The seed was planted by a fog delay at Pebble Beach in 2000.

That delay on the Monterey Peninsula pushed the finish of the 2000 U.S. Open into prime time in the East.

That gave NBC and U.S. Golf Association officials the thought of "what about presenting the U.S. Open Golf Championship on prime-time TV every year?"

Since that delay at Pebble Beach, won by Tiger Woods, the event has been East of the Mississippi every year.

Since it's hard to play golf in the dark, those destinations didn't lend themselves to a prime-time U.S. Open.

This week's event at Torrey Pines Golf Course does.

So NBC will take the gamble, carrying Saturday's third round from 1-7 p.m. and Sunday's final round from noon-6 p.m.

While those times don't mean much on the West Coast, they put the event in prime time on the East Coast.

"This is a big deal," said Tommy Roy, the producer for NBC's coverage of the U.S. Open.

"Our preparation and the way we handle it really doesn't change, because we always try to do our very best. I think the later we go into the evening, the more diverse audience we have.

"Maybe people who don't always watch golf on Sunday afternoons, we need to keep that in mind, that we're speaking to an audience that may need a few more things explained to them.

"Beyond that, this is no different than the way we handle the other U.S. Opens, where we're putting our best on the air."

NBC will have its best at Torrey Pines, using 48 cameras and 200 people to beam the event across the country.

Dan Hicks hosts NBC's coverage along with Johnny Miller, the man I consider the best analyst in sports.

They're joined by tower reporters Gary Koch and Bob Murphy, on-course reporters Roger Maltbie, Mark Rolfing and Dottie Pepper, interviewer Jimmy Roberts and reporter Tim Rosaforte.

Bob Costas contributes an opening commentary and interviews. He'll be joined by Curtis Strange and Peter Jacobsen.

"It could be really fun going into prime time on Father's Day," Hicks said.

"It's really a day to spend with your father, but I think this is a unique opportunity to do that.

"After you've given your dad that eighth-straight striped tie, I think you should hand over the remote after dinner and just let him settle in and watch the U.S. Open going into prime time."

While the prime-time audiences could be huge -- especially if Woods is in contention on Sunday -- Miller said he won't feel the pressure.

"We try to cover events -- at least I try to do it -- where I try to explain it so that anybody could understand," Miller said.

"In other words, at the U.S. Open, we know we have a little different audience, so we try to keep it real simple as far as the way we explain things.

"The bottom line is when I get into a U.S. Open, I don't even know I'm on the air. I'm so into watching who's going to win and what's happening, that stuff just comes out.

"I get especially that way at the Ryder Cup, the Players Championship and the U.S. Open, where you just get so into it, the six or seven hours we're on the air just flies by."

Miller speaks

< Miller on the kikuyu grass at Torrey Pines: "Kikuyu can 'ki-screw-ya.' Kikuyu looks pretty easy, but it's just really tough stuff."

< Miller on the winning score: "Four-under-par is probably the winning score. I feel like all these guys know the course. And the second part of it is that guys like Phil Mickelson and Tiger know the course so well, know every break on the green. Somebody could even go lower than that because of the familiarity of the whole thing."

< Miller on the winner: "I favor a West Coast guy because they know the course so well. Plus, Tiger has won four times at Torrey Pines and Phil (Mickelson) three. Phil wants this more than anything. And Tiger seems to do well after long layoffs. If Tiger gets off to a good start, he'll win. I think there is a 40-50 percent chance you'll see Tiger and Phil at the end."

< Miller on the toughness of Torrey Pines: "It's a very intriguing U.S. Open venue. It's the longest course in U.S. Open history -- 7,643 yards. That's almost a crazy amount of distance. I think the greens are quite tough. Every green has got like three different areas, and if you're not in the right area, you've got some serious problems. The toughest holes are 14 and 18. This is the most pressure of any championship, so there are going to be plenty of chances to have a U.S. Open 'gag-o-rama'. Take my word for it."

More U.S. Open

< With Woods in the field and a prime-time finish, the ratings could go through the roof. But Roy wouldn't predict a number.

"Weather is a big function of ratings," Roy said. "If it's bad outside, people are inside watching TV. If it's nice outside, they might watch the last few holes. And obviously, who's in contention is huge."

< Rolfing believes the course doesn't favor anyone. "You must drive straight and long," he said. "The par 4s are massive, but the roughs aren't particularly long. And the greens aren't as severe as they could be. They will, however, favor the really, really good putters."

< Roy was unsuccessful in his efforts to use a "glider-cam" and a camera attached to a mini-robotic helicopter. He does have "frog-cam," which will be in the lake at No. 18. "If the ball just barely trickles off that green it's going to the water, so we'll have good coverage of that," Roy said.

ESPN's coverage

Chris Berman and Mike Tirico will anchor ESPN's coverage of the U.S. Open, which resumes today at 8 a.m. NBC comes on the air at noon, and ESPN picks up the coverage again at 2 p.m.

Curtis Strange joins them in the booth, along with analysts Andy North, Roger Maltbie and Gary Koch.

Hole announcers include Bob Murphy, Jimmy Roberts and Terry Gannon.

ESPN will have at least seven on-course reports.

A legend passes

I never had the pleasure of meeting Jim McKay, but I didn't have to know the man to figure out he was a class act.

McKay, the host of ABC's "Wide World of Sports" from 1961-1998, passed away Saturday at age 86.

McKay's comfortable, relaxed style was embraced by a nation.

He started his career as a reporter at the Baltimore Sun and his reporting skills were at their best when he covered the murder of 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team at the 1972 Olympics -- one of 12 Olympics he covered.

Al Michaels summed up McKay, saying, "He was the personification of class and style. There has never been a more respected individual in the business, and deservedly so.

"His enthusiasm permeated every event he covered and thus, always made it far more interesting. I always thought of him as a favorite teacher.

"He was so into whatever it was he was doing that he drew you into every event he covered."

College football

< Fox Sports Net announced its 2008 college football schedule. It includes 29 games on FSN and four on FSN-Prime Ticket. There are 18 Big 12 games and 14 Pac-10 contests. The first big weekend is Aug. 30 with Oklahoma State playing Washington State in a 12:30 p.m. contest and Washington meeting Oregon in a 7 p.m. game.

< Television rights have been finalized for seven UCLA games. The Bruins-Tennessee game on Sept. 1 is on ESPN. UCLA's other games include Brigham Young on Sept. 13 (Versus), Arizona on Sept. 20 (FSN-Prime Ticket), Fresno State on Sept. 27 (ABC), Stanford on Oct. 18 (FSN-Prime Ticket), Arizona State on Nov. 28 (ESPN2) and USC on Dec. 6 (ABC).

< The TV destination for all but two of USC games is set. The Trojans meet Virginia on Aug. 30 (ABC), Ohio State on Sept. 13 (ABC), Oregon State on Sept. 25 (ESPN), Oregon on Oct. 4 (ABC or ESPN), Washington State on Oct. 18 (FSN-Prime Ticket), Arizona on Oct. 25 (FSN-Prime Ticket), California on Nov. 8 (ABC), Stanford on Nov. 15 (Versus), Notre Dame on Nov. 29 (ABC or ESPN) and UCLA on Dec. 6 (ABC).

< All but two San Diego State games will be televised in 2008. The schedule includes Cal Poly on Aug. 30 (4 SD) and Notre Dame on Sept. 6 (NBC). Games against Texas Christian, Air Force, New Mexico, Colorado State, Wyoming, BYU and Utah will be on the mtn. The Nov. 22 game against Nevada-Las Vegas will be on CBS College Sports.

College baseball

< The College World Series opens Saturday in Omaha, and ESPN will broadcast all 17 games. Saturday's opening games pit Stanford against Florida State at 11 a.m. and Georgia versus Miami at 4 p.m. The Sunday games are Fresno State-Rice at 11 a.m. and LSU-North Carolina at 4 p.m. There are 11 a.m.-4 p.m. doubleheaders on Monday and Tuesday, with 4 p.m. games on Wednesday and Thursday.

There is one local player -- Fresno State closer Brandon Burke, who played at Rancho Bernardo High.

< Augie Garrido, who has led Texas and Cal State Fullerton to national titles, is profiled in the ESPN special "Inning By Inning: Portrait of a Coach." The 60-minute show airs at 7 p.m. Sunday on ESPN2.

Prep football

< Channel 4 San Diego will be back with its weekly high school football game, but the games won't be aired live. They will be taped Friday and aired at noon Saturday with replays shown throughout the week.

< The NFL Network has three high school football all-star games over the next three Saturdays. First is the Bayou Bowl from Baytown, Texas. The game pits the top players from Texas and Louisiana. On June 21, it's the New York/New Jersey All-Star Classic from Rutgers Stadium, and on June 28, it's the Big 33 All-Star Classic from Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey, Pa. The game, which boasts alums like Tony Dorsett, Joe Montana, Joe Namath, Dan Marino, Jim Kelly and Ben Roethlisberger, showcases the top seniors from Ohio and Pennsylvania. All the games kickoff at 5 p.m.

Ratings game

< The Belmont Stakes -- with Big Brown expected to win horse racing's Triple Crown -- delivered a 10.5 rating for ABC, up 169 percent from last year, when there was no Triple Crown contender. The Belmont topped the ratings for the Kentucky Derby (9.5) and the Preakness Stakes (6.4).

< Game 2 of the NBA finals drew an 8.5 rating with an audience of 13.491 million viewers -- up 58 percent from last year's finals, which pitted the Cleveland Cavaliers and San Antonio Spurs. Game 3 posted a 9.2 rating with 14.509 million viewers, up 44 percent from last year. Game 1 had an 8.7 rating. Through three games, the series is up 53 percent from last year.

< ESPN2's 51 hours of coverage from the French Open averaged 397,000 homes, an increase of 24 percent over last year.

< TNT's first NASCAR Sprint Cup race -- last week's Pocono 500 -- earned a 3.9 rating, up 27 percent from last year.

Around the dial

< TNT's NBA studio team of Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley will be guests on NBC's "Tonight Show with Jay Leno" on Tuesday.

< Versus, the home of cycling's Tour de France since 2001, announced an extension of a deal with Amaury Sport Organization -- the organizers of the Tour, for exclusive U.S. television rights through 2013.

The network begins coverage of the race on July 5.

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