Rain can ruin a good day of golf.

Last weekend, rain came close to destroying an entire weekend at the U.S. Open at Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, N.Y.

Just ask executives at NBC and ESPN.

ESPN's ratings for Friday's first/second round were up 6.3 percent from last year in part because Thursday's first round was washed out and ESPN got more time on the air Friday. Not bad for an event that was on, then off, then on.

After Friday, however, even the lure of the U.S. Open, the pull of Tiger Woods, the compelling story of Phil Mickelson playing for his wife, Amy, who has breast cancer, couldn't hold the viewers.

Sunday, which should have been the final round, did a 5.1 rating and drew 3.9 million viewers on NBC. That's down 40 percent from last year.

The relentless weekend rain finally forced a Monday finish.

And while there was some drama with Mickelson making a late charge, Woods was out of it early.

The comparisons to last year are a little unfair because last year's U.S. Open at Torrey Pines featured a dramatic comeback by Woods and an eventual Monday playoff round between golf's biggest star and underdog Rocco Mediate.

This year, the early Monday ratings on ESPN were down 50 percent from last year. Later in the day, NBC's rating were down 49 percent from a year ago.

Certainly, the rain was a problem. It left golfers playing all four of their rounds on nontraditional days, and that left viewers confused as to which round they were watching. Play was suspended by the rain, so both networks were filling time by showing replays, leaving viewers wondering if what they were seeing was live.

Plus, starting times were changing. So you didn't know whether to tune in at the listed time or try early to see if you could catch some action.

NBC's "U.S. Open Challenge," in which an amateur and three celebrities tackle the Open course, had to be scrapped because of the rain. It will air at 11 a.m. July 4, following the ladies final from Wimbledon.

In all, it was just a bad weekend for the golfers, the networks and the viewers.

Tennis, anyone?

With a new retractable roof over Centre Court, Wimbledon hopes to avoid the same rain problems that plagued the U.S. Open last week.

Weekend action continues at 5 a.m. on ESPN2 and noon on NBC. NBC goes solo at 10 a.m. Sunday.

The quarterfinals are Tuesday and Wednesday at 10 a.m. on both ESPN2 and NBC.

The semifinals are Thursday at 4 a.m. on ESPN2 and noon on ABC.

NBC has the ladies final at 6 a.m. July 4 and the men's final the next day at the same time.

Soccer shocker

< The third-place game in soccer's Confederations Cup is 5:55 a.m. Sunday on ESPN2, followed by the title match at 11:35 a.m.

The surprise isn't that ESPN2 is carrying soccer, the shocker is that the U.S. is playing in the title match.

Adrian Healey and Robbie Mustoe call the third-place game between Spain and South Africa from Rustenberg, South Africa.

ESPN's No. 1 crew of JP Dellacamera and John Harkes call the title match between the U.S. and Brazil from Johannesburg.

< The MLS game of the week on ESPN is Houston at the L.A. Galaxy at 7 p.m. Sunday.

< Looking ahead, Fox Sports Net will carry the July 19 game between the Galaxy and AC Milan.

Reilly on the tube

Rick Reilly, the 11-time Sportswriter of the Year, starts a new series -- "Homecoming" -- on July 2 on ESPN.

The shows, which will air at 4 p.m. Thursdays for six weeks in the summer, will feature Reilly interviewing top athletes in their hometown or formative place. Scheduled subjects are NBA star Richard Hamilton, skateboarding legend Tony Hawk, swimmer Michael Phelps, former NFL great Jerry Rice and Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner.

Hawk is a Carlsbad resident and San Diego County native.

Chargers reup

The Chargers and Clear Channel Communications have agreed to a two-year contract extension.

Their current deal expires after the 2009 season, so the team's games will continue to be aired on Rock 105.3 FM and XTRA Sports 1360 AM through the 2011 season.

The Chargers' 12-station radio network covers most of Orange and Los Angeles counties, Riverside County, Bakersfield and Las Vegas.

Josh Lewin and Hank Bauer will continue as the play-by-play team.

Olympics redo

In anticipation of the swimming world champions in Rome on July 17, NBC Universal will air "Pieces of '08," a daily two-hour program focusing on last year's Bejing Olympics.

Friday night's show features the women's team gymnastics final, followed by a Michael Phelps special Saturday and the women's all-around gymnastics finals Sunday.

The shows, which start at 4 p.m. and repeat at 9 p.m., run through July 17.

Around the dial

< The Yankees-Mets weekend games will be featured at 4 p.m. Saturday on the MLB Network with Matt Vasgersian and Harold Reynolds calling the action. ESPN has the same teams at 5 p.m. Sunday.

< Saturday, Fox will send the White Sox-Cubs game to San Diego at 1 p.m., while Los Angeles gets the Angels at the same time.

< ESPN's Chris Berman will get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Berman will celebrate his 30th anniversary at ESPN on Sept. 9.

< Track is in the spotlight this weekend with the U.S. outdoor championships from Eugene, Ore. ESPN has coverage at 5 tonight and 4:30 p.m. Saturday. NBC jumps in at 1 p,m. Sunday with NBC Universal finishing the coverage at 5 p.m. Monday. The top finishers will represent the U.S. at the IAAF world championships in August.

< The mtn. is in the middle of its school highlight weeks, showing top games and top performers from the Mountain West Conference. San Diego State is featured June 29-July 5.

< Versus will have 23 days of coverage from the Tour de France. Action starts July 4 with coverage starting most days at 5:30 a.m.

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