Wednesday, April 24, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
It already has been one heck of a week for Las Vegas sportscasters.
Touched off by a career-threatening accident, announcers for the Las Vegas Stars and Thunder are experiencing a week they will never forget.
Prior to the Stars' game in Tacoma Saturday, play-by-play man Jon Sandler was accidentally hit in the right eye by a thrown baseball. He returned to Las Vegas with severe facial injuries.
"It was one of the scariest things I've ever seen," said Sandler, who placed his appearance in the same category as the haunting photos of former Boston slugger Tony Conigliaro, whose career was shortened after being beaned with a pitch in the 1960s. "I never saw anything in a horror movie that looked as bad as I did."
But when it was time to find a replacement, things went from scary to scarier.
The Stars sent Tim Neverett, their color commentator at Cashman Field, to handle the team's four-game series in Vancouver. But Neverett doubles as the Thunder's play-by-play man, and it was hosting Phoenix Monday night in Game 2 of the Turner Cup playoffs.
Enter Bob Blum, whose company produces broadcasts for both the Stars and Thunder. With Neverett en route to Canada, Blum prepared to call his first hockey game since 1960, when the U.S. won Olympic gold at Squaw Valley, Calif.
"I would have been lost without (color commentator) Clint Malarchuk," Blum said. "He knows the game and he knows the players. Now, with the Thunder I knew the names and numbers, but with Phoenix I was lost."
With Blum's return behind him, Hell Week continues for Neverett 1,300 miles northwest of here.
Neverett left behind his wife and newborn son, Kyle, who are recovering from a 2 1/2-month premature birth. Kyle, now a month old, has been in intensive care since being born.
And up in Vancouver, rain canceled the Stars' games Monday and Tuesday, rendering Neverett useless.
"I was just sitting in the room (Monday) steaming. I think the windows are still fogged over," said Neverett, who has another son, 2-year-old Matthew. "As soon as I found out the game had been canceled my first thought was 'My wife's going to be even more upset now.'"
After the Vancouver series, Neverett heads to Phoenix for Games 3 and 4 (if necessary) of the Thunder's playoff series.
Meanwhile, Sandler has plans to return in shockingly short time.
"I'm not going to sit here and mope about possibly losing my eyesight," said Sandler, who experiences the most pain when he shifts his eyes.
"I hope to be in the booth on Friday when the (Stars) return from Canada. It'll be interesting from the vision and stamina standpoint what I'm able to do. I think the vision is good enough in my left eye to do the job."
Static
* WRIGHT CONTINUES BATTLE: Former CBS golf commentator Ben Wright, who made headlines last year with his remarks linking women golfers and lesbianism, recently entered the Betty Ford Center to help combat an alcohol problem. Before entering rehabilitation, the 63-year-old Wright consulted former colleague Pat Summerall, who completed the program in 1992 and now is on the Ford Center's board of governors. CBS suspended Wright indefinitely Jan. 9 for comments made last May 12 that women have trouble swinging clubs because of their breasts and that lesbians are hurting the LPGA.
* ROUGH DRAFT: For all of its 17 hours of coverage and weeks of preparation, ESPN blew it by missing the first pick just minutes into its NFL draft day marathon. While NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue was announcing USC receiver Keyshawn Johnson as the No. 1 selection by the New York Jets, ESPN was showing a taped Johnson feature. ... During the coverage, overrated ESPN announcer Chris Berman once again proved that without his little nickname schtick he's nothing more than mediocre. He was at a loss for words on several occasions and stammered his way through the first several hours of coverage before ESPN2 and Mike Tirico mercifully took over. Draft guru Mel Kiper and analyst Joe Theismann carried the coverage.
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