The Hall truth on watching Gwynn

By: JOHN MAFFEI - Staff Writer | Friday, July 27, 2007 12:22 AM PDT ∞

If you're a Tony Gwynn fan and you want to see Mr. Padre's induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday, you have three options.

< You'd better have digital cable and pay for the sports tier because the ceremonies will be carried live at 10:30 a.m. on ESPN Classic. If you have Cox Communications, ESPN Classic is on Channel 324. If you have Time Warner, it's on either 402 or 407, depending on where you live. If you have to ask if you have ESPN Classic, you probably don't have it. Channel 4, the Padres' flagship station, lobbied hard with ESPN to carry the ceremonies, but was denied permission.

If you don't have digital cable, you need to find a friend who does 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 the induction ceremonies will be carried on the video boards in the Park at the Park, followed by the conclusion of the Padres-Astros game from Houston. The gates open at 10 a.m., and admission is free.

< For those who can't get to a TV or to Petco Park, ESPN Radio 800 will broadcast the ceremonies, starting at 10 a.m. In addition, XM Satellite Radio will carry the induction ceremonies on MLB Home Plate (Channel 175). There is a one-hour interview with Gwynn at 4 a.m. Saturday, with a replay at 7 a.m. Sunday.

"We wanted to do something for Tony's fans," George Stieren, the Padres' director of business public relations and special events, said of Sunday's event at Petco Park. "The concession stands and souvenir shops will be open; we're not trying to make money on this.

"We just wanted to give the fans a place to gather and watch the ceremonies."

Brian Kenny and Tim Kurkjian will anchor ESPN Classic's eight hours of Hall of Fame coverage Sunday.

The day starts at 9 a.m. with "Classic Conversations: Tony Gwynn" followed at 9:45 a.m. by "Classic Conversations: Cal Ripken Jr." The induction ceremonies will start at 10:30 a.m., and ESPN Classic will stay with it ---- perhaps as long as three hours ---- to its 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, 1996 Angels-Orioles game in which Ripken broke Lou Gehrig's record for consecutive games played.

At 2:30 p.m., ESPN Classic has the August 6, 1999 Padres-Expos game in which Gwynn gets his 3,000th hit.

And at 4 p.m., it's "SportsCentury: Cal Ripken Jr." There will be 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 Ted Williams' influence on Gwynn's career.

Local TV coverage

It's tremendously expensive for TV stations to send reports back to San Diego ---- about $5,000 to rent a production truck and get satellite time. And that doesn't include the cost of flights, hotel rooms, car rental and meals.

Still, most of the local stations will have a presence in Cooperstown, N.Y.

< NBC 7/39 is sending Jim Stone and cameraman Dave Smith for Gwynn's Hall of Fame induction. The station will have live reports on all newscasts Friday, Saturday and Sunday, plus a special report on "Sports Wrap" Sunday at 11:30 p.m.

< Channel 8 is sending John Howard, a cameraman and a producer to Cooperstown, and will also feed stories back all weekend.

< Channel 10 is sending only cameraman Jeff LaValley. The station 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, they will grab highlights off ESPN Classic.

Local radio coverage, or lack thereof

XX Sports Radio 1090, the Padres' flagship station, is sending Darren Smith and Bill Werndl to Cooperstown, and the pair will have a special Saturday show from 10 a.m.-noon.

That's it, folks.

There are no special shows Thursday, Friday or Sunday, although 1090 will replay the ceremonies after Sunday afternoon's Padres game.

"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 Major League Baseball should force the Astros to push the start of Sunday's game in Houston back until after Gwynn speaks.

Chris! What turnip truck did you fall off? Why should the Astros, who start nearly all of their Sunday games at 1:05 p.m. local time, be penalized? Astros fans should not be forced to accommodate Padres fans by having their game pushed back an hour or two.

I don't buy Tutino's "handcuffed" excuse, either.

The Padres play at 5:05 p.m. today. Certainly, Smith and Werndl could do a show from noon-4 p.m., even if it meant incorporating part of the Padres' pregame show into those broadcasts. The same could be said for Thursday.

And 1090 could go early Sunday morning, even if it meant bumping Felix Taverna's popular and informative betting show.

The station is spending the money to send Smith and Werndl across the country. Why stop at one two-hour show and a few special reports? People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, Chris.

If your station can't make time to carry Gwynn programming, then stop 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 with Gwynn. Mitchell and the Channel 4 crew is in Cooperstown documenting Gwynn's Hall of Fame induction for a show that will debut later.

< Saturday, starting at 6 p.m., Channel 4 has a four-hour Gwynn 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 for the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies. That means Andy Masur will call all nine innings of the Padres' four-game series in Houston. Randy Jones will come out of the bullpen to work as Masur's color man.

< 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 and Eric Karros working. So the Padres will not be seen north of the San Diego County line.

< The new San Diego State football media guide lists Marshall Faulk 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 be Jerry Gross' guests at 5 p.m. Saturday on KCEO (1000) to discuss the 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. on ESPN.

After nearly seven years without Nextel Cup races, ESPN has the next seven events, with the final 10 of the seasonÝ ---- the "Chase for the Cup" on ABC.

Brent Musburger will host the races. Dr. Jerry Punch will call them, and be joined in the booth by Rusty Wallace and Andy Petree.

Allen Bestwick, Dave Burns, Jamie Little and Mike Massaro will work the pits.

ESPN2 is the stop for the NASCAR Busch Series as well as NHRA coverage, Champ Car World Series action, the Indy Pro Series, World of 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 the most-watched MLS telecast ever on ESPN or ESPN2 as well as the day's most-watched cable program.

The previous MLS high on ESPN was 681,000 homes for a 1996 match between D.C. United and the San Jose Clash, the league's inaugural match.

Beckham's debut also beat the most-viewed U.S. men's national team telecast on ESPN or ESPN2, a 1997 World Cup qualifier against Jamaica. That match was seen in 680,000 homes.

ESPN has five more Galaxy matches on its schedule ---- all Thursday nights ---- but there is no guarantee that Beckham, who is nursing an ankle injury and has commitments to the English national team, will play.Ý

X marks the spot

< X Games 13 will run from Aug. 2-5, with events airing on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC. Events will be held at the Staples Center in L.A. and the Home Depot Center in Carson.

< "The Best of X Games" DVD is now in stores nationwide. The cost is $19.95.

Around the dial

< ArenaBowl XXI, featuring the Columbus Destroyers vs. the San Jose Sabercats, airs at noon Sunday on ABC from the New Orleans Superdome. 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-second game-in-progress taped highlights in any programming of Barry Bonds through the at-bat in which he hits career home run No. 756.

< "NFL Players Presents the JB Awards" airs at 11 a.m. Sunday on CBS. The show is hosted by James Brown and features inspirational stories on Colts head coach Tony Dungy, former Rams running back Marshall Faulk, Jets quarterback Chad Pennington, former Cowboys cornerback Everson Walls and Broncos safety John Lynch.

< With Tiger Woods out of the running Sunday, ABC's rating for the British Open topped out at a 4.1, or 3.2 million households. That's down 18 percent from last year when Woods won the event.

< Cavaliers All-Star forward LeBron James will host the season premier of "Saturday Night Live" in September on NBC.

< Versus has added the Nov. 24 BYU-Utah game to its college football schedule. The game will also be carried on CSTV and the mtn. Versus now has 19 games on its schedule, including four BYU games, two UCLA games, Stanford at USC, California at Stanford and Cincinnati at San Diego State on Sept. 29.

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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