Monday, April 1, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
Contrary to previous beliefs, Ken Korach is not leaving Las Vegas.
Not yet anyway.
The former play-by-play man for the Las Vegas Stars finally got his shot at the major leagues four months ago when he was hired by the Oakland Athletics. But when the Oakland Coliseum was deemed unfit for the A's first six games, the team picked Cashman Field as its site.
The season opener is tonight at 8:05 against the Toronto Blue Jays.
"I'll actually be in the same seat I've sat in for seven years," Korach said.
"We were all geared up to go to Oakland. The whole focus, all spring, is coming home and opening up in your own stadium. But if we have to play somewhere other than the Coliseum, I'm glad it's Cashman. It'll be a thrill to walk in there.
"When the sun goes down and the lights start coming up in the city, for me to think I'm doing major league baseball for the A's in Las Vegas, it will be special. There's no question."
KENO 1460-AM gives local fans a chance to hear Korach in his return by picking up the first five broadcasts. KENO couldn't air Sunday's game against Detroit because of an NBA commitment.
Considering Korach's Cashman knowledge and the fact he has called more than 100 major league games, it's easy to claim that no other announcer in the game is better suited to describe this week's action.
"I know all its nuances and what the ballpark is all about," Korach said. "They built the park too small. I would have put the fences back 15-20 feet all the way. The onus will be on the pitchers.
"A lot of times pitchers get intimidated at Cashman. They start nibbling, hitting corners and start walking people, then they give up home runs. The key at Cashman is to give up solo home runs."
Another key Korach sees is the role these regular-season games will have in making Las Vegas a spring training site.
"It's just going to be exciting to go in there and have the games count, have it be for real," said Korach, who still lives here with his wife and 4-year-old daughter.
"The fact that major league baseball is coming to Las Vegas is a major statement. I'd like to see what happens with the games. I'm sure it'll be first-class in every way. It may hasten the arrival of some teams for spring training."
Static
* BACK IN TOWN II: Ken Korach won't be the only former Las Vegas voice returning today. "Papa" Joe Chevalier also makes his return on KENO 1460-AM after a one-month layoff. Chevalier and Kevin Wall were knocked off the air when One-on-One Sports Radio Network made some shift changes, forcing KENO to choose between Chevalier and Pete Rose. "We switched their times and that caused a conflict," One-on-One associate director of affiliate relations Kurt Kretzschmar said. "It took us that amount of time to work out the negotiations." Chevalier now is on from 3-5 p.m. and 6-7 p.m. Rose airs in the 5-6 p.m. slot. Wall comes on from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. The new times bounce Dave Cokin, who did a local show from 11 a.m.-noon, and Bob Golic, who was on from noon-3 p.m. Starting July 1, KENO also will pick up One-on-One's Bob Kemp on Sundays from 10 p.m.-3 a.m. One-on-One began in Las Vegas as Sports Entertainment Network before moving to Chicago. With 350 affiliates, it now is the nation's largest 24-hour, all-sports radio network.
* KVEG SALE: The recent sale of KVEG 840-AM will not be official until it is approved by the Federal Communications Commission. That is expected May 18. Former owner Jerry Kutner sold the all-talk station two months ago to North Carolina-based Crescent Communications, which also owns KFBI 107.5-FM.
* TOURNEY TALK: KENO airs tonight's NCAA basketball championship game between Kentucky and Syracuse at 6:05. Pregame starts at 5:45. ... CBS analyst Al McGuire will go on-line during halftime of the championship. He will field questions and comments from fans at two sites, www.newsport-tv.com and www.sportschannel.com. Questions can be submitted throughout the first half. McGuire will then visit the chat room to give live answers. ... ESPN's on-line site, ESPNET, received more than 105,000 NCAA tournament entries to what can be considered the world's largest office pool. Just under 50,000 picked Kentucky to win it all, but only 17 picked all of the Final Four teams. ... The story of former North Carolina State basketball coach and basketball analyst Jim Valvano is powerfully inspirational. "Never Give Up: The Jimmy V Story" can be seen Tuesday at 9 p.m. on KLAS Channel 8. Valvano guided N.C. State to one of the most famous victories in NCAA championship history over Houston in 1983. Valvano left the school in 1990 amid a recruiting scandal only to be offered a $900,000-a-year job at ABC and ESPN. He died of cancer two years later.
* AROUND THE DIAL: KVBC Channel 3 recently started a weekly feature called "Athlete of the Week," which airs Friday during the 4 p.m. newscast. "What we look for are regular, everyday people who do athletic things," Channel 3 sports director Andrew Smith said. "They're stories that are human interest with an athletic twist." To nominate someone as "Athlete of the Week," write to Smith at 1500 Foremaster Lane, Las Vegas, 89116. ... KTNV Channel 13 sports director Ron Futrell threw out the first pitch at Friday's Seattle Mariners-Toronto Blue Jays exhibition. It's unclear how big an honor that was, considering some greasy clown from KLUC 88.5-FM threw another ceremonial pitch right after. For the record, Futrell was over the plate but high and well under 60 mph.
archive
