June 15, 2007

U.S. Open gets all-out coverage

LARRY STEWART

The U.S. Open is getting television coverage like no other golf tournament.

Besides NBC's 12 hours of high-definition coverage on Saturday and Sunday, there were two hours on Thursday and there will be two more on Friday. That's the most a major over-the-air network has devoted to the first two rounds of any golf event.

NBC's coverage also involves six sister networks, four websites, such as NBCSports.com, and two mobile services, NBC2Go on Verizon and MobiTV on Cingular, Sprint and Alltel.

ESPN can top that with more than 30 hours of U.S. Open high-definition coverage on 16 platforms.

Also, for the first time with a golf event, there is free interactive multiple-screen coverage on satellite services DirecTV and Dish Network. On DirecTV's "mix" Channel 216 are four feeds on one screen. Subscribers with interactive remote controls can get a full-screen picture of any of the four channels.

Also, XM Satellite Radio has extensive coverage on Channel 146.

The story of the Open, as everyone expected, has been the Oakmont course.

NBC's Roger Maltbie said earlier in the week, "I think the golf spectators here and viewers at home watching television truly enjoy watching the players face this kind of challenge. Now I don't know that they want to see it every week, but to see the players struggle and have to work for par and pay a heavy penalty for shots misplaced, I think it's very compelling."Johnny Miller is almost getting as much media attention these days as Tony Soprano — or Paris Hilton. Not only is Miller NBC's lead golf commentator, he also won the 1973 U.S. Open at Oakmont with a legendary final-round 63.

Miller was featured in a Golf Channel profile last week and next Wednesday at 10 p.m. he goes one on one with Bryant Gumbel on HBO's "Real Sports." Another segment on that show has Andrea Kremer interviewing former Florida basketball star Joakim Noah, son of tennis' Yannick Noah.

Also this weekend: There's the Angels-Dodgers series at Dodger Stadium. Saturday's game at 12:45 p.m. will be regionally televised by Fox, with Matt Vasgersian and Joe Girardi announcing.

There's also NASCAR racing on TNT from Michigan this weekend, and the College World Series on ESPN and ESPN2 begins Friday.

UC Irvine opens against Arizona State on Saturday at 11 a.m. on ESPN, and on ESPN at 4 p.m. will be Cal State Fullerton's opener against Oregon State. The announcing teams will be Mike Patrick and Orel Hershiser, Gary Thorne and Robin Ventura, and Sean McDonough and Barry Larkin. Every game will be broadcast on Sirius Satellite Radio.

Speed, the motor sports network that now reaches more than 71 million households, is offering extensive coverage of the 24 Hours of LeMans beginning Saturday at 5:30 a.m. PDT.

It appears the Ski Channel is in a groove as it heads toward a launch later this year. A launch party, which in this case was called a "baby shower," was held Tuesday at Q's in Brentwood. More than 200 celebrities attended the party hosted by founder Steve Bellamy and freestyle skiing Olympic gold medalist Jonny Moseley, a major investor in the channel. The night concluded with Moseley performing a 720-degree helicopter spin in the middle of the pool hall, without benefit of skis, snow or a ski jump.