Q: What do you remember most about your days doing sports TV in L.A.?
A: "Stu Nahan was the sports director, and Bryant Gumbel was doing news, and I was there on the weekends as an anchor and weekdays as a reporter. They know me here in New York as 'The Schmoozer,' but I really got that from Stu. That's what we called him. I think Nahan and Gumbel loved the pieces I'd put together for the broadcasts. I was writing in a fun way about the issues going on in the toy department. We produced all the things we did ourselves back then.
"I keep in contact with a lot of people back there. My agent Steve Linett lives there. I also have who I call my gardian angel there, Ed O'Sullivan, in Newport Beach, who's 82 years old, a USC football season ticket holder who may have missed only four home games in 45 years. I couldn't have made it through all the business end of things without him. He helped me out a great deal when my dad died in 2003, and I think I talk to Ed now about once a week. And I also have a couple of cousins in Encino.
"I also did some sports-talk at Gene Autry's KMPC back then, but I left in '82 to go back to Sacramento and do TV. And from '84 to '87 I was out of work until we made contact with WFAN."

Q: What attracted you to move to New York to join this all-sports radio format?
A: "The station was trying to decide what to do with its overnight shift. It could repeat daytime programming, it could use syndicated programming, or I could do a live show -- which is what I begged them to do. I was hired back on my video resume.
"Radio here is very personal and intimate, and they adoped me right away Some people who've been hearing me the last 20 years say I kept them up through their night-time job, or through school. The people latch onto you like a member of their family.
"I thought New York was a sports town, and it really is. I was the first overnight guy and I was worried on one would call. But there were , and you can't get through at 2 a.m just as if it was 2 in the afternoon.
"I've become user-friendly. I’m famous for my monologues now and that was something I could always write, writing for the ear instead of the eye. I do humor, the light side of sports. I’ll find humor in everything and I'm looking to have a good time. Most others treat sports a little more seriously but they know I can do it when I have to.
"When I first got on the air, I said I was a 79-year-old from northern India, from the town of Simla. I said my father was a turbin maker and he wanted me to come here to be a cab driver. Now I guess some people think I'm 99 and still working.
"They once tried to move me to a 10-to-2 shift in the daytime, and I really missed the overnights, with my connection to the callers. That lasted five years, and now I'm back at nights."

Q: A native of the Bay Area and having traveled across the country do you consider yourself a New Yorker now?
A: "The author E.B. White once wrote about three kinds of New Yorkers. One is the native that provides the city with its continuity. Another is the commuter that provides it with its wrestlessness. I'm in the third category: The person who looks at New York as a destination and provides it with its passion. I always looked at New York as my goal. My objective was to come here and do Broadway at one time during my career. As a kid, I thought of New York as the biggest place to do anything with sports. I was wrestless coming from California but had the passion to continue my career there."

Q: What are your thoughts about not having Don Imus as the morning anchor for the station?
A: "We miss him, on every level. He certainly said something out of place and he apoligzed and those offended accepted it. We'd have liked to have seen him continue with improtant discussion about those issues. I think it's gone by the wayside now. There was so much publicity about all that. I'm the last to hear what's going on here. I just mind my own business and and hope I'm cointributing to the station."

==Speaking more about sports talk show guys ...
Don Barrett, the writer/creator of the Los Angeles radio insider website, LARadio.com, tossed out the question: "Is T.J. a Hypocrite?" It was in response to KLAC-AM (570) morning co-host T.J. Simers' point that he had a problem with blog writers who continue to make inroads in delivering sports opinion and news despite the fact that "most bloggers haven’t done as much writing in their lifetime as sports writers who worked at small papers and worked their way up, word after word after word they’ve written. It’s just experience. It’s practical. I’m not being nasty. It’s just a matter of how much experience you have.”
Barrett notes that, from the KLAC website, the L.A. Times columnist has also written for the San Diego Union-Tribune, the Rocky Mountain News and The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, was a sports editor for the Morristown (N.J.) Daily Record, the Beloit (Wis.) Daily News and the Coeur d'Alene (Idaho) Press, and an assistant sports editor for the DeKalb (Illinois) Chronicle.
On our end, we agree with Simers, making some distinction that many of those who blog at newspaper sites are staff writers who do it on the side, so there's a better sense from the reader that their journalistic training -- a background in knowing what constitutes plagerism, libel, and other ethical behavior, not to mention experience gained in investigative reporting, use of sources, interviewing technique and generating credible stories -- has more depth than someone who has just stumbled upon a keyboard and generated witty opinions. In the end, they have to answer to themselves, not an editor, lawyer or someone with an experience in checks and balances. They often don't retract false accusations, have no problem with copyright infringements, and are left to their own devices when it comes to establishing some credibility. Their charm of acting as free speakers can also lead to their detrement.
Meanwhile, Barrett's take on Simer's rant:(It) seems a little thin since his own radio experience before taking over morning drive on a 5,000-watt heritage station in Los Angeles was doing a one-hour Sunday morning show with his daughter, who also had no prior radio experience. L.A. radio is filled with personalities who have come from the world of lawyering, sports and other professions. But why does he put down bloggers because they didn't take the nomadic journey of smaller markets to medium markets to eventually make it L.A.? Isn't this a tad hypocritical? You be the judge.
Simers discussed Barrett's opinion on Wednesday's show with co-host (and daughter) Tracy and Fred Roggin.
"I think the daughter and I proved you don't have to know anything or have any talent to do radio," said Simers.

==NBC's 37 hours of Wimbledon coverage starts Saturday with Ted Robinson, John McEnroe, Mary Carillo and Bud Collins, from noon to 3 p.m. (delayed) and Sunday (same time, with replays of matches from the week since there's no action that day). The network also presents taped coverage from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, expanding it to five hours (noon to 5 p.m.) Thursday July 5 and Friday July 6 for the women's and men's semifinals.
The women's final Saturday July 8 (6 to 11 a.m.) and the men's final Sunday July 9 (6 a.m. to noon) are live on KNBC-Channel 4.
McEnroe, on whether the sport is ready for a new rivalry: "I think any individual sport needs that and benefits from that. I think you see that happening to a large degree with Federer and Nadal. The women not as much because of health issues and people missing a lot of time, and also the difficult situation of the Williams sisters when they were the two best players in the world. They actually had to play each other. And that's just so weird. We kind of build the rivalry based upon this unbelievably bizarre situation. What are the odds of that happening, five billion to one? I don't think it ever happened in the history of any other sport. I can't think of any sport, where the number one and two players in the world were sisters.
"It was awkward for them to play each other. It is incredible, but it ended up being awkward. And that's too bad for our sport. We couldn't figure out how to deal with it. Subsequently, they weren't playing as much, and now I think the game has changed a lot. They have to market the game better and to know the players better because then there is a better chance that there will be an emotional response to what they are watching, and a better chance that you'll see rivalries."
Meanwhile, those following Wimbledon's early rounds on ESPN2 this week might have caught Dick Enberg calling the Tim Henman-Feliciano Lopez match that started Wednesday and ended Thursday with Cliff Drysdale. ESPN2 is trying to change up the annoucing pairs to break away from just play-by-play/analysts. Enberg and Drysdale, both known for play-by-play, were able to allow Drysdale to give more of his Wimbledon history (he's a two-time semifinalist and started playing there in 1962). Other mix-and-match teams have been Patrick McEnroe with Luke Jensen and Mary Carillo with Mary Joe Fernandez.
Just a reminder, while ESPN2 has the men's quarterfinals live on July 4 (5 to 7 a.m., and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.), ESPN has its annual Hot Dog Eating contest coverage from Coney Island (9 a.m., repeated on ESPN2 at 7 p.m.).

==TV Week's Website also reports there was some miscommunication on why neither NBC nor ESPN was televising any of Wimbledon in high definition this year. It's coming next year, according to NBC.

==Video of Olympic swimmer Amanda Beard talking about her Playboy nakedness on a recent FSN "Best Damn Sports Show Period" is at this link ...

==TBS has a one-hour special annoucing the Major League Baseball All-Star rosters, on Sunday at 1 p.m. following the Atlanta-Florida telecast. Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr., the recently selected Hall of Famers, are in the studio with Ernie Johnson for the announcement, and both say they think Barry Bonds deserves a spot on the NL roster, even if he's not voted in. " There has to be one guy from each team and there’s no question that he’s having the best year on his team," said Gwynn. "(The All-Star teams) are playing in his home park, so I think he deserves to be there. There is lots of controversy to Barry Bonds, but when you look at numbers and you look to see who would be the best representative for his club, I think it would be him. It’s even more of a special honor (to be an All-Star) when it’s your own park and I think he should experience that.” Adds Ripken: "Yes, there is a shadow that is hanging over the top of him, but when I think of Barry, I think of him as an All-Star player and sometimes you have to have those All-Stars that are considered ‘career All-Stars’ at the game because that’s what makes the All-Star Game so special. I don’t get so caught up in the suspicion and speculation, I’d like to assume that everything is on the up and up, and I’d like to see him at the All-Star Game myself.”

==The annual Sportscaster Camps of America, a cross behind a fantasy camp for sportscaster wannabes and a workshop for those who take it serious, is set for its 23rd year for July 11-15 in Long Beach. Approximately 50 campers aged from 13 to 53 have signed up to hear from former participants who'll share their experiences and knowledge, including former UCLA quarterback and current ABC college football analyst David Norrie. It may not be as glamorous as when the camp in its heyday had Ronald Reagan deliver the commencement address in 1990, and included such instructors as Bob Costas, Al Michaels, Roy Firestone, Jim Rome and Ernie Harwell, but what's the harm? Roy Englebrecht is still accepting applications at www.sportscastercamp.com.

==Bill Macatee anchors the 18th hole tower with Nick Faldo for this weekend's coverage of the PGA's Buick Open, in Michigan which will be without both Jim Nantz (in the booth) and Tiger Woods (on the course, since he's staying home to babysit). No. 3 ranked Jim Furyk is the highest-ranked golfer participating.

==Budding soap opera star Mark Schlereth will work with Mark Jones on the ESPN2 telecast of the Avengers' Arena Football League playoff game Monday (7 p.m.) against Utah at Staples Center.

==ESPN has decided to travel to Blackburg, Va., on the campus of Virginia Tech, which not too long ago was the scene of the tragic student killings, to do its first 2007 "College GameDay" show (Sept. 1, 7 a.m.) before its own telecast of the East Carolina-Virginia Tech game at 9 a.m.. Right after the show ends, studio analyst Kirk Herbstreit will fly to Berkeley to work that night's Tennessee-Cal game on ABC at 5 p.m. Mike Tirico, Todd Blackledge and Bill Curry will call the East Carolina-Virginia Tech game on ESPN.
Herbstreit will apparently work every Saturday Night ABC broadcast, with Brent Musburger, according to flight schedules and personnel moves announced by ESPN this week. The rest of the roster includes: Chris Fowler, Doug Flutie and Craig James on ESPN Thursday night games; Mark Jones, Bob Davie and Stacey Dales on a new ESPN2’s Saturday primetime games; Sean McDonough, Chris Spielman and Rob Stone, who previously did ESPN Saturday afternoons, move to ESPN’s Friday package and Ron Franklin, Ed Cunningham and Jack Arute will do ESPN2’s Saturday primetime window to call games on ABC. Also, Dave Pasch and Andre Ware (with Erin Andrews) will do ESPN Saturday afternoon games. Mike Gottfried, a longtime ESPN analyst, has been tossed over to the ESPNU primetime games with Dave Armstrong, and former Miami coach Larry Coker will do some ESPNU games.
Brad Nessler, Bob Griese and Paul Maguire, with reporter Bonnie Bernstein, will stay on ABC's regional Saturday broadcasts, as will Dan Fouts, Tim Brant and reporter Todd Harris. Also, Mike Patrick, Blackledge and Holly Rowe have ESPN’s Saturday primetime games.

==Hooking the umpires up with microphones and showing live webcast of batting practice on both FoxSports.com and MLB.com are among the elements Fox plans to roll out for its coverage of the MLB All-Star game from San Francisco on July 10. Two hours of live batting practice may not seem to be anything special, but it’s enough to where Fox will have Chris Rose and Harold Reynolds, the former ESPN “Baseball Tonight” analyst and current MLB.com employee, hosting it for an internet telecast that starts at 2 p.m., prior to the 5 p.m. game telecast.

==Univision's Spanish-language broadcast of the U.S. victory over Mexico in the CONCACAF Gold Cup was the third-most viewed Spanish-language sports telecast of all time: 5.3 million viewers according to Nielsen figures. Last summer's Mexico-Argentina match in the World Cup, and February's U.S.-Mexico meeting in Arizona had larger audiences.

==A six-part reality show focused on David Beckham's wife, Victoria, has been shortened to a single, one-hour special called "Victoria Beckham: Coming To America," set to air on July 16 on NBC. Reports are that Victoria Beckham's shooting time was limited because she and her children spent time in Europe watching her husband's playing career finish with Real Madrid, and she was only in the U.S. a couple of times -- once to throw out the first pitch at a Dodgers' game.

==In an event of biblical proportions, the Israel Baseball League has its first TV exposure on PBS, locally on KCET-Channel 28 (5 p.m.), with a taped season-opening game between the Modi'in Miracle, managed by Art Shamsky, and the Petach Tikva Pioneers, managed by Ken Holtzman with former Oak Park High shortstop Seth Binder.

==And finally, Jimmy Kimmel, on a conference call with media writers this week to promote the fact he’s co-hosting the upcoming ESPY Awards on ESPN with Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James, couldn’t resist seeing how far he could push the line when fielding some kinda lame questions.
Such as this one:
Question: Do you get imput on the nominees? And how could some of your own prejudices come out on the show?
Answer: “Yes, the host gets to choose all the nominees, and I did choose them all. As far as prejudices, I’ve decided this year to let Mexicans participate. So everyone seems pretty exited around here.”