Extra media, no waiting

Stuff that didn't make the final cut of the weekly Daily News media column and notebook:

-- CBS’ coverage of Saturday’s Georgia-Florida college football game from Jacksonville, Fla. (Channel 2, 12:30 p.m.) will be self-muted for the phrase: “The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.��? At the request of the presidents of both schools, CBS and ESPN have instructed their announcers to drop that punchy punchline because they’ve decided to fool everyone into thinking that drinking isn’t the primary focus of the day’s events. CBS’ Verne Lundquist, doing the play-by-play for CBS, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution he’ll honor the request, but added: “If I thought not using the phrase would diminish the amount of public drunkenness, then I would be more than happy to refrain. But in my experience, that is not the case. I wish the omission of the phrase had more relevance. But I'm afraid it doesn't.��? ESPN’s “College GameDay��? crew will broadcast from the gamesite early Saturday. Meanwhile, someone has already bought the trademark for the name and has a website (thewlcparty.com).
-- The Lakers somehow still get the opening-night treatment on national TV, but the Clippers are somewhere on the radar. For TNT’s exclusive opening night doubleheader Tuesday, the Lakers-Phoenix game from Staples Center (7:30 p.m., with Kevin Harlan and Doug Collins) is on the back end of the Chicago-Miami contest (5 p.m.). Two nights later, TNT takes the Clippers-Denver contest from Staples Center (7:30 p.m., with the same broadcast team that did the Lakers) following the San Antonio-Dallas coverage (5:15 p.m.). ESPN has the same idea, only reversed. On its first night of coverage Wednesday, it has the Clippers-Phoenix game (7:30 p.m., with Mike Tirico, Bill Walton and Jon Barry) after the Washington-Cleveland game (5 p.m). Friday’s Seattle-Lakers game from Staples Center (7:30 p.m.) comes after Cleveland-San Antonio (5 p.m.)
--Those ESPN games with the Lakers and Clippers, though, are blacked out here. FSN Prime Ticket has the Clippers on Wednesday, the first of 44 regular-season telecasts, with KTLA-Channel 5 taking 30. The Lakers have 34 regular-season games locked into FSN West, starting Friday, with 39 on KCAL-Channel 9.
-- The “NBA League Pass��? on DirecTV, Dish Network and In-Demand still runs $179 per season for up to 40 games a week. This season, the deal this year includes live webcasts at NBA.com. Take advantage of the free trial of the service from Tuesday through Nov. 7 before tuning out.
-- Since those who run Staples Center have already named the upstairs press box for Kings’ play-by-play man Bob Miller, and the lower-floor press room for the late Lakers’ play-by-play man Chick Hearn, it decided that Clippers play-by-play man Ralph Lawler will be honored by having his name on the “green room��? where the players’ families gather before and after games. It’ll be called “Lawler’s Lounge��? sometime this season. We can hardly wait.
-- On the Sports Business Journal’s newest list of the “20 Most Influential People in Pro Basketball,��? ESPN/ ABC Sports president George Bodenheimer ranked second to NBA commissioner David Stern at the top. Turner Sports president David Levy (No. 7), and Fox Sports Net COO Randy Freer (No. 17) were included – ahead of LeBron James (No. 18) and Yao Ming (No. 19).
-- “Dreaming Green: The Making of the Celtics Dance Team��? – which sounds like a Michael Flatley production – is something NBA TV has decided to air as a mini-reality series for the next couple of Mondays, chronicling how the Boston Celtics held auditions (some in L.A., of all places) to finally become the last league franchise to break down and pay for a dance squad.
-- Ahmad Rashad isn’t going away. “NBA Access with Ahmad Rashad��? will run on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 whenever they feel the need. NBA TV also has a weekly show, “Tuesday Night With Ahmad,��? which sounds like something Mitch Albom should be co-hosting, acting as a pregame show for whatever contests the league-owned channel airs on that night.
--Tommy Lasorda, in St. Louis for the World Series, has been bombarded with shouts of “To the TV!��? when he makes his way around the park, according to the Sports Business Daily blog. “This thing has taken on a life of its own,��? the Dodgers’ Hall of Fame former manager said. “It’s really been sort of overwhelming.��?
--If Kobayashi is the king of hot dog eating, who rules the hamburger world? The World Hamburger Eating Championship will be carried live on ESPN2 (Saturday, 1 p.m.), apparently because there isn't a college football came worth showing. Paul Page, who long ago was the voice of the Indianapolis 500, is stuck with this assignment.
-- Part of the next episode of HBO’s “Real Sports��? (Tuesday, 10 p.m.) is a look-see at what makes ESPN’s “College GameDay��? show tick. Reporter Jon Frankel asks Lee Corso why he need a couple of police deputies for protection during the show. The 71-year-old Corso says: “It’s embarrassing to say this -- in the 17 year or 18 years (doing this), I probably made every school in America mad at me. And they don’t ever forget. . . . Auburn’s a perfect example. About 10 years ago, I picked Fresno State to upset Auburn in the opener. Auburn beat them, 62-0. And to this day, (the fans) will walk up to me and say, ‘Yo, sweetheart! How’s Fresno State doing?��?