If you’re a Tony Gwynn fan and you want to see Mr. Padre’sinduction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday, youhave three options.
< You’d better have digital cable and pay for the sports tierbecause the ceremonies will be carried live at 10:30 a.m. on ESPNClassic. If you have Cox Communications, ESPN Classic is on Channel324. If you have Time Warner, it’s on either 402 or 407, dependingon where you live. If you have to ask if you have ESPN Classic, youprobably don’t have it. Channel 4, the Padres’ flagship station,lobbied hard with ESPN to carry the ceremonies, but was deniedpermission.
If you don’t have digital cable, you need to find a friend whodoes or wait for a one-hour replay Monday at 5 p.m. on ESPN2.
< The best option could be a trip to Petco Park, where theinduction ceremonies will be carried on the video boards in thePark at the Park, followed by the conclusion of the Padres-Astrosgame from Houston. The gates open at 10 a.m., and admission isfree.
< For those who can’t get to a TV or to Petco Park, ESPNRadio 800 will broadcast the ceremonies, starting at 10 a.m. Inaddition, XM Satellite Radio will carry the induction ceremonies onMLB Home Plate (Channel 175). There is a one-hour interview withGwynn at 4 a.m. Saturday, with a replay at 7 a.m. Sunday.
“We wanted to do something for Tony’s fans,” George Stieren, thePadres’ director of business public relations and special events,said of Sunday’s event at Petco Park. “The concession stands andsouvenir shops will be open; we’re not trying to make money onthis.
“We just wanted to give the fans a place to gather and watch theceremonies.”
Brian Kenny and Tim Kurkjian will anchor ESPN Classic’s eighthours of Hall of Fame coverage Sunday.
The day starts at 9 a.m. with “Classic Conversations: TonyGwynn” followed at 9:45 a.m. by “Classic Conversations: Cal RipkenJr.” The induction ceremonies will start at 10:30 a.m., and ESPNClassic will stay with it — perhaps as long as three hours — toits conclusion. Gwynn is expected to take the podium around 11 a.m.San Diego time.
At 1:30 p.m., ESPN Classic will replay the Sept. 6, 1996Angels-Orioles game in which Ripken broke Lou Gehrig’s record forconsecutive games played.
At 2:30 p.m., ESPN Classic has the August 6, 1999 Padres-Exposgame in which Gwynn gets his 3,000th hit.
And at 4 p.m., it’s “SportsCentury: Cal Ripken Jr.” There willbe highlights of the induction ceremonies on ESPN’s “SportsCenter”,”Baseball Tonight” and the Sunday night game.
At noon today, “Outside the Lines First Report” features TedWilliams’ influence on Gwynn’s career.
Local TV coverage
It’s tremendously expensive for TV stations to send reports backto San Diego — about $5,000 to rent a production truck and getsatellite time. And that doesn’t include the cost of flights, hotelrooms, car rental and meals.
Still, most of the local stations will have a presence inCooperstown, N.Y.
< NBC 7/39 is sending Jim Stone and cameraman Dave Smith forGwynn’s Hall of Fame induction. The station will have live reportson all newscasts Friday, Saturday and Sunday, plus a special reporton “Sports Wrap” Sunday at 11:30 p.m.
< Channel 8 is sending John Howard, a cameraman and aproducer to Cooperstown, and will also feed stories back allweekend.
< Channel 10 is sending only cameraman Jeff LaValley. Thestation will rely on ABC’s Baltimore affiliate to feed reports,with LaValley giving those reports a local spin.
< Channel 9/51 and Fox 6 aren’t sending anyone. Instead, theywill grab highlights off ESPN Classic.
Local radio coverage, or lack thereof
XX Sports Radio 1090, the Padres’ flagship station, is sendingDarren Smith and Bill Werndl to Cooperstown, and the pair will havea special Saturday show from 10 a.m.-noon.
That’s it, folks.
There are no special shows Thursday, Friday or Sunday, although1090 will replay the ceremonies after Sunday afternoon’s Padresgame.
“We’re handcuffed a little bit by conflicts with Padres games,”said 1090’s Joe Tutino.
Sorry, I don’t buy it.
And I don’t buy Chris Ello’s impassioned on-air rants that MajorLeague Baseball should force the Astros to push the start ofSunday’s game in Houston back until after Gwynn speaks.
Chris! What turnip truck did you fall off? Why should theAstros, who start nearly all of their Sunday games at 1:05 p.m.local time, be penalized? Astros fans should not be forced toaccommodate Padres fans by having their game pushed back an hour ortwo.
I don’t buy Tutino’s “handcuffed” excuse, either.
The Padres play at 5:05 p.m. today. Certainly, Smith and Werndlcould do a show from noon-4 p.m., even if it meant incorporatingpart of the Padres’ pregame show into those broadcasts. The samecould be said for Thursday.
And 1090 could go early Sunday morning, even if it meant bumpingFelix Taverna’s popular and informative betting show.
The station is spending the money to send Smith and Werndlacross the country. Why stop at one two-hour show and a few specialreports? People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones, Chris.
If your station can’t make time to carry Gwynn programming, thenstop crying about MLB and the Astros.
More Tony
< The latest edition of “One on One with Jane Mitchell”debuts at 8:30 tonight after the Padres-Astros game on Channel 4.This is another outstanding piece that features a conversation withGwynn. Mitchell and the Channel 4 crew is in Cooperstowndocumenting Gwynn’s Hall of Fame induction for a show that willdebut later.
< Saturday, starting at 6 p.m., Channel 4 has a four-hourGwynn block with past “One on One” shows.
Local notes
< Jerry Coleman (a Hall of Famer himself) and Ted Leitner,the veteran Padres radio voices, will both be in Cooperstown forthe Hall of Fame induction ceremonies. That means Andy Masur willcall all nine innings of the Padres’ four-game series in Houston.Randy Jones will come out of the bullpen to work as Masur’s colorman.
< Fox will carry the Padres-Astros game at 12:55 p.m.Saturday, with Matt Vasgersian and Joe Girardi calling the action.Fox is also carrying the Tigers-Angels game, with Kenny Albert andEric Karros working. So the Padres will not be seen north of theSan Diego County line.
< The new San Diego State football media guide lists MarshallFaulk as Ted Leitner’s analyst for radio broadcasts on KOGO (600).If that’s true, it’s a great get for the Aztecs. Most fans,however, will believe it when they hear it.
< Former NBA greats Oscar Robertson and Rick Barry will beJerry Gross’ guests at 5 p.m. Saturday on KCEO (1000) to discussthe current state of the league.
NASCAR back on ESPN
The final 17 NASCAR Nextel Cup races move to ESPN and ABC,starting with Sunday’s Allstate 400 at the Brickyard at 10 a.m. onESPN.
After nearly seven years without Nextel Cup races, ESPN has thenext seven events, with the final 10 of the season — the “Chasefor the Cup” on ABC.
Brent Musburger will host the races. Dr. Jerry Punch will callthem, and be joined in the booth by Rusty Wallace and AndyPetree.
Allen Bestwick, Dave Burns, Jamie Little and Mike Massaro willwork the pits.
ESPN2 is the stop for the NASCAR Busch Series as well as NHRAcoverage, Champ Car World Series action, the Indy Pro Series, Worldof Outlaws sprint-car racing and Rally America.
Of course, it wouldn’t be ESPN/ABC without a number of shows,including practice and qualifying, around the race.
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series continues on SPEED.
Beckham scores big
ESPN’s telecast of Chelsea vs. the L.A. Galaxy last week,marking the Major League Soccer debut of superstar David Beckham,drew a 1.0 rating or an average of 947,000 homes, making it themost-watched MLS telecast ever on ESPN or ESPN2 as well as theday’s most-watched cable program.
The previous MLS high on ESPN was 681,000 homes for a 1996 matchbetween D.C. United and the San Jose Clash, the league’s inauguralmatch.
Beckham’s debut also beat the most-viewed U.S. men’s nationalteam telecast on ESPN or ESPN2, a 1997 World Cup qualifier againstJamaica. That match was seen in 680,000 homes.
ESPN has five more Galaxy matches on its schedule — allThursday nights — but there is no guarantee that Beckham, who isnursing an ankle injury and has commitments to the English nationalteam, will play.
X marks the spot
< X Games 13 will run from Aug. 2-5, with events airing onESPN, ESPN2 and ABC. Events will be held at the Staples Center inL.A. and the Home Depot Center in Carson.
< “The Best of X Games” DVD is now in stores nationwide. Thecost is $19.95.
Around the dial
< ArenaBowl XXI, featuring the Columbus Destroyers vs. theSan Jose Sabercats, airs at noon Sunday on ABC from the New OrleansSuperdome. Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic call the action.
< Major League Baseball has authorized ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNews,ABC, Fox, Fox Sports Net, FX, TBS, TNT and CNN to air 60-secondgame-in-progress taped highlights in any programming of Barry Bondsthrough the at-bat in which he hits career home run No. 756.
< “NFL Players Presents the JB Awards” airs at 11 a.m. Sundayon CBS. The show is hosted by James Brown and featuresinspirational stories on Colts head coach Tony Dungy, former Ramsrunning back Marshall Faulk, Jets quarterback Chad Pennington,former Cowboys cornerback Everson Walls and Broncos safety JohnLynch.
< With Tiger Woods out of the running Sunday, ABC’s ratingfor the British Open topped out at a 4.1, or 3.2 millionhouseholds. That’s down 18 percent from last year when Woods wonthe event.
< Cavaliers All-Star forward LeBron James will host theseason premier of “Saturday Night Live” in September on NBC.
< Versus has added the Nov. 24 BYU-Utah game to its collegefootball schedule. The game will also be carried on CSTV and themtn. Versus now has 19 games on its schedule, including four BYUgames, two UCLA games, Stanford at USC, California at Stanford andCincinnati at San Diego State on Sept. 29.
John Maffei’s TV/Radio Column appears every Friday. He can bereached at (760) 740-3547 orjmaffei@nctimes.com.
