Chargers signed a long-term deal with Clear Channel forgames to be carried on 105.3-FM.
Around the dial
- Mel Proctor, the former TV voice of the Padres, has been hiredto work 157 television games for the Washington Nationals. Proctorhas been the radio voice of the NBA Clippers the past threeseasons.
- It pays to have a great game as the season opener. Sunday’s RedSox-Yankees game on ESPN2 pulled a 2.7 rating, a 42 percentincrease over last year’s Red Sox-Orioles opener. And the RedSox-Yankees game was blacked out in the Boston and New York areason ESPN2, generating no ratings in those areas.
- Fox Sports Net celebrates 20 years as the home of the Lakerswith a 60-minute special at 10 p.m. Monday.
- Monday’s NCAA championship game, featuring North Carolina vs.Illinois, posted a 15.0 rating for CBS. That was up 36 percent fromlast year’s title game matching Connecticut-Georgia Tech. Therating for the entire tournament on CBS was 6.9, up 11 percent fromlast yea.
- KOGO (600) has kicked off a weekly “Chargers Report” show.Craig Elsten and Ben Higgins host the program from noon-1 p.m.Sundays.
- Because of Padres baseball, John Kentera’s “High SchoolScoreboard Show” on The Mighty 1090 moves from Friday nights to9-11 a.m. Saturday mornings through the end of the spring-sportsseason.
- NBC has a pair of top horse races at 1 p.m. Saturday —— theSanta Anita Derby and the Wood Memorial. Horse Racing TV analystJon White is picking filly Sweet Catomine to beat the boys at SantaAnita.
- ESPN will present a 90-minute documentary honoring legendaryWashington Post columnist Shirley Povich at 4:30 p.m. Monday.”Mornings with Shirley Povich: A Century of Sports Writing” tracesthe career of Povich with interviews with Cal Ripken Jr., BobCostas and Bob Feller among others.
- With college basketball over and the NHL never getting off theground, ESPN will try to fill its Tuesday nights with a pair ofentertainment shows. “ESPN Bowling Night,” featuring 16professional athletes competing for $80,000 in prize money, debutsat 5 p.m. Tuesday. “Battle of the Gridiron Stars,” with 20 NFLplayers competing in a skills competition, follows at 6 p.m. Eachshow runs for six weeks. Linebacker Donnie Edwards will representthe Chargers.
- ESPN will use “DasherCam,” a robotic camera running the lengthof the ice above the glass on the dasher boards, at Saturday’s NCAAhockey championship. Faceoff is 4 p.m.
- HBO’s Emmy Award-winning “Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel”celebrates its 10th anniversary with a special prime-time editionat 8 p.m. Sunday.
John Maffei’s TV/Radio Column appears every Friday. He can bereached at (760) 740-3547 orjmaffei@nctimes.com.
