ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, February 24, 1996 TAG: 9602260006
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: ON THE AIR
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
For Robin Roberts, it is, indeed, a wide world of sports.
Today, as she has since the start of the year, Roberts will host ``ABC's Wide World of Sports.'' Then she hops a train to Philadelphia tonight, and Sunday does play-by-play on the network's Virginia Tech-Temple basketball telecast (WSET, 1:30 p.m.).
She also remains prominent at ESPN, where next month she will be the host for the cable network's increased and comprehensive coverage of the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament. Roberts still is a regular anchor on the early-evening ``SportsCenter.'' She is the network's tennis reporter at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
And, when John Saunders' daughter became ill, Roberts stepped in on late notice - with no preparation - and flawlessly handled studio chores on ABC's seven-hour NFL wild-card playoff telecast day.
How busy is Roberts? In eight weeks, she's had three days off. How good is Roberts? Well, after doing studio highlights on ``NFL PrimeTime'' with Chris Berman and Tom Jackson and then relinquishing those duties this year, she received mail from viewers telling her she was missed in what traditionally has been a males-only role on the networks.
``Some of the letters were even from men,'' Roberts said. ``Years from now, those things will be yellow because I'm going to save them. Getting so many letters with that kind of comment, that's a huge validation on where I've come from to where I am now.''
Where Roberts came from was basketball stardom at Southeastern Louisiana. She could be a solid hoops analyst. Instead, when asked, she chose play-by-play work. ``I'm a big girl now,'' she said. Her enthusiasm for the sport will be evident during the Tech-Temple telecast, when she will team with analyst Terry Gannon.
``Once they tip it off, I find I'm in such a groove doing basketball, because it's been such a part of me,'' she said. ``I love doing games. It's like a kid in a candy store. It's not like work, like doing SportsCenter or Wide World. It's like stealing money.''
Roberts' credibility in sportscasting is one reason why ESPN/ABC signed her to a long-term contract through 2001, at a reported $600,000 annually. Her strength as a journalist was one reason she was asked to host Wide World. The days of raised eyebrows when she does play-by-play on a men's basketball game are history, too.
``I never thought I'd say this,'' Roberts said, ``but I think it's gotten to the point where people look at me as just another sportscaster, no different than my male contemporaries.''
There is a difference, however. Roberts does much more - and does it better - than most of them.
PAIRINGS: With the NCAA Division III men's basketball Final Four at the Salem Civic Center next month and Roanoke College a lock for the 64-team field, two local cable systems will carry the NCAA satellite feed of the pairings announcement Sunday at 8 p.m. The pairings will air live on Roanoke's Cox cable on Channel 9 and on Salem's Booth cable on Channel 13.
No live TV coverage of the Division III Final Four is scheduled.
HISTORIAN: The ``Fox Saturday Night Fights'' air at 11 tonight (WJPR/WFXR, Channels 21/27) from the Richmond Coliseum, where Terry Norris defends his 154-pound IBF/WBC titles against Vincent Pettway. The card, which also includes heavyweight contender Oliver McCall, is being promoted by Don King.
And what did the high-haired King say when asked about the fight site? ``Richmond has a lot of history,'' King said. ``They got statues of Richard E. Lee, uh, Bobby Lee.''
TALKING HEADS: CBS Sports won't name its roster of announcers for the NCAA Tournament until next week, but Staunton resident and ACC voice Dan Bonner will be among the analysts working in at least first- and second-round games. Bonner, a Virginia graduate, has worked this season primarily on ACC and ESPN telecasts, although he has done some CBS regional games. Billy Packer, Quinn Buckner and Bill Raftery will be the top three CBS analysts and are sure to advance to the ``Sweet Sixteen'' regional round.
NBC has named seven-time Emmy Award winner Bob Costas as the host of prime-time coverage of the Atlanta Olympics. Greg Gumbel will be the host for daytime coverage, and Hannah Storm and Jim Lampley will co-host the late-night studio. Tom Hammond has been named as the anchor for track and field coverage.
NBC announced Thursday night that former Cincinnati and Tampa Bay coach Sam Wyche has been added to the network's NFL telecast team. No decision has been made whether Wyche will work as a game analyst or in the already too-crowded ``NFL Live'' studio.
AROUND THE DIAL: The Daytona 500 telecast Sunday on CBS attracted a superb 9.2 Nielsen rating, the highest Daytona rating in a non-Winter Olympic year on the network since 1987. To show how NASCAR's fandom still is rooted in the Southeast, consider that the national rating of 9.2 rose from a 6.5 overnight rating of the largest 35 markets. ... Last Saturday's Massachusetts-Virginia Tech basketball telecast on ESPN drew a 2.3 cable rating, the network's best for a daytime college hoops game in eight years. ... With Sports Illustrated and CNN having announced they will combine forces to form a sports news network, ESPN will be adding to its news block. ESPN2 plans to air what communications director Mike Soltys calls ``a SportsCenter-type block'' from 1-6 p.m. weekdays. Some of the programming will be repeated from a 1-2 p.m. show, but there also will be updates as warranted. No firm name for the show yet on ESPN2, which will be broadcast into 30 million homes by next month. ... Home Team Sports, having added cable systems in Covington and Lynchburg, has announced it has eclipsed 3.5 million subscriber homes. More than 500,000 of those have been added by the regional sports network in the last month.
LENGTH: Long : 102 linesby CNB