Elvis Didn’t Show, but Quip Ends Up Haunting Costas

If, during a World Series game, Oakland has a big lead in the ninth inning with Dennis Eckersley pitching, don’t expect ABC-TV announcer Al Michaels to say something such as, “The Giants have about as much chance of coming back as Elvis.”

For one thing, the line has already been used--by NBC’s Bob Costas during the ninth inning of Game 2 of the Toronto-Oakland American League playoff series. At the time, the Athletics led, 6-3, and Eckersley was on the mound.

Costas simply meant that the Blue Jays didn’t have much of a chance of winning the game. A Toronto newspaper columnist apparently thought Costas meant that the Blue Jays didn’t have a chance of coming back in the series .

Suddenly, Costas was Public Enemy No. 1 in Toronto. Things got so bad, when he registered at his hotel in Toronto, the security people recommended that he use an assumed name.

The one he came up with isn’t exactly obscure in Toronto: Ben Johnson.

Michaels has empathy with Costas. “Bob and Tony Kubek did a fabulous job during that series, but all you hear about is that one line,” Michaels said.

“Network announcers root for one thing, and one thing only--good theater. They want great games, classic endings, interesting managerial decisions.”

Michaels is going home for this World Series--sort of. He was an announcer for the San Francisco Giants in 1974, ‘75, and ’76 and continued to live in the Bay Area for nine more years after he was hired by ABC.

In 1986, Michaels and his family moved to Brentwood, where he now lives.

“The good thing is, I know the Bay Area, I know the fans,” he said. “I’ve seen some banal features portraying San Francisco fans as white collar, Oakland fans as blue collar. You won’t hear anything like that from me.

“The sense I get is that most people in the Bay Area are thrilled both teams are in it. There isn’t a lot of animosity between Giant and A’s fans.”

About two hours before Game 1 of the World Series begins Saturday in Oakland, another sporting event will be taking place a few miles north in the East Bay.

USC will play football against California in Berkeley at 3:30 p.m.

This game has had more time changes than a cheap wristwatch.

It was originally scheduled for 1 p.m., then 12:30, then 7:30, and finally 3:30.

It was first moved to 12:30 for ABC. But the network instead picked UCLA-Arizona, at least for the West Coast. Most of the nation gets Michigan-Michigan State.

Too bad ABC doesn’t do a national doubleheader instead of one split-national telecast. Surely, West Coast fans would also like to see Michigan-Michigan State.

Anyway, after ABC made its move, Cal made a deal with ESPN and changed the starting time of its game with USC to 7:30. ESPN also agreed to provide portable lights, since Cal’s Memorial Stadium has no lights. But Cal’s chancellor, Ira Michael Heyman, nixed the night game, saying it would inconvenience fans and also create security problems.

In making that decision, he didn’t endear himself to Cal’s athletic department, nor to USC. An ESPN telecast would have been worth $200,000 to each school.

A compromise was reached. Heyman agreed to a 3:30 kickoff, permitting the game to be televised by Prime Ticket and a network of seven regional affiliates, which together reach 22.5 million homes in 24 states.

Prime Ticket pays $100,000 a school, so each school lost only $100,000 in potential revenue.

Prime Ticket also must provide lighting, since the game will end after dark.

Heyman deserves credit for putting the interest of his school’s fans ahead of television and the almighty dollar.

The new gametime created another problem for USC, since its flagship station, KNX, is also carrying CBS Radio’s World Series coverage. A 3:30 start for the football game meant it would overlap into the 5:30 baseball game.

Originally, KNX decided it would leave the football game and insert periodic reports. That’s what the station did last Saturday, when Game 4 of the American League playoffs extended well into the second quarter of USC’s game with Washington.

But missing the start of a game isn’t as bad as missing the ending. So USC Athletic Director Mike McGee made a strong pitch to KNX late Thursday and got George Nicholau, the station’s general manager, to agree to farm out the game broadcast. KDAY (1580) will carry it in Los Angeles.

Kudos to Channel 11 sportscaster Tom Nettles and producer Martin French for the feature they did Saturday night on Dorsey High School football player Kevin Copeland, who died last Friday night during a game against San Pedro.

French, a former USC defensive back from Fairfax High, and a crew went to the Coliseum to do some interviews since several Dorsey players were there to see their former teammate, Beno Bryant, now a freshman running back for Washington, which was playing USC.

Bryant was also interviewed and said Copeland was his best friend.

The highlight of the feature was Nettles’ sensitive and emotional live interview with Copeland’s older brother, Ron Jr., a sophomore at USC. Ron said he and his brother were both aware of the history of heart problems in their family, but both had undergone physicals and been given a clean bill of health.

“I loved my brother,” Ron Copeland said. “He was also my best friend.”

TV-Radio Notes

ABC-TV’s World Series coverage will begin at 5 each game day, with the games to start at about 5:30. The game announcers are Al Michaels, Tim McCarver and Jim Palmer. . . . CBS Radio announcers for the Series will be Jack Buck and Johnny Bench. . . . ESPN will televise a one-hour World Series preview today at 4 p.m. It will be followed by a Don Ohlmeyer-produced show that takes a look at umpiring in the minor leagues. Joe Garagiola (remember him?) is the host. . . . MTV will televise a World Series special Sunday from 4 to 8 p.m., with a number of Giants and A’s making guest appearances. . . . From Jeff Miller of the Dallas Morning News: “File this one away: Brent Musburger, CBS play-by-play man for the next four seasons, noted on CBS Radio that Mark McGwire bobbled a grounder ‘out of bounds.’ ”

KMPC’s Jim Healy reported the other night that a disc jockey for San Francisco’s KNBR, the Giants’ flagship station, got the team’s Mike Krukow on the phone for an interview before last Monday’s game against the Chicago Cubs. Said the disc jockey, according to Healy: “Sorry we got you out of the shower.” Said Krukow, not knowing he was on the air: “Oh, I wasn’t in the shower. I was . . . “ Healy, to give listeners an idea of what Krukow was doing, played his toilet-flushing sound effect. . . . According to the latest Arbitron radio ratings book, which covers the summer months, Healy easily won his 5:30-to-6 p.m. time slot in the males, 18-and-over category. He had nearly twice as many listeners as KABC, which finished ninth in the same category. . . . Frank Robinson will be a guest on the “Pat Sajak Show” tonight.

Pro football Sunday: The 10 a.m. CBS game on the West Coast will be the San Francisco 49ers at Dallas, with Tim Brant and Dan Jiggetts reporting, while most of the country gets Washington and the New York Giants. At least the Redskin-Giant game can be heard on KNX. NBC, at 1 p.m., will provide L.A. with another look at the Denver Broncos, who play the Indianapolis Colts. The announcers will be Marv Albert and Bob Trumpy. . . . The NFL Dream Season on ESPN is winding down. The 1985 Chicago Bears and the 1976 Oakland Raiders will meet Sunday at 5 p.m. to determine the fourth and final playoff team. The Dream Bowl is scheduled for Oct. 29.

Prime Ticket is now carrying “Raiders Playbook” with Tom Harmon and Rich Marotta. This week’s edition will be shown tonight at 10:30. . . . The Rams’ Aaron Cox, a former Dorsey High wide receiver, will talk about Kevin Copeland on SportsChannel’s “Rams ‘89” program tonight at 8:30. . . . USC will play at Notre Dame Oct. 21, and Prime Ticket’s “It’s Your Call” program next Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. will take a look at the rivalry. Host Bill MacDonald’s guests will be Tim Brown and Jack Snow, representing Notre Dame, and former Trojans Mike Garrett, Anthony Davis and Craig Fertig. . . . KRTH-AM has been sold and is expected to go to a Spanish-language format around Jan. 1, pending FCC approval of the sale, meaning the Clippers will be in the market for a new radio station. The team is hoping the sale isn’t approved until after the basketball season.