Media Notes: Reggie Theus likes the Bulls in 6 games

Tim Graham

Wednesday, June 4, 1997 | 10:33 a.m.

About the only thing Reggie Theus didn't accomplish in his illustrious basketball career was an appearance in the NBA Finals.

Still, as he watches this year's battle between the Chicago Bulls and the Utah Jazz, he's aware of his ties to the championship series. The former UNLV star played for the Bulls under current Jazz coaches Jerry Sloan and Phil Johnson.

But Theus, now an NBA analyst for Turner Sports, thinks there's only one way Chicago can lose.

"If Utah holds Michael Jordan hostage," he laughs.

Theus picks the Bulls to win the best-of-7 series in six games. The Bulls lead 1-0, heading into tonight's Game 2.

"The Bulls are amazing in that they are so accustomed to winning," Theus said during a break in the shooting of his children's television show, "Hang Time," which airs Saturday mornings on NBC. "They've learned so well how to finish, it doesn't matter what happens early in the game.

"With six minutes and 45 seconds left in the game, if you're not up by a significant, significant margin on the Bulls, they know how to close you out."

While he admires Sloan's disciplined system, Theus claims it takes breakthrough performances to top Chicago.

"The Bulls just don't get beat. It takes somebody having a way-above night," he said. "Some guy needs a two- or three-fold output above what the average to beat the Bulls."

Theus was drafted by the Bulls with the ninth overall pick in the 1978 draft. He played 5 1/2 seasons in Chicago, averaging more than 20 points a game twice. His best campaign came in 1982-83, when he averaged 23.8 points, 5.9 assists and 3.7 points a game in addition to a career-high 143 steals.

"I was 15 minutes away from playing with Michael," Theus said. "I was traded to Kansas City 15 minutes before the deadline and they drafted Jordan the next year. I could have handled the ball for Michael.

"But I feel responsible for all these Bulls championships. If I hadn't played on those teams that lost all those games, the Bulls never would have been in a position to draft Michael."

After Kansas City, Theus' 13-year NBA career also included stops in Sacramento, Atlanta, Orlando and New Jersey. Along the way he played in 17 playoff games, but never reached the finals.

Theus recently purchased a home in Summerlin and plans to live there permanently. In fact, he and former athletes from all four major sports are forming a community service group in Las Vegas. The group also includes former Rebel hoopsters Michael Loyd, Jackie Robinson, Robert Smith, Ricky Sobers and Flintie Ray Williams.

"I'm looking forward to giving back to the city," Theus said. "Las Vegas means so much to me. I've been gone for 20 years, but every time I go back people treat me like I'm still playing at UNLV.

"I want to come back. It's the right thing to do."

Dropping the puck

If they would have stood on the ice, the rink would have melted. Viewers in the valley were steaming mad Saturday after tuning in to KVVU Channel 5 at 5 p.m. to watch Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Detroit Red Wings and Philadelphia Flyers.

It wasn't on. The local Fox affiliate wasn't able to air the game because of its prior commitment to the Children's Miracle Network Telethon, which started at 6 p.m. KVVU has aired the telethon for years.

"We wanted to tape-delay the hockey game, but Fox chose to not have us air the game," said Leilani Molinaro, KVVU's programming assistant. "Fox preferred it aired live. Because we couldn't move the telethon, they aired it on another station in our market."

The game, unbeknownst to most, was shown in its entirety on KFBT Channel 33.

"It was pretty much last-minute," Molinaro said of the switch. "It was too late for us to change anything in print."

One remedy could have been an occasionally scrolling ticker during the telethon.

But KFBT and Fox Sports, not KVVU, are the ones at fault. After all, why should KVVU be responsible for plugging another channel's programming?

KFBT blew it by not faxing a simple, one-sentence announcement to the local media. By not doing so, the station not only hurt the viewers, but it hurt itself by not maximizing its audience.

ESPN carries Games 3, 4 and 6 of the series. KVVU airs Games 5 and 7 as scheduled.

Static

* TRIPLE CROWN COVERAGE: ABC (KTNV Channel 13) carries Silver Charm's try for the Triple Crown Saturday when the horses line up for the start of the Belmont Stakes at 1:30 p.m. ESPN (Prime Cable Channel 19) and ESPN2 (Prime Cable Channel 31) offers its usual complementary coverage. ESPN has the post position draw Thursday at 2 p.m. ESPN's pre-race coverage starts at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, while ESPN2 handles the wrap-up at 3 p.m.

* MERCHANT OUT: HBO (Prime Cable Channel 54) boxing analyst Larry Merchant has been pulled from the June 14 broadcast of the Oscar De La Hoya-David Kamau bout in San Antonio. Merchant made questionable ethnic remarks about a mariachi band performing before De La Hoya's April bout against Pernell Whitaker at the Thomas & Mack Center. Merchant was yanked for the safety of HBO's crew as protests from Hispanic-Americans continue. "It was regrettable and unfortunate what Larry said," Time Warner Sports president Seth Abraham told USA Today. "He's apologized four times, and it hasn't gone away. This is common sense."