Raymond Floyd can talk a pretty good game, as his easygoing appearances on various golf telecasts attest.
But Floyd, even at 47, still can play a pretty good game, too, as his runner-up finish at this year`s Masters showed. So he isn`t about to trade his clubs in for a microphone. At least not yet.
”I enjoy doing those telecasts,” Floyd said while taking a break between tournament rounds in Chicago. ”I only talk about things I know. But I still feel competitive.”
How competitive?
”To tell me to come to a tournament and not play, I don`t know if I could do that right now,” Floyd said. ”I still have that competitive urge. I don`t know if I could give that up.”
If, and when, he does turn in his clubs for a microphone, Floyd won`t turn into another Johnny Miller, not that he minds the outspoken NBC analyst`s sometimes critical remarks.
”Johnny has been very refreshing,” Floyd said. ”He`s the first to tell it like it is. It shocked me a little at first. But that`s Johnny. He`s always been pretty blunt. But that`s good for the TV audience. I know some golfers took exception to it. But the audience loved it.”
Floyd also said he admires the work of Gary McCord. the highly underrated CBS analyst. ”I like his humor.”
But Floyd, ever the Southern gentleman, knows he can`t be another Miller or McCord-and wouldn`t even attempt it. ”I`m from the school that if you can`t say anything nice about somebody, don`t say it.”
But if the latest influx of blunt and sometimes caustic commentators is any indication, that school let out a long time ago. Unfortunately for Floyd. – HBO is pretty confident Mike Tyson, minus his crown and invincible manner, stll can attract a large vieweing audience when the former heavyweight champ takes on Henry Tillman as part of a boxing double-header at 9 p.m. Saturday.
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”The Nielsen numbers will be staggering,” predicted HBO Sports executive producer Ross Greenburg. ”The Tyson-(Buster) Douglas fight had a 33 rating and a 49 share (of HBO homes). This production will approach those numbers. Every time Tyson`s fought, it`s been in the 30-34 range. Now there`s even more intrigue about whether he can come back. And we`ve never had George Foreman on the same night.”
Foreman will take on Adilson Rodrigues, like Tillman an opponent and little else. But Greenburg is pulling out all the stops, utilizing a record nine cameras and five tape machines, ”more equipment than any live fight on HBO. It`ll be more like a pay-per-view telecast. We`re putting every little bell and whistle into this event.”
One of the reasons may be that this is Tyson`s sixth appearance on HBO as part of a seven-fight deal. ”Mike Tyson has done remarkable things for this network,” said Greenburg, who would like that to continue. ”We`re still negotiating with Don King (Tyson`s manager) and others to put together another deal. We`d be foolish to walk away from a major media star.”
– SET Pay Per View`s coverage of the NASCAR Miller (formerly Pocono) 500 begins at 10:30 a.m. Sunday. For a suggested price of $10.95 to $14.95, viewers with addressable converters not only will be able to watch the race without commercials, but can use a special 800 telephone number to call in and have their questions answered by announcers, drivers and pit crew members during the race. An intriguing idea. Can you imagine calling Cubs manager Don Zimmer during Wednesday`s double-header and asking him why he left in Les Lancaster?
– SportsChannel will have live coverage of the National Hockey League amateur draft at noon Saturday. It`ll be hosted by Mike Emrick, who predicts American players ”could have a record-setting first round.” Three Americans were picked in the first round of the 1986 draft. . . . While the United States`
World Cup opener last Sunday had only a 1.8 rating with a 6 share on TNT, it did outdraw CBS` taped coverage of the NCAA men`s volleyball championship
(1.7). The French Open men`s singles final on NBC, however, had a 3.5 rating. . . . Here`s a thought to liven up those World Cup telecasts: Imagine Harry Caray doing play-by-play. . . . WBBM Radio signed that one-year agreement to broadcast Northwestern football games this fall. NU alumnus Dave Eanet, WBBM sports director, and Brian Davis, WBBM sports reporter, will handle the announcing chores. . . . In a nice bit of timing, the White Sox will be featured on ”This Week in Baseball” at 2 p.m. Sunday on WGN-Ch. 9, a half-hour before the station telecasts the Sox-A`s game.
– Cris Collinsworth, former Pro Bowl receiver with the Cincinnati Bengals, has signed a three-year deal with HBO Sports and will join the network`s Wimbledon coverage later this month. . . . Jeff Joniak has been named sports director for the Illinois News Network, replacing Chris Boden, who has joined WBBM Radio. . . . NBC Sports has hired former Los Angeles Raiders tight end Todd Christensen, who retired before last season, as a pro football analyst and reporter. Christensen won`t bump Bill Walsh but may replace Merlin Olsen, who reportedly is looking elsewhere.