It might be the best-kept secret since the Allies invaded the Normandy coast in World War II.
With limited access to coaches, a gag rule on freshmen players, practices guarded more closely than the formula to the Atomic Bomb, and scrimmages held in a 60,000-seat Qualcomm Stadium that was closed to the public and media, the San Diego State football team remains a mystery.
That mystery, however, will reveal itself Saturday at 4:30 p.m. when the Aztecs open the season in the Rose Bowl against UCLA.
Fox Sports Net, which is available in San Diego, will carry the game.
It will be the Bruins' telecast with veteran announcer Bill Macdonald calling the play. Former UCLA defensive back James Washington is the analyst and Brooke Olzendam is the sideline reporter.
There will be a 30-minute "Bruins Live" show prior to the game, co-hosted by Sean Farnham at the Rose Bowl and Paul Sunderland in the Fox Sports West studio in L.A.
If you catch that show, you'll know more about the Bruins than the Aztecs.
Aztecs fans don't really care what network is carrying the game. They just want a look at the red and black.
The other San Diego State games scheduled for TV this season are Air Force (Sept. 26 on The Mtn.), BYU (Oct. 17 on The Mtn.), Colorado State (Oct. 24 on The Mtn.), New Mexico (Oct. 31 on CBS College Sports), TCU (Nov. 7 on Versus), Wyoming (Nov. 14 on The Mtn.), Utah (Nov. 21 on The Mtn.) and UNLV (Nov. 28 on The Mtn.).
Not exactly, CBS, NBC, ABC or ESPN.
"Aztecs Now", SDSU's TV show airs at 4 and 10 p.m. Wednesdays on Channel 4 and at 5 and 10:30 p.m. on The Mtn. Gee, I managed to miss all four of those.
New Aztecs coach Brady Hoke, has a radio show from 7-8 p.m. Wednesdays on KOGO (600). Didn't catch that, either.
KOGO is a good station, the Aztec's flagship station, but how many of you Aztecs fans listened to the show Wednesday? Gee, funny, neither SDSU nor KOGO promoted the program.
I actually heard Hoke on XX Sports 1090 where he does a weekly show at 7:25 a.m. Tuesday's with Scott Kaplan and Billy Ray Smith.
Sounds like a pleasant fella.
I came from an SDSU era when Don Coryell and Claude Gilbert ran the program.
They believed in open practices. They believed that if they recruited a player, he should be able to talk to the media.
Hey, how did that Coryell guy do, anyway?
Hoke was successful at Ball State. He limited access to his players there and brought his close-minded Midwest attitude to the West Coast.
He says the practice field is his team's classroom, and he doesn't want his players to be distracted by the media.
No one from the media cares to be in a chemistry lab or a math class.
And people aren't asked to pay $25 to see students in those classes take an exam on Saturday.
So why is Hoke guarding access to his Aztecs so closely?
Are they so bad he doesn't want anyone to see? Or will they be so improved he wants to spring a surprise on the Bruins?
I guess the only thing to do is tune in Saturday and see.
College notes
< Ted Leitner and Chris Ello are in the booth and Mike Costa mans the sidelines for San Diego State football games on KOGO (600).
< Jack Cronin will call USD football games on San Diego's 1700. Saturday's 6:30 p.m. game at Azusa Pacific can be heard only on the Internet. All other games are on 1700.
< UCLA games can be heard this season on KLAC (570) while USC games are on ESPN 710.
< FSN has USC's season opener against San Jose State at 12:30 p.m. Saturday with Barry Tompkins, Petros Papadakis and Michael Eaves call the contest.
< ESPN's Thursday night college series will have 15 games. Colorado and Virginia Tech are featured twice with Texas at Texas A&M on Nov. 26 and Oregon State at Oregon on Dec. 3. Chris Fowler, Craig James, Jesse Palmer and Erin Andrews work the games.
< ESPN/ABC has shuffled its announcers. Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit and Lisa Salter work the primetime Saturday games on ABC. Sean McDonough works ABC's main Saturday afternoon game with Matt Millen.
Analyst Bob Griese moves to the ESPN midday game while play-by-play man Brad Nessler moves to the ESPN Saturday primetime contest. Mike Patrick and Craig James work ABC's Saturday afternoon games.
< Doug Flutie and Bonnie Bernstein will not work games for ESPN this season.
< Former Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer, former USC and New York Giants star Jason Seahorn, Randy Cross of CBS Sports, former San Diego State and NFL defensive tackle Akbar Gbaja-Biamila and veteran play-by-play man Dave Ryan join the college football lineup on CBS College Sports.
< NBC will carry eight 12:30 p.m. Notre Dame home games this season, including Saturday's opener against Nevada and the Oct. 17 game against USC. Tom Hammond, Pat Haden and Alex Flanagan call the action.
Ello's back
Chris Ello is returning to XTRA Sports 1360.
After being let go in a purge by parent company Clear Channel, Ello returns to the air Tuesday and will host a live and local 9 a.m.-noon show.
He replaces a tape of the Steve Czaban show from earlier in the day and goes head-to-head with Jim Rome on XX Sports 1090.
Ello's return gives 1360 two live shows with Josh Rosenberg and Jeff Dotseth keeping their 3-7 p.m. slot.
"We've been working on this for quite a while," said Brian Wilson, program director at 1360. "I wanted another live San Diego-based show on our air, and now we have it."
XTRA Sports 1360 is contracted to carry 15 San Diego State baseball or women's basketball games. Ello will call the action on those games.
NFL notes
< The live telecast of Friday's 49ers-Chargers game will be blacked out in San Diego. There will be a replay Friday at 10:30 p.m. on Channel 8. Channel 8 also will replay the game at 7 p.m. Saturday, Channel 4 has a replay at 10 am Sunday and the NFL Network has a replay at 11:30 p.m. Sunday.
< NFL commissioner Roger Goodell appeared with host Rick Horrow on Versus' "The Sports Take" and addressed the Chargers' stadium problems in San Diego. "The team has been successful there," Goodell said. "They have their challenges as do other markets. It's clear the stadium needs to be either completely renovated or a new stadium built. The team has worked very hard to get something done. Unfortunately, we don't have a solution yet." The full interview airs at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday on Versus.
Ratings game
< The championship game of the Little League World Series between Chula Vista and Chinese Taipei on ABC last Sunday averaged 3.872 million viewers, up 19 percent over last year's title game.
< Its 21 Little League World Series telecasts on ESPN averaged 1.10 million viewers, the largest audience since 2003.
< An average of 6.4 million viewers watched NFL preseason games so far on CBS, Fox, NBC and ESPN, the highest pregame viewership since 2003 and an increase of 53 percent over last year.
< Monday night's Vikings-Texans game was the most-watched preseason game ever on ESPN with 7.9 million viewers.
< Last Sunday's Bears-Broncos preseason game on NBC drew 10.4 million viewers, making it the most-watched sporting event since the Major League Baseball All-Star game on July 14.
+ Preseason games on the NFL Network have been seen by 23 million viewers. up 44 percent from last year.
Prep football kicks off
< KUSI's "Prep Pigskin Report" starts its 11th season at 10:30 p.m. Friday. The fast-moving show offers highlights from nearly every game played in San Diego County.
< Oceanside's KOCT will carry three games this year, starting with the Sept. 11 El Camino at Oceanside game. Former Oceanside High standout Josh Galea'i will work as a color analyst on the telecasts.
< Bill Rupp returns for his ninth season on HiTekRadio.com, calling Vista High games live on Friday nights.
Around the dial
< There will be no TV of the Padres-Giants 1:05 p.m. game Monday ---- Labor Day when most people have the day off.
< The MLB Network will are "What About Sal?" at 2 p.m. Monday. The short film is about a man who promised his best friend he would spread the man's ashes in Fenway Park. The film airs between games of the MLB's Labor Day doubleheader of Red Sox-White Sox and Rays-Yankees.
< Major League Baseball and ESPN have agreed to move the Sept. 27 Red Sox-Yankees game in New York from 8 p.m. (EDT) to 1 p.m. (EDT) to avoid a conflict with Yom Kippur. The Jewish holy day starts at sundown on Sept. 27. ESPN hasn't announced a replacement game.
< Josh Rosenberg and Jeff Dotseth of XTRA Sports 1360 will broadcast live from 5-7 p.m. Wednesday from the UltraStar Cinemas in Hazard Center as the Chargers debut their 50th anniversary film "Legend of the Lightning Bolt."
< Chris Berman (1979), Bob Ley (1979) and John Saunders (1986) ---- the three "SportsCenter" anchors with the longest service ---- will host a special 90-minute segment at 8:30 p.m. Sunday on the eve of ESPN's 30th anniversary.
< John Maffei's TV/Radio Column appears every Friday.
