CBS Remodels NFL Pregame

With the beginning of the NFL season, viewers are going to see a lot of different faces in different places.

CBS has revamped its cast for “The NFL Today.” Gone are Mike Ditka, Jerry Glanville and Randy Cross. Newcomers are Dan Marino, Boomer Esiason and Deion Sanders, who joined the show five games into last season.

“We now have a pregame show that can challenge the guys out on the West Coast as they’ve never been challenged before,” says CBS Sports President Sean McManus.

Fox’s Los Angeles-based “Fox NFL Sunday” remains intact, except for Cris Collinsworth, who has joined Joe Buck and Troy Aikman on the network’s lead game-announcing team. Also, Jimmy Johnson, an original member of the show, returns as an in-studio guest analyst the first three weeks of the season.

Everything about the Fox Sports Net pregame show has been changed, from the cast to the name to the time slot. The 90-minute “NFL Show” will air Saturday nights after Pacific 10 football and will be repeated Sunday mornings at 7:30.

Host Chris Myers will be joined by Tony Siragusa, Michael Irvin, D’Marco Farr and comedian Tommy Davidson, who is best known for his work on “In Living Color.” Gone are Marv Levy, Deacon Jones, Esiason and Jay Mohr. The biggest loss is Levy. He always had something witty to say.

The revamped show will include dancers, a live band, comedic high jinks similar to what one sees on the “Best Damn Sports Show Period,” and a studio audience. The first show includes a skit featuring Davidson at Junior Seau’s restaurant in San Diego.

Time permitting, there even may be a little football commentary.

ESPN’s “NFL Sunday Countdown” has a new set, Bill Parcells is now a full-time member of the cast and John Madden will have a segment with Chris Berman each week. Parcells also will moonlight for the Sporting News Network, again doing his weekly show, which will be carried by KMPC (1540) Fridays at 6 p.m., beginning today.

HBO’s “Inside the NFL,” which makes its debut next Thursday at 8 p.m., is another show that has been revamped. Gone are longtime fixtures Len Dawson and Nick Buoniconti. The new cast includes holdovers Marino and Collinsworth plus newcomers Bob Costas, the host, and Cris Carter.

Look for Carter to emerge as a star.

He was in Los Angeles recently, helping DirecTV promote its NFL Sunday Ticket pay package, and was particularly impressive during a lunch interview. The former wide receiver is glib, intelligent, pleasant and not afraid to express an opinion.

HBO President Ross Greenburg said, “We feel he can have a Charles Barkley-like presence.”

Helping the Enemy

Fox Sports Net commentator Tom Ramsey knew he and Steve Physioc would be announcing Saturday night’s Colorado State-UCLA game because it is Fox Sports Net’s national Pac-10 game of the week. So the former UCLA quarterback, who now lives in the Denver area, went out to a Colorado State practice in Fort Collins 2 1/2 weeks ago to take a look at the Rams.

He was impressed and told Coach Sonny Lubick how he felt. Lubick in turn asked Ramsey to stick around and tell the team the same thing after practice. Ramsey reluctantly agreed.

It must have been quite a pep talk. The Rams are 2-0 and coming off a big win over Colorado.

“I don’t regard the win over Colorado as an upset,” Ramsey said. “Colorado State is that good.”

Now that the Rams are facing Ramsey’s alma mater, maybe Coach Bob Toledo should ask him to give his team a pep talk too, just to balance things out.

More College Football

NBC televises its first Notre Dame game of the season Saturday at 10 a.m. when the Irish play host to Purdue. The announcers will be Tom Hammond and Pat Haden.

Before re-signing with NBC, Haden was considering an offer from Turner Broadcasting, which used to employ him as an NFL announcer. Turner’s TBS begins televising Pac-10 and Big 12 games Sept. 14 and wanted Haden.

Speaking of Haden and Ramsey, these two guys not only sound alike, they also are two of the best in the business.

Ramsey is among a long line of former UCLA quarterbacks who have excelled in broadcasting. Look where Aikman is. David Norrie works for ABC. Matt Stevens is UCLA’s radio commentator. And now Wayne Cook is getting into the business. He’ll be part of the Bruin pregame and postgame shows on flagship station KXTA (1150).

The Bruin radio network consists of 15 other stations, some in such faraway places as Maui, Albuquerque, Las Vegas and Reno.

As a test, Regal CineMedia Corp. (RCM) is televising the Colorado State-UCLA game in high definition at the Edwards Theaters Irvine Spectrum Megaplex. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for students and $6 for children. RCM is also showing the game at three locations in the Denver area.

Tragic Event

Cameraman Brian Blodgett, 37, of Jacksonville, Fla., died Tuesday from injuries suffered in a freak accident while filming a golf event in the Monterey area.

“Brian was a well-respected member of the golf community, and that extended family shares deeply in this most tragic loss,” said Frank Chirkinian, the president of Gaylord Event Television, which employed Blodgett. He was a cameraman for all 42 of the “Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf” matches since the series was revived in 1994.

On Tuesday, Blodgett was set up on a platform on a forklift shooting a Shell match between Fred Couples and Mark Calcavecchia when the forklift toppled over on an uneven stretch of ground.

Blodgett is survived by his wife of five months, Kelly, 32.

Short Waves

Former Trojans Tim Ryan and Mark Carrier are rookie NFL commentators for Fox. Former Bruin Ron Pitts has gone from field reporter to play-by-play.... The NFL Celebrity Shootout, taped at La Costa, will be televised by Fox on Saturday at 10:30 a.m.... A new daily show featuring four sports columnists from different regions will make its debut on ESPN Oct. 28. Max Kellerman will serve as host of “Around the Horn,” which will air weekdays at 2 p.m. The Times’ T.J. Simers will be one of the four columnists.... Chris McCarron will serve as a guest commentator on “Trackside Live” from Del Mar Saturday and Sunday on Fox Sports Net 2.... Fox Sports Net 2 also will carry TVG’s coverage of the mule match race between Black Ruby and Taz Sunday night at 6.

“NBA Inside Stuff,” formerly on NBC, makes its debut on ABC Saturday at 11:30 a.m.... Shaquille O’Neal’s charity roast of Emmitt Smith, taped in Las Vegas in June, begins airing as a pay-per-view event on digital cable and DirecTV Saturday. Proceeds go to charity.... SlamBall concludes its first season with the championship game on TNN Saturday at 8 p.m.

Roger Lodge, host of the popular “Blind Date” syndicated show, concludes a successful three-week run as fill-in sports talk show host with Bob Golic on KMPC today. Lodge is knowledgeable, smooth and clever. He is so good the station should give him his own show.

In Closing

As Jim Rome suggested Thursday, turn women’s activist Martha Burk loose on the Super Bowl next. “We don’t need the Super Bowl commercials, and we certainly don’t need people rating the commercials,” Rome said.