Sports on the Air
Sports on the Air: UB, Orange to face off on radio
By Alan Pergament
Updated: 07/26/08 1:07 PM
The football programs at the University at Buffalo and Syracuse University will be competing for attention on local radio this season.
However, it won’t necessarily be head-to-head competition since the tentative schedules only have the potential for a few games being played at the same time.
UB previously announced it is moving its game coverage from WGR to WECK this season.
Now comes word that all Syracuse football and basketball games will be carried by WWKB, which is owned by the same owner as WGR, Entercom Communications. WGR used to carry UB football and KB carried UB basketball. This season, UB’s games in both sports are on WECK.
UB’s switch has led to the hiring of a big name color analyst. Steve Christie is reuniting with play-by-play man Paul Peck, who used to host the show that Christie did on Channel 4 when he was the Buffalo Bills kicker.
“I’m really excited about it,” said Paul Vecchio, UB’s associate athletic director, of his new announcing team.
Kickers aren’t exactly in a position to be ideal analysts, but Christie does have broadcast experience. Vecchio said that Christie is the National Football League expert for a Canadian cable sports network.
Christie, who holds team records for points, field goals and for the longest field goal, last played here in 2000 but officially retired as a Bill in March.
Vecchio is unconcerned about Entercom’s deal with Syracuse.
“I’m happier every day with the decision to go to WECK,” said Vecchio. “I had a chance to reset with announcers. I’m happy to have these guys doing football.”
• Steve Tasker gets some love at 8 p. m. Tuesday when the NFL Network carries a special on the Top 10 Players Not in the Hall of Fame. The former Buffalo Bills special teams ace is in a group that includes Ken Anderson, Cris Carter, Bob Hayes, Alex Karras, Jerry Kramer, Jim Marshall, Ken Stabler, Derrick Thomas and Ricky Watters. What, no Andre Reed?
• Excited about the Beijing Games? Me, neither. Not yet anyway. But I imagine by Aug. 8, the hype will accelerate and the nation will be ready to watch the sporting version of America’s Got Talent.
Once again in Beijing, our Canadian friends will be offering an Olympic television alternative to NBC’s coverage.
NBC Sports Chairman Dick Ebersol told television critics in Los Angeles this week that he expects about half of its prime-time coverage will be live. Viewers here will be able to see much more live on CBC.
CBC is expected to carry most events live during its 282 hours of coverage from China, which is 12 hours ahead of the Eastern time zone.
Ron MacLean, the popular host of “Hockey Night in Canada,” anchors the prime-time coverage, starting at 6 p. m.
NBC is carrying 3,600 hours of the Beijing Games on all of its networks, 2,900 of it live. However, 2,200 hours are carried online. We’ll have more on NBC’s plans next week.
• We all know that NBC football analyst John Madden steps outside his field of expertise on occasion. But it still was surprising to hear him predict the outcome of the next edition of ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” early this week.
Speaking before television critics in Los Angeles, Madden announced that retired Oakland Raiders defensive tackle Warren Sapp is expected to follow the paths of NFL stars Jerry Rice, Emmitt Smith and Jason Taylor in the next edition of the popular reality show. ABC hasn’t announced this fall’s cast but Sapp is widely believed to be one of the dancing stars.
“He dances,” said Madden. “And he’s going to be good. I’m predicting he’ll win it. I’ll take on all comers . . . I couldn’t make a prediction on who’s going to win the Super Bowl, but I’ll predict that he’ll win it.”
Sapp doesn’t have exactly the body type of the previous NFL performers.
• According to one report, that noted three-point basketball shooter, Sen. Barack Obama, plans to spend $5 million during the Olympics on commercials promoting his candidacy. He gets more free advertising than that nightly from MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann.
• Earth to Channel 4’s John Murphy: The ESPY awards, which honored Kevin Everett, were taped in Hollywood a few days before Sunday’s broadcast on ESPN.
