Predicting NFL playoff broadcasts is a tricky business

By: JOHN MAFFEI - Staff Writer | Thursday, December 27, 2007 11:14 PM PST ∞

It's time to gaze into the crystal ball and think like a network TV executive -- time to try and figure out what network, what day and what time the Chargers will play their first playoff game.

NBC has both Saturday slots for next week's wild-card round. Fox has Sunday's early game, while CBS has the Sunday afternoon slot.

As it stands now, the AFC games figure to be Cleveland or Tennessee at the Chargers and Jacksonville at Pittsburgh. The New York Giants will play at Tampa Bay in one NFC game, while Seattle will host Washington, Minnesota or New Orleans in the other.

Television and NFL executives get together for a sort of playoff draft, with the best game most likely landing in the No. 1 spot -- 1:30 p.m. Sunday on CBS.

In the case of the Chargers, one thing is obvious -- with a home game, they won't fall in Fox's Sunday 10 a.m. slot. Neither will Seattle, the other West Coast home team. Logic tells you that slot falls to either Jaguars-Steelers or Giants-Buccaneers.

The powers of deduction tell you Seattle would host the Saturday night game on NBC, although networks aren't afraid to make East Coast teams kick off at 8 p.m. if the matchup is attractive. But Saturday night is a horrible time for TV ratings.

Trying to think like a TV executive or NFL official, I want my best game -- the game with the biggest names -- in the No. 1 slot on Sunday afternoon.

While I don't know what network executives think of them, the Chargers -- with LaDainian Tomlinson, Antonio Gates, Philip Rivers, Shawne Merriman and Antonio Cromartie -- are probably the most attractive team. If Cleveland is the opponent (the Browns need the Titans to lose at Indianapolis on Sunday night), that might seal the deal for a Chargers game Sunday afternoon.

The Browns have tight end Kellen Winslow Jr., who played at Mira Mesa High and whose famous father made the Hall of Fame while playing for the Chargers. Networks like good storylines. Plus, the Browns would deliver the strong Midwest TV market.

While a worthy opponent, Tennessee -- which faces a must-win game against the Colts on NBC -- is less of a TV draw.

So here is my best guess:

> 1:30 p.m. Saturday on NBC: Jacksonville at Pittsburgh.

> 5 p.m. Saturday on NBC: Washington/Minnesota/New Orleans at Seattle.

> 10 a.m. Sunday on Fox: New York Giants at Tampa Bay.

> 1:30 p.m. Sunday on CBS: Cleveland/Tennessee at Chargers.

The backup plan would probably see the Chargers playing Saturday night.

We'll see how close I come.

Right decision

Executives with the NFL Network and the league made the right decision to allow Saturday night's Patriots-Giants game to be simulcast on the NFL Network, CBS and NBC as the Patriots try to complete a 16-0 regular season.

The NFL Network is available in only a handful of homes nationally, and the network has been battling cable companies to carry the network. So far, that has proved fruitless.

So to deflect criticism and expose its product and network, a game will be simulcast for the first time since NBC and CBS carried Super Bowl I.

Here's a quick quiz: Who were the announcers for Super Bowl I? Ray Scott, one of broadcasting's all-time greats, called the game on CBS with Jack Whitaker and Frank Gifford. Curt Gowdy and Paul Christman were on NBC.

The NFL's competition Saturday night includes the Alamo Bowl, matching Penn State and Texas A&M, and a pair of college basketball games on ESPN2, Pittsburgh-Dayton and Arizona-Memphis.

One problem is the NFL Network's broadcast crew of Bryant Gumbel and Cris Collinsworth.

While Collinsworth is among the best in the business, Bryant is at the tail end. A talented guy as a network host, whether it's news or sports, Gumbel is tremendously miscast as a play-by-play man. He doesn't have the experience, voice inflection or instincts to do the job. Certainly, he'll be exposed on a simulcast.

But if you ask, people would rather listen to Gumbel than not get the game.

Bowl talk

Fox has four BCS bowl games, including the Jan. 7 BCS national championship game at New Orleans between LSU and Ohio State.

Thom Brennaman, Charles Davis and Chris Myers will work the BCS finale for Fox as well as the Jan. 1 Sugar Bowl pitting Hawaii and Georgia.

Matt Vasgersian, TV voice of the Padres, will call Wednesday's West Virginia-Oklahoma Fiesta Bowl with Pat Haden, Terry Donahue and Laura Okim.

Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, Barry Alvarez and Jeanne Zelasko will work Thursday's Orange Bowl between Kansas and Virginia Tech.

Prep hoops

With the Holiday Classic at Torrey Pines in full swing, there is talk the event will eventually make it to television.

MaxPreps, the tournament sponsor, is owned by CBS, and tournament director John Olive said he's hopeful the three-year contract with MaxPreps will produce some TV coverage of the event.

"Nothing is final, but we've certainly discussed getting at least the finals of the National Division on CSTV," Olive said. "That would be a major step forward and maybe even help us attract some of the big-time East Coast schools. We might have to adjust our times to accommodate TV, but we'll cross the bridge when we come to it."

> Versus has the T-Mobile Invitational at 10 a.m. Friday and Saturday. The boys teams include Centennial (Ga.), Lone Peak (Utah), La Cueva (N.M.) and St. Anthony (N.J.). The girls teams are Chaminade-Julienne (Ohio), Gallup (N.M.), Hampton (Va.) and Long Beach Poly.

> The Nike Invitational from Houston, featuring nationally ranked St. Patrick (N.J.) vs. Yates (Texas) and nationally ranked Oak Hill Academy (Va.) vs. Madison (Texas), is on ESPNU starting at 6 p.m. Saturday.

ESPN on the move

The Los Angeles Times reported that ESPN plans to open a five-story ESPN building in L.A. that will open by the spring of 2009.

The building will house an ESPN Zone restaurant on the first two floors. More importantly, there will be two TV production studios with digital control rooms on the upper floors. That will allow the network to air the 11 p.m. "SportsCenter" show from L.A. instead of its East Coast headquarters in Bristol, Conn.

In addition, the building will house ESPN Radio 710.

Total construction costs for the building, which will be in the area of the Staples Center, will exceed $70 million.

NHL and the outdoors

NBC Sports will present the "NHL Winter Classic," an outdoor game between the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins at 10 a.m. on New Year's Day.

The game, the first outdoor NHL game in the U.S., will be played at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo. A crowd of 70,000 is expected.

Bob Costas will host the game, while Mike Emrick will call the play-by-play with analyst Eddie Olczyk.

Local notes

> Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf will call Sunday's Chargers-Raiders game. Kickoff on CBS is at 1:15 p.m.

> The USD men's basketball team plays at Kentucky on Saturday in a game that will be carried on ESPN2 at 11 a.m.

Tee it up

> NBC Sports will air a golf special, "PGA Tour 2006: A New Era of Golf," at noon Sunday.

> The PGA Tour season tees off Thursday with The Golf Channel's coverage of the Mercedes-Benz Championship from Kapalua, Hawaii. Played on the Plantation Course at the Kapalua Golf Club, the event starts at 3 p.m. Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The Golf Channel has the PGA Tour's first two events, including the Mercedes-Benz and the Sony Open next week from Honolulu.

Around the dial

> Sunday's "Outside the Lines" at 6:30 a.m. on ESPN focuses on the 1972 plane crash in the Andes Mountains that carried the Stella Maris College rugby team.

> FSN-Prime Ticket will air nine hours of Dodgers programming -- "Blue Year's Eve" -- starting at 2 p.m. Monday.

> ABC will carry the inaugural Under Armour All-America High School Football Game at noon on Jan. 5. Former NFL head coaches Jim Hanifan and Ron Meyer will direct the teams.

> ESPN received three Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for the network's productions of "Ruffian" and the miniseries "The Bronx is Burning." Individual nominations went to Sam Sheppard (who portrayed trainer Frank Whiteley Jr. in "Ruffian"), Oliver Platt (George Steinbrenner in "The Bronx is Burning") and John Turturro (Billy Martin in "The Bronx is Burning").

> ESPN Classic has a "That's a Bad Call" marathon Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. The show focuses on great games that featured controversial calls.

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