No need for TelePrompters and cameras in Cawley's life

By: JOHN MAFFEI - Staff Writer | Thursday, August 24, 2006 10:44 PM PDT ∞

In a profession where flux is the norm, where three years on the job is a lifetime and a piece of spinach in your teeth can get you fired, the TV sports anchors at San Diego's five major news outlets are dinosaurs.

Jim Laslavic has been at NBC 7/39 since 1989 and Jim Stone since '90.

John Howard has been at KFMB Channel 8 since 1997 and Kyle Kraska since '99.

Paul Rudy has been at KUSI Channel 9/51 since 1998, and C.S. Keys has worked at Fox 6 since 2000.

On Sept. 8, however, Jeff Cawley is walking away from KGTV Channel 10 after seven years on the job.

"I was offered a two-year contract with a one-year option, but my goal was to retire by age 40," said the 39-year-old Cawley, who lives in Escondido with his wife and family. "The focus on sports at local stations isn't the same as it used to be."

Also, the station changed general managers recently, from Darrell Brown to Derek Dalton.

"Things might be different if Darrell were still here," Cawley said. "I've had a great run in San Diego, but this business has never been the be-all and end-all for me."

Channel 10 is Cawley's sixth stop in 20 years in the business,. He previously worked at Eugene, Ore.; Pocatello, Idaho; Monterey; Boston; and St. Louis.

The polished and professional Cawley has two small children, ages 6 and 3. Like most good fathers, he misses being home at night with his family.

"I'm retiring, and I'm completely at peace with my decision," Cawley said. "We own about 30 properties in the St. Louis area, and we've invested wisely. I'm sure I can take those investments and match my salary here. So there are no family concerns. This is going to be family time."

Cawley said the plan is to spend a year or two in St. Louis, but he will keep his home in Escondido with an eye on returning to San Diego.

"I think we'll be back," he said. "I don't think I'll do TV again, but I do think we'll be back."

Torrey Pines High grad Ben Higgins, who has worked his way up from an early-morning radio update guy to a very competent TV anchor, will slide from the second chair to the first at Channel 10.

Steve Smith, who has been working as a weekend and fill-in on sports, will be the No. 2. There are no plans to add a third sports person.

Local notes

< Rick Willis, who has become a polished on-air anchor, has been officially named the weekend anchor at KUSI. Willis will continue to be a major contributor to the station's Friday night high school show.

< The "Prep Pigskin Report" returns tonight for its eighth season with a starting time of 11:11 p.m. The show, which after tonight's preseason kickoff show will feature highlights from almost every game in the CIF-San Diego Section, is hosted by Paul Rudy and features reporters Willis in the North County, Lena Lewis in the city, John Soderman in the South Bay and Stephanie Kelly in the East County. Former Morse High coach John Shacklett returns to offer commentaries.

< Jerry Gross again will broadcast all Torrey Pines High football games live on KCEO (1000 AM). The first game is 4 p.m. Sept. 1 when the Falcons meet Harry S. Truman of Pennsylvania.

< Kash (1700 AM) is planning to carry a high school game of the week, starting Sept. 1. The schedule hasn't been announced, but Jack Cronin will call the play-by-play with Ted Mendenhall in the analyst's chair. John Kentera's "High School Scoreboard Show" will follow the games on 1700 as well as XX Sports Radio 1090 and 105.7 FM.

< The University of San Diego and Kash 1700 have an agreement for Toreros football to air on the station this season. Jack Murray will handle the play-by-play for all 11 games. Former San Diego State head coach and longtime NFL assistant Ted Tollner will handle the color commentary for the team's six home games.

The Gumbel controversy

Bryant Gumbel, whom most describe as an attention freak, popped off HBO's "Real Sports", saying NFL union chief Gene Upshaw is the league's leashed pet. NFL commissioner Paul Tagilabue didn't care for the comment much, especially since Gumbel will call games on the NFL Network.

Bottom line here is that Gumbel has the right to speak his mind, especially when it's the truth. But do you really want to bite the hand that feeds you?

Ratings bonanza

Any time Tiger Woods is in the hunt on the final day of a PGA Tour event, ratings are sure to spike. But the Sunday numbers for the 2006 PGA Championship were off the charts, earning a 7.0 rating and 16 share of the audience, up 25 percent from last year. The 7.0 is the highest rating for the final round of the PGA Championship since 2002 when Rich Beem beat Woods by a stroke.

A bonus for CBS was a 7.8 rating and a 15 share for "60 Minutes", which immediately followed the golf on the East Coast. The highlight was an Ed Bradley interview with former NBA great Michael Jordan.

Football

< "Monday Night Football" on ESPN appears to be a hit. This week's Dallas Cowboys-New Orleans Saints exhibition game was seen in an average of 5.008 million, making it ESPN's most-watched preseason NFL contest. ESPN has a game at 5 tonight, matching the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles and at 5 p.m. Monday with the Green Bay Packers playing the Cincinnati Bengals.

< Deion Sanders has joined The NFL Network as an analyst for the new "Sunday Late Night Show". For those who have inquired, The NFL Network is available on most cable systems, but only to digital customers on a special sports tier. Call your cable provider for details.

< Chris Rose of Fox Sports Net's "Best Damn Sports Show Period" has been named host of all pregame, halftime and postgame coverage for college football Bowl Championship Series, which switches to Fox this season. In addition, Rose will handle the "NFL on Fox" score updates.

Around the dial

< The Golf Channel will have a special presentation of "Caddyshack" on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. with Vince Cellini, Charles Davis and Steve Duemig serving as in-studio hosts.

< Padres pitcher Chris Young is the subject of the latest edition of "One on One with Jane Mitchell." The feature debuts Sunday on Channel 4, immediately after the Padres' 12:05 p.m. game at the Colorado Rockies.

< ESPN and ABC have instituted a five-second delay on its live audio from the Little League World Series after a player from Staten Island, N.Y., blurted out a four-letter word, and he was slapped lightly by a coach. Can't boys just be boys?

< The FIBA World Championships, featuring a top-notch U.S. team --- is averaging an 0.3 rating or a lowly 230,000 households on ESPN2. The staring times for those games, mostly at 12:30 and 3:30 a.m., live from Tokyo aren't helping the ratings.

< TNT has signed Wally Dallenbach as a race analyst for six NASCAR Nextel Cup races next season.

< Channel 4 kicks off its high school football game of the week on Thursday, when Oceanside meets Helix. But ESPN has the first prep game of the season at 9 a.m. Saturday when Florida's Glade Central meets Byrne of South Carolina.

John Maffei's TV/Radio Column appears every Friday. He can be reached at (760) 740-3547 or jmaffei@nctimes.com.

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