TV-RADIO / LARRY STEWART : Out of 2,000 Choices, Miller Has a Top 10

It was a typical Thanksgiving for King announcer Bob Miller--on the road away from his family.

The highlight of his day was going to watch the Kings practice at the new FleetCenter in Boston.

That beat what he did in Detroit in 1988--watching three successive movies at a theater complex. That may have been his bleakest Thanksgiving.

He has been home for Thanksgiving only about a half-dozen times during the past 23 years.

But no need to feel sorry for Miller. He has much to be thankful for. Nice family, tons of friends, and a great job.

Today, he’ll announce his 2,000th King game.

The game, which will be televised by both Prime Sports and ESPN, begins at 9 a.m. It was moved up an hour because of the time it takes the workers at the FleetCenter to get ready for a basketball game. The Celtics play there tonight.

Working in a town where one announcer, Vin Scully, has been with the Dodgers for 46 seasons, and another, Chick Hearn, is in his 36th with the Lakers and has worked 2,796 consecutive games--the 2,000 milestone may not seem like much.

But only one other announcer in the NHL, Rick Jeanneret of the Buffalo Sabres, has been with one team longer. Jeanneret is in his 25th season.

*

Miller has his own highlight list, with Wayne Gretzky 1-2. He ranks Gretzky setting the all-time scoring record in 1989 No. 1, and Gretzky setting the goals-scored record in 1994 No. 2.

“To see two records that truly may never be broken--from an announcer’s standpoint, it’s where you want to be on an historic night with the chance to make that historic call,” Miller said.

His call on that memorable night in Edmonton on Oct. 15, 1989 was: “The Great One has become the greatest of them all--the all-time leading scorer in the history of the National Hockey League.”

Miller said since he knew it was going to happen, he had jotted down some notes in preparation.

“I just wanted to get it right because I knew I was going to hear it for the rest of my life,” he said.

The Miracle on Manchester, the Kings’ 6-5 playoff victory over Edmonton in 1982, when they came back from a 5-0 deficit, ranks No. 3 on Miller’s list.

No. 4 is the Kings’ victory over Toronto in Game 7 of he 1993 Stanley Cup semifinals, sending the Kings to their first Stanley Cup final.

No. 5 is Butch Goring’s overtime goal against Boston the Stanley Cup semifinals on April 22, 1976. “Butch was carried off the ice by his teammates--I’ve never seen that before or since,” Miller said.

These and other highlights from Miller’s top 10 list will be shown between periods during today’s Prime Sports telecast.

*

Donahue update: CBS officials have confirmed that there have been conversations with UCLA Coach Terry Donahue about becoming a college football commentator next season.

Apparently, the ball is now in Donahue’s court. Those close to Donahue say this is a decision over which he will anguish.

CBS would like to have a big name in the booth to mark its return to regular-season college football next season, and Donahue, the winningest football coach in Pacific 10 history, would fit the bill.

A source said there were initially talks between Donahue and CBS a year ago about Donahue working last season’s Sun Bowl. The position was eventually filled by Doug Flutie.

CBS will do Big East and SEC football next season. The 1996 CBS schedule also includes a Notre Dame game--Nov. 2 against Navy in Dublin, Ireland.

Pat Haden was CBS’ lead commentator on college football, but moved to TNT after the network lost the sport in 1990.

*

TV-Radio Notes

In 1983, Don Ohlmeyer went to International Management Group and its senior vice president, Barry Frank, with an idea he wanted to pitch to the three major networks. His idea was a Skins Game golf event, in which prize money--or “skins,” a golf term--was up for grabs on each hole. Things have worked out pretty well for Ohlmeyer and Frank. The Skins Game, which will be on ABC Saturday at 12:30 p.m. and Sunday, delayed, at 3:30 p.m.--traditionally is one of the top two or three highest-rated golf events on television. The announcers for this weekend’s event at Bighorn Golf Club in Palm Desert will be Scully and ABC’s Mark Rolfing. Peter Jacobsen, who has announced past Skins Games, is competing in this one.

How low can pay-per-view boxing go? Would you believe Butterbean vs. Peter McNeeley? Don’t laugh. The bout has been set and will be held in February in Las Vegas or the Foxwoods Casino in Ledyard, Conn. Said Top Rank’s Dan Goossen: “We’re expecting at least 200,000 buys, maybe 300,000.” Unbelievable! . . . Top Rank has a more legitimate pay-per-view event next Friday at the Fantasy Springs Casino in Palm Springs--Gabriel Ruelas vs. Azumah Nelson. But Butterbean is on the undercard. Press row will be filled with announcers, with three teams working the card. It will be Al Bernstein and Dave Bontempo on the U.S. telecast, Rich Marotta and Rick Garcia on the international telecast and Jaime Jarrin and Rafael Ruelas on the Spanish-language telecast.

ESPN, which expanded “NFL GameDay” 15 minutes to begin the season, is expanding it another 15 minutes beginning Dec. 3. It will begin at 8:30 a.m., a half-hour earlier than the Fox pregame show and an hour earlier than NBC’s coverage. . . . The Heisman Trophy Award winner will be announced on ESPN Dec. 9. . . . Ken Schanzer, who left NBC two years ago to head up the now defunct Baseball Network, is returning to the network as executive vice president. . . . The Clippers appear to have themselves a hit with “Brent Barry’s Diary” as a halftime segment.

ESPN and Prime Sports’ “Press Box” both aired moving features Thursday night about Rod Carew’s 18-year-old daughter Michelle, who has leukemia and has been unsuccessful in finding a bone-marrow donor. Viewers wanting to help were asked to call 1-800-MARROW2. . . . Larry Farmer’s broadcasting career seems to be in high gear. He has signed a three-year deal with ESPN, will appear on at least five ABC Pac-10 telecasts, and has been invited back by CBS to work the early rounds of the NCAA tournament. . . . ABC director Drew Esocoff, who was to work last Saturday’s USC-UCLA telecast, had to return to New York that morning because his wife was about to give birth. Stepping in for Esocoff was Terry Jastrow, ABC’s golf producer who lives in the Los Angeles area.