Wednesday, Oct. 21, 1998 | 10:08 a.m.
Tim Graham'smedia notebook appears Wednesday. His page 1 column appears Thursday. Reach him at [email protected] or 259-4078.
Fox Sports has been all over this year's World Series like tobacco spit on a dugout floor.
The network has provided superbly thorough coverage of the Fall Classic, even though it hasn't had a banner World Series in the ratings department.
Ratings have plummeted with the New York Yankees spanking the San Diego Padres in the first two games en route to taking a 3-0 lead. In fact, if the Padres can't continue to make the series as exciting as Tuesday night's 5-4 thriller, this year's numbers could reach all-time lows.
That would be a shame for Fox. Every aspect of its production, from the broadcast crew to the cameramen to the sound engineers, has been top quality.
Play-by-play man Joe Buck has performed like an all-star in only his second World Series assignment. But it's hard to look bad with Bob Brenly and Tim McCarver, the two best color commentators in the business next to Joe Morgan, analyzing the action.
McCarver and Brenly, as well as Fox's informative graphics, have been consistently prophetic in predicting what is about to unfold.
Producers John Filippeli and Bill Webb have captured every angle of the World Series with 19 cameras and 60 microphones positioned throughout Yankee Stadium and Qualcomm Stadium. They also are using 15 tape machines and three super slow-motion replay devices.
Some of the action captured by the "Supershag Cam," a high-definition, close-up replay camera, has been fabulous.
But none of that matters much if the games reek like a dugout floor.
The first two games, which the Yankees won 9-6 and 9-3, respectively, scored a 12.5 national rating. That number is four percent lower than the all-time worst-rated World Series -- last year's between the Florida Marlins and Cleveland Indians on NBC.
Summerall fall
It has been downright depressing to listen to how far Pat Summerall's broadcasting ability has declined. The legendary NFL play-by-play voice has been showing his age.
Summerall, 68, and partner John Madden are Fox Sports' top team. On Sunday they called the Chicago Bears victory over the Dallas Cowboys. Summerall stumbled his way through the game. He routinely misidentified players, did incorrect math in scoring situations and struggled to convey general thoughts.
Summerall once was a fine broadcaster. But just as Frank Gifford and Jack Buck did before him, it's time to leave the booth.
Static
Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Matt Williams is featured on the premiere episode of ESPN's "Conversations in the Classroom," a new series dedicated to discussing family-oriented topics with students. The first show airs Friday at 4:30 p.m. Williams, a former UNLV standout, appears with Boston Red Sox shortstop Nomar Garciaparra, a former Valley resident. ... KSHP 1400-AM has the only local NHL hockey broadcasts this season with the entire Los Angeles Kings schedule. KSFN 1140-AM did not renew its deal with the Phoenix Coyotes. ... KSHP's college basketball menu consists of Arizona State, Kansas, Stanford, Utah and Washington this season. It also includes assorted games from Brigham Young, Colorado, Hawaii and Washington State. ... CBS announced its college basketball schedule for 1998-99. The season tips off Dec. 5 and consists of 62 broadcast hours. UNLV is not scheduled to appear on CBS. ... Turner Sports offers 36 hours of figure skating on TBS and TNT this fall and winter. The first show airs Nov. 1 with the Vail Figure Skating Festival.
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