Al McGuire`s hiatus was short-lived.
The former Marquette basketball coach, who ended a 14-year relationship with NBC as an analyst with a tearful farewell Saturday, was named to a similar position Thursday for the first two weekends of CBS` coverage of this season`s NCAA tournament.
CBS Sports Executive Producer Ted Shaker wouldn`t speculate on McGuire`s future-or his salary. McGuire`s three-year NBC contract, which paid a reported $500,000 a season, ended earlier than planned-after the `92 Summer Olympics.
While McGuire, 63, has been assigned to work with play-by-play man Dick Stockton at the Milwaukee sub-regional, Shaker didn`t rule out the possibility of reuniting McGuire with his old partner, Billy Packer. At least electronically.
”There will be communication back and forth,” said Shaker, who added he didn`t think Packer needed the help. ”Certainly, Billy`s worked enough games on his own now. We`re not planning for them to work together. To try and put Billy and Al together again is trying to catch lightning in a bottle the second time. It`s over a decade (since) they`ve worked together.”
Packer, however, was delighted that his old pal will be back on the air, even if they won`t be sharing the same microphone.
”When I heard Al make the comment that (Notre Dame center) Keith Tower could be a lottery pick, I called his wife, Pat, and she hooked me in with his psychiatrist,” joked Packer. ”I said we`re just going to have to get him back into the world of reality. He`s been at NBC too long, he`s been doing the Notre Dame games too much. Between Pat, the psychiatrist and myself, we convinced him to get back in the real world. We`ve had numerous conversations over the last two weeks. It`s been kind of a dream that someday we would get an opportunity to work together again.”
Packer recalled one particular telecast-the 1979 NCAA semifinal where Michigan State buried Penn 101-67-”as fine a game as I can ever remember a
(colleague) broadcasting. It was one of my worst. Basically, (Dick) Enberg turned the broadcast over to Al, who carried us through the rest of the afternoon in his off-the-wall style.
”I`m looking forward to being back with him. And I certainly hope we have some byplay during the tournament. People have a perception of what something used to be as opposed to the reality,” said Packer. ”That`s true of how we operated together. Plus, (Shaker) couldn`t put up with our hijinks.”
Packer was the point man in the deal in the first place. Shaker called him and asked if he thought McGuire would be interested in a tournament assignment.
McGuire`s relationship with CBS began tenuously during the 1990 All-Star baseball festivities in Chicago, when Shaker asked Packer to invite McGuire to Wrigley Field. What Shaker didn`t know, however, was McGuire never goes to games, according to Packer.
”When (Shaker) called me about getting together with Al at the All-Star Game,” said Packer, ”like most people enthused with sports, Teddy thought what a great thrill it would be for Al to get a ticket. Al called me and said, `How do I treat this guy. I guess he doesn`t realize I don`t go to games. I don`t want to go to the game.` ”
Instead, the two met at a Chicago bar. They never got to the game.
”He drove his motorcycle to Chicago from his home in Milwaukee,” Shaker said. ”We`ve been talking since then, waiting for the time he would be clear of his NBC arrangement.”
– Other first- and second-round pairings are Packer and Jim Nantz, studio prime-time and weekend; Pat O`Brien and Mike Francesa, studio weekdays; James Brown and Bill Raftery; Greg Gumbel and Quinn Buckner; Verne Lundquist and Len Elmore; Sean McDonough and Bill Walton; Mel Proctor and Dan Bonner; Brad Nessler and Ann Meyers; and Tim Ryan and Digger Phelps. This is the first year for Phelps and Meyers, who also does women`s games for CBS including this year`s Final Four. Another CBS newcomer, Greg Kelser, will team with Stockton in the afternoon games at Milwaukee, while Andrea Joyce, Curry Kirkpatrick, Lesley Visser and Jim Gray handle the reporting chores.
– Yes, the ”Quad Box” is back, too. The four-cornered screen used by CBS to update viewers with action at regional sites simultaneously (and annoyed as many as were helped) ”is a nice piece of work to use but not to cover games,” said Shaker. . . . Another problem-which area sees which games-won`t change. ”The NCAA asks us to bring back games of natural interest,” said Shaker. What that interest is varies. ”It`s a no-win situation,” he said.
– One of the reasons McGuire and NBC parted ways was the network`s love affair with the National Basketball Association, reflected in its Summer Olympics assignments. Joining basketball play-by-play man Marv Albert will be Mike Fratello (analyst) and ”NBA Showtime” co-host Buckner (reporter). John Tesh, of ”Entertainment Tonight” fame, has four Olympic play-by-play assignments- gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, road cycling and synchronized swimming. And Skokie`s Al Bernstein (analyst) joins Bob Trumpy (play-by-play) and Beasley Reece (reporter) at the boxing venue. Previously, Bob Costas was named prime-time host and Dick Enberg and ”Today” show`s Katie Couric weekday morning co-hosts.
– Pay-per-view gets another test with the ”Clash of the Legends” one-on-one basketball exhibition between Julius Erving and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at 8 p.m. Friday. Like a big-time fight, there will be an undercard-Rick Barry vs. Connie Hawkins and George Gervin vs. Nate Archibald. At Abdul-Jabbar`s request, a portion of the recommended $19.95 price will go to AIDS research projects. Unlike the Blackhawks` proposed subscriber base of 1.2 million,
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”Clash” will be available to only 700,566 subscribers in the area.
– And the Blackhawks and Mel Gibson (quite a combination) will be featured on ”Hockey Week” at 6 p.m. Saturday on SportsChannel.