Gift of gab lands Torii Hunter role as television analyst for playoffs

 

The Angels missed the playoffs this season for the first time since 2006, but at least one of their players will have a postseason role.

Right fielder Torii Hunter, among the most quotable and opinionated players in the game, will serve as an analyst during the MLB Network's coverage of the playoffs.

The network announced that Oakland third baseman Eric Chavez and pitcher Dallas Braden and Arizona outfielder Chris Young would also serve as playoff analysts.

Hunter will be in the studio on Oct. 11 and 12 for the end of the first-round division series.

-- Mike DiGiovanna in Arlington, Texas

Photo: Torii Hunter. Credit: Lucy Nicholson / Reuters.

Joe Theismann to join NFL Network booth

Joe Theismann, a former Super Bowl-winning quarterback, will become the third man in the NFL Network booth for its eight-game schedule of Thursday-night prime-time games beginning Nov. 11 with Baltimore and Atlanta.

Theismann, who will join Bob Papa and Matt Millen, will continue working on the network's weekly "Playbook" shows.

-- Diane Pucin

 

ESPN, ACC agree to 12-year deal for football, men's basketball

ESPN has agreed to a 12-year deal with the Atlantic Coast Conference for exclusive rights to conference football and men's basketball games starting with the 2011-12 season.

Financial terms of the deal were not immediately disclosed Thursday.

ESPN would broadcast ACC regular-season football games each Saturday as well as the league championship game. The network would carry all men's basketball games on one of its channels or through online or mobile services.

The deal would give ESPN syndication rights that would allow Raycom Sports to continue carrying games. The entire women's basketball tournament and more non-revenue sports coverage would also be included in the deal with ESPN.

-- Chuck Schilken

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

World Cup: This just in -- North Korea still loses

North Koreans got their first look at their team in the World Cup -- 17 hours after the match ended.

North Korea's 2-1 loss to Brazil in its World Cup opener Tuesday took place in the middle of the night Tuesday, Korean time. But the country's state-run Korean Central Broadcasting service -- the nation's only TV station -- does not broadcast overnight or during the day. So the first chance it had to show the game came Wednesday evening.

-- Kevin Baxter in Johannesburg

World Cup: Broadcaster to mute vuvuzelas

Host Broadcast Services, the company that provides the broadcast feed for the World Cup, has doubled its audio filters to reduce the constant blaring buzz of the controversial vuvuzelas.

TV viewers around the globe have complained that the sound from the plastic horns is making the games difficult to watch.

"Despite HBS' core philosophy, which is to provide 'realistic' host broadcast coverage reflecting the ambiance in the stadiums, additional audio filtering has been implemented," the company said in the daily newsletter given to rights-holders Tuesday and quoted by the Associated Press.

The action comes after several broadcasters had already taken their own measures to reduce the drone. French broadcaster TF1 changed its microphones after the opening match between Mexico and host South Africa, replacing them with mics commentators hold close to their mouths that better filter sound.

The BBC, which had received 545 complaints from viewers as of Tuesday morning, said it is considering giving viewers the option of muting ambient noise while maintaining game commentary through its "red button" digital service. Viewers would push a red button on their remote control to receive the quieter broadcast on a separate channel.

Several players said the din of the horns is having an impact on the field. Netherlands striker Robin van Persie avoided a second yellow card -- and a ban from the next game -- by blaming the vuvuzelas for failing to hear an offside whistle. 

But Van Persie said he doesn't want to see vuvuzelas banned.

"I think we have to respect it, because we are in South Africa, and we need to respect where we are," he  said. "This is their tradition. This belongs to them."

-- Kevin Baxter in Johannesburg, South Africa

World Cup: U.S.-England is a hit for ESPN, Univision

Whether you watched the U.S.-England World Cup soccer match in English on ESPN or in Spanish on Univision, a whole lot of you were watching.

ABC had 12.95 million viewers for Saturday's match, while Univision had 3.8 million viewers. The ESPN ratings made the match the fifth-most-watched soccer game in the U.S., and they were higher than the average number of viewers for the NHL's Stanley Cup finals. 

Univision actually beat ESPN in viewership for last Friday's opening game between Mexico and host South Africa. 

ESPN had 2.6 million tuned in; Univision had 5.4 million.

-- Diane Pucin

John Wooden memorial service will be televised by Prime Ticket

UCLA announced Thursday that a public memorial service to honor Coach John Wooden will be held at Pauley Pavilion on June 26.

The service will be televised by Prime Ticket and will be streamed live at www.ucla.edu. The service, expected to last 90 minutes, will begin at 11 a.m. and doors to Pauley will open at 9 a.m. The service will also be shown live on two video boards at Drake Stadium in case Pauley Pavilion gets filled. 

-- Diane Pucin

World Cup: Aspiring reporter's dream comes true

Journalists can be a jaded lot. Even at a major event like the World Cup.

But there's at least one reporter here for whom the assignment has been a dream job.

Daniela Rodriguez, an aspiring TV reporter from Houston, beat out more than 1,000 other contestants on ESPN Deportes "Dream Job: The Reporter" reality show last month, winning the opportunity to do on-air reporting on the Mexican World Cup team from South Africa.

"I didn't expect it," said Rodriguez, an account executive for an advertising agency who entered the competition on a lark in December and wound up as the only female among the seven finalists. "I'm so excited."

A native of Mexico City who once hosted a TV music show in Guadalajara, Rodriguez got hooked on soccer working in communications for Club America, one of Mexico's top clubs.

"That's when I knew I wanted to do sports," the 26-year-old said. And the passion didn't fade after her recent marriage and move to Houston.

"Honestly, after working in Club America I never wanted to go back and do something else," Rodriguez said. "I want to keep working in sports. And I've always enjoyed being on camera. I did it [before] more like a hobby. And I think that's why I enjoyed it."

Among the stories she's already reported on from South Africa was a feature on Marcos Antonio Rodriguez, one of the Mexican referees who will be officiating in the World Cup.

In addition to beating out the other contestants for the "Dream Job" assignment, Rodriguez said she also had to win over her doubting husband.

"He was like, 'No, you'll never win,'" she said.

Now Jose Carlos Balcazar is glad his wife didn't listen to him because he'll soon be joining her at the World Cup.

Rodriguez scored big with the "Dream Job" judges for her personality, on-camera enthusiasm and soccer knowledge, much of which she learned from her grandfather. And she has already developed one other reportorial trait: She's not afraid to share her opinions.

Asked about the likelihood that Memo Ochoa, the goalkeeper for her favorite team, Club America, won't start in the World Cup opener, Rodriguez wasn't afraid to weigh in.

"Honestly, I'm very sad," she said. "I have to say it: We have great goalkeepers. But for me the best one is Memo Ochoa. He's younger and he's more agile." 

Now back to you in the studio.

-- Kevin Baxter in Johannesburg, South Africa

ESPN 3D announces World Cup broadcast schedule

ESPN has announced the initial schedule for its new ESPN 3D channel, which will launch during the World Cup. All times given below are Pacific Daylight (PDT).

June 11, South Africa vs. Mexico, 6:30 a.m.

June 12, Argentina vs. Nigeria, 6:30 a.m.

June 13, Germany vs. Australia, 11 a.m.

June 14, Netherlands vs. Denmark, 4 a.m.

June 15, Brazil vs. North Korea, 11 a.m.

June 16, Spain vs. Switzerland, 6:30 a.m.

June 17, Argentina vs. South Korea, 4 a.m.

June 18, Slovenia vs. U.S., 6:30 a.m.

Vin Scully, Ralph Lawler and Bob Miller talk about Ernie Harwell

Vin Scully spoke Tuesday about Ernie Harwell, the legendary Detroit Tigers broadcaster who died of cancer at the age of 92. 

The Dodgers broadcaster called Harwell, "a Georgia boy with a twinkle in his voice." What Scully most remembers, he said, was that Harwell was genuine: "He had a special warmth that could not be manufactured. He was a very gentle, caring man with a great sense of humor and humility. He was very, very easy to like on and off the air."

Two other long-time Los Angeles television voices also had memories of Harwell to offer.

Kings broadcaster and Hockey Hall of Famer Bob Miller said he met Harwell once when Harwell was a guest speaker at a Sportscaster Camp that Miller and Roy Englebrecht conducted in Windsor, Canada (right outside Detroit) in 1987. The camp was for people interested in learning how to do play-by-play and studio TV sportscasts.

Miller said, "We would have a classroom session in the morning, and Ernie was the speaker. The Tigers had a game that night, so I told him he didn't have to stay after his speech, but he said, "No, I want to stay and have lunch and visit with these youngsters."  He did, and it was a thrill for all of them because he was genuinely interested in giving them advice for their futures."

Harwell was genuinely friendly, Miller said, and "a down-to-earth person who never allowed fame to change his personality."  

Ralph Lawler, voice of the Clippers and a should-be Hall of Famer, grew up in Peoria, Ill., and listened to many legendary baseball voices. 

"Harry Caray was in St. Louis," Lawler said, "Jack Brickhouse and Jack Quinlan were in Chicago and, eventually, Ernie was in Detroit. They were the great baseball voices in the Midwest, and I was in awe of them all."

Lawler said that he loved the depth and timber of Harwell's voice. "Great sports voices are in short supply today," Lawler said. "Most of the legends were born through the medium of radio back in the day. Now the young people break into the business in television, without the benefit of the radio training and experience.

"So many of today's young voices sound more like your barber than your broadcaster. Ernie was one of the greats and an inspiration to those of us who had aspirations for a life in the broadcast booth."

-- Diane Pucin

Gentlemen, get your glasses: Yankees-Mariners to be in 3D in July

DirecTV and the YES Network that broadcasts most Yankees games, announced Wednesday that the Yankees-Mariners games of July 10 and July 11 from Seattle will be offered in a separate 3D telecast as well as the regular high definition form. 

This can serve as a little teaser for the MLB All-Star game from Anaheim, which also will be done in 3D on Fox July 13.

The Yankees-Mariners broadcast will only be available to customers in the YES territory of New York, Connecticut and parts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania as well as FSN Northwest's territory of Washington, Oregon, Alaska and parts of Idaho and Montana. It will also be available to DirecTV subscribers.

Oh, and you will need a 3D television. And glasses. A quick check shows that for around $3,000 to $,4000 you could add an LG model, a Samsung model or a Panasonic model to your entertainment center. Seems as if you can even get one pair of viewing glasses free. If anyone else wants to watch, though, the glasses are extra. 

And if you "act fast," Samsung is offering its $350 3D starter kit (that kit, of course, doesn't include a TV) for free!

-- Diane Pucin