Columnist Tim Graham: Classic Sports on way

Tim Graham

Wednesday, May 14, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

The 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team's Miracle on Ice. Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series. Muhammad Ali begging a fallen Sonny Liston to get off the canvas in their 1965 rematch.

The greatest moments of sport are etched in our minds. Or are they?

The Classic Sports Network keeps proving they aren't.

Currently being phased into Prime Cable's lineup, Classic Sports is a 24-hour, all-sports network devoted to legendary moments of the past. When available, along with eight other channels including CNN-SI, subscribers will pay $1.95 a month for the first six months and $2.95 thereafter to receive it.

But to any legitimate sports fan, the price is incidental. Classic Sports is a must.

"The best way to describe it is like having a Hall of Fame in your home," Classic Sports CEO Brian Bedol said. "It's like getting emersed in your attic of sports memories."

And even though the score is known, and maybe a few stats, viewers always seem to find their recollections of past events a bit distorted.

"Ninety percent of fans out there are know-it-alls," Bedol said. "They say 'Yeah, I remember that game like it was yesterday.' Well, you think you remember it, but after watching it you realize you don't."

Classic Sports boasts the largest library of vintage sports tapes in the world, but the material Bedol is most proud of is the network's priceless boxing collection. It was obtained from Big Fights Inc., an outfit run by Bill Cayton and the late Jimmy Jacobs -- Mike Tyson's former managers -- that procured more than 18,000 historical fight films.

In fact, it was the popularity of vintage boxing replays that encouraged Bedol, along with former Major League Baseball deputy commissioner Stephen Greenberg, to launch Classic Sports two years ago last week. According to their research, ESPN's "Superbouts" was recording better ratings than some live boxing.

"There isn't any other sport that holds up over the test of time like boxing," Bedol said.

Auto asphyxiation

Those close to Ron Futrell know about his passion for auto racing. But should the KTNV Channel 13 sports director expect his viewers to share it?

That's what those in the local broadcasting industry have been snickering about for some time as Futrell's nightly telecasts remind everyone racing is important to him. Futrell seems to make it a point to air auto racing material that stretches the limits of sports news.

There was his footage of bikini girls at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway; a promo for a classic car show at the Speedway; a piece (not produced by 13) on a teenage girl (with no ties to the area) who drag races.

Then there was a segment Monday night devoted to a stuffed Pink Panther doll in the cockpit with Robby Gordon during Indy 500 qualifying. That time could have been spent on a story not even mentioned: the hefty suspensions handed down from the International Hockey League on Las Vegas Thunder player Sasha Lakovic and head coach Chris McSorley.

Futrell, however, defends his auto racing coverage, pointing to the fact that Speedway events are the top three spectator events in Nevada sports history.

"The fans have responded," Futrell said. "I don't think I do too much. Did we cover racing more than Rebel basketball? Certainly not. Did we cover racing more than Rebel football? We might have. Did we do more than the Thunder this year? I don't think so."

When asked about 13's sports scoreboard being sponsored by the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Futrell responded: "Are we? I never even see it."

Futrell is the only local sportscaster who acknowledges auto racing. Although his coverage may be viewed as overkill to some, the other stations have all but ignored a sport which draws huge crowds.

"I think the other stations have missed out, with a $200 million facility built under their noses," he said. "We were out there from Day One. How could you justify ignoring that? They did.

"They'll have to do some catching up."

Static

* VEGAS DIAMONDBACKS: When the Arizona Diamondbacks take the field for the first time in 1998, they hope to have a presence in Las Vegas. The expansion baseball franchise has targeted Southern Nevada as a future radio market. "It's an important market for us," said Diamondbacks play-by-play man Thom Brennaman, who has discussed the matter with three local stations. "It's a great-sized market and there aren't many of those in this region for our industry." According to Brennaman, who also teams with Bob Brenly for Fox Sports baseball telecasts, the Diamondbacks want Las Vegans among their hometown fans. "We want to be there. We want to have our games on in Las Vegas," he said, noting a surprising number of the team's 33,000 season ticket holders are Nevadans. Brennaman claims the Diamondbacks want to take their remote affiliations to a different level, treating them like stations in the Phoenix area. "If we come into Las Vegas, we'll make sure there's a caravan stop for us there every year, the same thing other clubs are doing but only in their general vicinities," he said. "We want make it worth our station's while to carry us." Of local stations, only KDWN 720-AM is a full-season, Major League Baseball team affiliate, broadcasting the entire Los Angeles Dodgers schedule.

* GOING ONE-ON-ONE: One-on-One Sports talker "Papa Joe" Chevalier will broadcast live from the MGM June 23-27, the week leading up to the Evander Holyfield-Mike Tyson rematch. Chevalier, heard locally on KENO 1460-AM, is on from 3-7 p.m. Peter Brown, the man who precedes him from 11 a.m.-3 p.m., also will broadcast his show from the MGM June 26 and 27. ... One-on-One, which got its start at the former KVEG 840-AM before moving to Chicago, recently bolstered its market base with the $45 million acquisition of three major-market stations: WXLX 620-AM in New York, KXMG 1540-AM in Los Angeles and WCMQ 1210-AM in Miami. All three were owned by the Spanish Broadcast System.

* QUOTABLE: Fox Sports (KVVU Channel 5) color commentator Jeff Torborg on catching legendary pitcher Sandy Koufax: "His curveball broke two feet. I always had the feeling that if the mound was higher and the plate was farther away, the ball would go back to him."

* SPINNING THE DIAL: ESPN (Prime Cable Channel 19) "SportsCenter" anchor Keith Olbermann returned from his well-publicized suspension during Tuesday's 8 p.m. episode. ... ESPN's popular website, "SportsZone," has changed its name to "espn.com," which also will serve as its new address. ... The USA Network (Prime Cable Channel 16) will have the honor of airing the first appearance of Tiger Woods since his record-breaking performance at The Masters and the Fuzzy Zoeller controversy with the Byron Nelson Classic Thursday and Friday at 4 p.m. ABC Sports (KTNV Channel 13) will air the final round Sunday at 3 p.m.