LOS ANGELES -- Chris Berman chose loyalty over bigger dollars when he spurned NBC and signed a new contract with ESPN. He admits the decision sometimes swayed in the other direction.
'It could've happened,' Berman said of a move to NBC to be a weekend anchor and football play-by-play broadcaster. 'To me, that's a long way to go (in the thought-process).'
Berman's five months of negotiations with ESPN were at times more acrimonious than he ever could have imagined.
'Would I have gotten paid more somewhere else? Yes,' said Berman, one of ESPN's original anchors. 'In late October, early November, it was hairy. I found out I'm only human. I wasn't at all comfortable with all of it.'
Berman brought to the table ratings increasesin NFL telecasts and 'GameDay' and 'PrimeTime.' Berman said CBS showed early interest and NBC remained in the game until Wednesday's announcement. Berman indicated that NBC's offer was less than the reported figure of $600,000 per year.
'This is the way it's supposed to be,' he said. 'ESPN is giving me a chance to be myself. In other places, that might scare people off. I had a lot of growing up to do in this whole process. All parties had some growing up to do. It was a Brian Adams decision -- straight from the heart.'
Berman will continue with his current duties and add baseball play-by-play one night per week.
'People are tuning into the game,' he said. 'I'm pretty good insurance for a 10-1 game. I'm going to have a tough time with the 'back, back, back (calls).' On highlights, you don't misjudge flyballs. If I crank one up and the ball lands on the warning track, I'll look like an idiot.
'I'm never going to be more entertaining than the game. It's not the 'Chris Berman Show.' If I make people smile while watching, that's good.'
Switching channels:
Curry Kirkpatrick, whose legacy at CBS included a Kansas feature where he inexcusably sang 'Follow the yellow brick road,' will appear with anchor Gary Miller on CNN's 'College Basketball Preview' show Saturdays at 11:30 a.m. EST beginning Jan. 6.
'Curry is highly entertaining and informative and I know basketball fans around the country will enjoy his controversial comments,' said CNN's Bill MacPhail.
No word on whether MacPhail included a contract provison keeping lyric sheets far from Kirkpatrick's grasp...
West Virginia's Major Harris has been compared to Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Randall Cunningham, but ESPN's Ron Franklin sees what might be a critical difference.
'Randall is a very lanky man,' said Franklin, who calls Saturday night's Gator Bowl between West Virginia and Clemson. 'Major is 6(foot)-1 and listed as 200 pounds.
'But they are also a great deal alike. Major Harris is as good as he wants to be. What makes him so good is that he takes matters into his own hands. It's hard to say how he'll do in the pros. If there is anything negative against Major Harris, it's can he be a pocket passer? He's going to have to be a little bit more disciplined to do it in the pros. Of course, he has the athletic ability...'
For the second time in three years, NBC had the overall top rating for boxing telecasts among the three major networks. In 1989, NBC's 12 shows averaged a 4.8 rating and 13 share. ABC garnered a 4.7 and 13 share for 14 telecasts. CBS, with 10 fights, had numbers of 3.9 and 12 share.
Surpisingly, the highest-rated network boxing show was NBC's Aug. 6 telecast of Jorge Paez's defense of his International Boxing Federation featherweight title against Steve Cruz. NBC has locked Paez up in 1990 with a multi-fight contract...
Tennis analyst Vic Braden and horse racing commentator Harvey Pack have joined the Mizlou Sports News Network (SNN), a 24-hour sports news channel beginning Feb. 1.NEWLN: adv. for fri, dec. 29
