Pregame Won’t Be the Same Old Thing, NBC Has Promised

The game, we know about: Cincinnati vs. San Francisco. Kickoff about 2:15 p.m., PST, Sunday. Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen announcing for NBC.

But what about the Super Bowl pregame show, which will run from noon until 2 p.m.?

Here, according to Michael Weisman, executive producer of NBC Sports, are some of the things you won’t see.

“We won’t feature tailgate parties at Joe Robbie Stadium,” he said.

“We won’t put cameras on reporters or into crowded sports bars in San Francisco or Cincinnati, nor will we interview the mayors from either city.

“We won’t do the obligatory feature on the media crush.

“And we solemnly promise not to do a feature on the Hogs, the Three Amigos, Refrigerator Perry, Jerry Glanville’s practice of leaving tickets for celebrities, the House of Pain or the Dog Pound.

“Also, we won’t choreograph the Ickey Shuffle. Promise.”

A highlight of the pregame show, the something different NBC is seeking, figures to be the Diet Pepsi Talent Challenge.

Competing will be five National Football League players who have performing talents. They’ll perform live in front of an audience at the Miami Seaquarium in Key Biscayne. John Candy and Ahmad Rashad will be the co-hosts.

“This won’t be ‘The Gong Show,’ ” Weisman said. “What you’ll see are football players with real talent.”

The field has been pared to seven, and Saturday, after a dress rehearsal, it will be cut to the five who will appear on the show.

The current seven:

--Karl Bernard, running back, Detroit Lions, sings. He sang the national anthem before a Detroit Pistons game.

--Reggie White, defensive end, Philadelphia Eagles, does impersonations. He does Muhammad Ali, Rodney Dangerfield, Clint Eastwood and Elvis Presley.

--E. J. Junior, linebacker, Phoenix Cardinals, plays piano and sings.

--Spencer Tillman, running back, Houston Oilers, does impersonations. He does, among others, Jerry Glanville, his coach.

--John Scully, guard, Atlanta Falcons, plays keyboard and sings. He has performed with the Midwest Pops in South Bend, Ind., and in Atlanta nightclubs.

--Mike Martin, wide receiver, Cincinnati Bengals (on injured reserve), plays piano and sings. He also does a Stevie Wonder impersonation. He is the early-line favorite. The Bengals originally wouldn’t let him participate, but NBC wanted him badly and talked the team into giving its permission.

--Michael Young, wide receiver, Rams, sings. The 4-year pro from UCLA could be the sleeper of the group. He has appeared on “Hee Haw.” He’ll sing his own rhythm-and-blues rendition of “A Whole Lot of Rosie,” an AC-DC song.

In the battle of soft-drink giants, the Talent Challenge was Pepsi-Cola’s answer to Coca-Cola’s 3-D halftime show.

Diet Coke is sponsoring 12 minutes of magic and illusion, featuring card tricks, a giant jukebox and 1,000 performers.

Viewers who have picked up special cardboard glasses from retail stores can check out the three-dimensional effect. Those who haven’t need not worry. The halftime show won’t look any different from the way it would normally.

Of course, there is a variety of Super Bowl-related programming this weekend.

NFL Films sent along an advance tape of its “Road to the Super Bowl,” which will be on Channel 4 Saturday at 3 p.m. and on Channel 36 (Palm Springs) at 7. It is a must-see.

Cincinnati Coach Sam Wyche was wired for sound throughout the season, including the AFC championship game, and that’s one reason this show is such a good one. Another is that it is typical NFL Films quality.

Other Super Bowl-related programming includes “John Madden’s Super Bowl Special,” produced by San Francisco-based GGP Sports.

The one-hour show will be on Channel 2 Saturday night at 7. Among the guests will be Dan Fouts and Jennifer Montana, wife of Joe.

Then there’s “Bob Hope’s Super Bowl Party” Saturday night at 8 on NBC. The guests include George Burns, Shelley Long, Sammy Davis Jr., Tiffany, Boomer Esiason and Joe Montana.

ESPN has a 14-hour pregame show, beginning at 11:30 p.m. Saturday with highlights of all previous Super Bowls. “GameDay” will be on Sunday at its usual time, 8:30 a.m.

And MTV, for the fourth straight year, offers its own version of Super Bowl Weekend, with a number of the Super Bowl participants, including Esiason, making guest appearances.

The Buck Never Stops: Jack Buck and Hank Stram, who will announce the Super Bowl for CBS Radio, are both in their mid-60s. Buck is 64, Stram 66.

Says Buck, who recently signed a new 3-year contract with the St. Louis Cardinals: “I’m working harder now than ever.”

Buck’s new deal has cooled speculation that NBC’s Bob Costas, who owns a home in St. Louis, might replace him.

Now speculation centers on Joe Buck, the second-youngest of Jack’s eight children.

Joe, 19, is an announcer for the minor league Louisville Redbirds and attends Indiana University during the off-season.

Will he be ready to slip into his dad’s seat in 3 years?

“I hope he comes along fast enough,” Jack Buck said.

Football expert? Remember Channel 4’s World Series postgame shows with Tom Lasorda?

Now the station is bringing Lasorda back for its Super Bowl postgame show.

Of course. What could be more sensible? A baseball manager analyzing a football game.

Add Channel 4: Among the silliest features of Super Hype Week was one Fred Roggin did, asking players the same questions that were asked of President Reagan during a White House news conference.

What viewers saw was a White House correspondent asking a question and a football player giving the answer. Nice try, but it didn’t work.

Last Add Channel 4: Roggin is in Miami, No. 2 man Brett Lewis is still on vacation and former staff man Mike Smith, who has been been doing some fill-in work recently, had to return to San Diego because of weekday obligations with his production company.

So, the station brought in someone named Joe Fowler, a commercial actor who once did sports for a Philadelphia station.

After a couple of unimpressive performances by Fowler, Roggin was back doing the sports Wednesday and Thursday nights from Miami, which brought back memories of the Channel 4 newscasts from Seoul, South Korea.

Brett Lewis, wherever you are, please come back.

TV-Radio Notes

Football won’t be the only sport on television Sunday. NBC opens at 9:30 a.m., PST, with the Senior Skins Game from La Quinta. The coverage is delayed about a half-hour. Charlie Jones, Lee Trevino and Mark Rolfing report. . . . CBS counters with an attractive pro basketball game, Detroit at Boston, at 9 a.m.

Don Corsini, program director at Channel 7, has been hired as vice president in charge of programming and production for Prime Ticket, effective in mid-February. Corsini was brought over to Prime Ticket by John Severino, former Channel 7 general manager, who is now the president of the regional sports cable network.

Remember the old “Sports Challenge” shows with Dick Enberg? They’re coming back in September. Gerry Gross, the show’s creator, will produce 13 new episodes for GGP Sports, with Enberg as host. GGP also will syndicate 13 of the old shows.