Schenkel, Not Olbermann, Bowled Over

What do Chris Schenkel and Keith Olbermann have in common?

Besides both being in the news this week, nothing.

Schenkel, 73, the epitome of stability, ends a 36-year stint on ABC bowling Saturday.

It’s unlikely Olbermann, 38, would ever do bowling, and it’s even less likely he’d stick with one thing for 36 years. He seemingly is always searching for the perfect situation in an imperfect world.

Olbermann appeared to have found his niche as a “SportsCenter” anchor at ESPN, achieving fame and fortune--well, $300,000 a year isn’t bad.

But he didn’t like living in the Bristol, Conn., area, where ESPN is located. He sought a deal that would allow him to work in Bristol only on Sundays and spend the rest of the time in New York doing ESPN radio. That didn’t go over, so he asked out of his contract, and ESPN let him go. His last “SportsCenter” will be June 29.

Where will he find happiness? Maybe with Court TV. The executive producer of Court TV is Erik Sorenson, who was the news director at Channel 2 when Olbermann worked there, and the two have remained close friends. They have talked about Olbermann hosting and producing a sports and law show, reportedly for $500,000 a year.

John Walsh, ESPN executive editor, said the network hates to lose Olbermann. But he also understands Olbermann’s feelings about the Bristol area.

“A lot of people love this area, but you can’t underestimate the difficulty of living in a rural area and not driving,” Walsh said.

Olbermann suffered an eye injury when he hit his head getting on a subway car after a Dodger-New York Met game at Shea Stadium in 1980, and an ensuing vision problem keeps him from driving.

Walsh and Sage both said Olbermann’s recent forced two-week leave after an unauthorized appearance on Comedy Central had nothing to do with Olbermann’s departure. But it now appears Olbermann wasn’t kidding when, during that appearance, he called Bristol the most god-forsaken place on the East Coast.

END OF THE LANE

Schenkel is one of the icons in American sports broadcasting. He was doing Harvard football games on television in 1947.

Saturday’s Professional Bowlers Assn. St. Clair Classic at Fairview Heights, Ill., marks the end of his long ABC career. Included in the 90-minute show will be a tribute to Schenkel.

ABC is dropping bowling because of slipping ratings in the younger demographic groups.

“This isn’t retirement,” Schenkel said from his home in Indiana. “I want to work and I need to work because we have an autistic [8-year-old] grandson that is going to need lots of funds long after I’m gone.”

Asked about the end of the long-running ABC bowling series, Schenkel, choking up, said, “It’s hard to even talk about it. It was a surprise and it wasn’t. It’s like a friend who is sick. They’re not supposed to die, and then they do.”

CBS might pick up the PBA series, and if it does, the ACDelco Classic at Cal Bowl in Lakewood would be held in April, a month later than this year’s tournament.

PROBING RODMAN

Kudos to NBC’s Jim Gray for the interview with Dennis Rodman that was shown before Game 6 of the NBA finals last Friday, and also for the live interview he did with Rodman after the Chicago Bulls’ title-clinching victory.

There were none of the softball questions Ahmad Rashad usually lobs at his friends.

In the earlier taped interview, Rodman, talking about being fined $50,000 for what he said about Mormons, said that he thought Mormons were simply people who live in Utah, like Texans live in Texas.

Said Gray: “Are you that ill-informed or is that simply a convenient excuse?”

At the end of the interview, Rodman was so emotional he took off his microphone and left crying.

Then in the live interview after the game, when Rodman talked about how he had been abused by so many people, Gray said, “But you realize you have brought a lot of that on yourself.”

Gray this week said he actually likes Rodman. He got to know him when he and play-by-play announcer George Blaha broadcast Detroit Piston games during the Rodman years there.

“Beneath that colored hair and all the nonsense is a hard-working, dedicated, intelligent person who is a good, unselfish teammate,” Gray said.

SHORT WAVES

Somewhat lost in all the hype surrounding the debut of the Women’s NBA this weekend on NBC is that Hannah Storm becomes the first regular women’s play-by-play announcer on network television. “It’s something I’ve wanted to do, and when [NBC Sports President] Dick Ebersol first suggested it a year ago, I was thrilled. What makes it even better is getting to spend time with such a quality person as [broadcast partner] Ann Meyers.” . . . The other big event this weekend is the first California 500 NASCAR race at the new California Speedway in Fontana. ABC is showing Sunday’s race, but ESPN is producing the telecast. . . . ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC will devote 37 hours of coverage to the X Games, which begin a nine-day run in San Diego today. . . . The Miller Lite AVP tournament in Chicago this weekend will be on NBC, with Chris Marlowe and Paul Sunderland reunited to call the action. . . . For the Dodger-San Francisco Giant game Saturday on Fox, Giant Manager Dusty Baker will wear a microphone. Bill Russell will wear one the next Saturday. . . . Tuesday’s Angel-Dodger game on Channel 9 got a 9.9 rating. Channel 9’s previous high for an Angel telecast was a 4.2. . . . HBO has added Zina Garrison Jackson as a reporter for its Wimbledon coverage next week, which will begin at 6 a.m. on weekdays. . . . The 31st Victor Awards at the Las Vegas Hilton on Saturday night will be shown Sunday at 8 p.m. on Fox Sports West and again Thursday at 11 a.m. . . . The Roy Firestone Award for community contribution will be presented by Firestone to Jim Brown at the Westcoast Sports Associates fund-raiser Wednesday at 6 p.m. at USC’s Town and Gown.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

What Los Angeles Is Watching

A sampling of L.A. Nielsen ratings for sports programs June 13-15.

FRIDAY

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Event Ch. Rating Share NBA finals: Utah at Chicago 4 21.4 38 Baseball: Dodgers at Oakland 5 4.5 8 Golf: U.S. Open 4 3.3 10

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SATURDAY

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Event Ch. Rating Share Golf: U.S. Open 4 7.0 19 Baseball: Dodgers at Seattle 11 5.9 16 Wide World of Sports: boxing, endurance race 7 3.2 8 Track & field: U.S. Outdoor Championships 2 2.9 8 Bowling: Wichita Open 7 2.1 6

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SUNDAY

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Event Ch. Rating Share Golf: U.S. Open 4 7.5 21 Baseball: Dodgers at Seattle 5 3.9 10 Baseball: San Francisco at Angels 9 2.1 6 Track & field: U.S. Outdoor Championships 2 1.9 5 Horse racing: Hollywood Park Live 9 1.5 4 Soccer: MLS, Tampa Bay at Galaxy 34 1.4 4 Auto racing: IROC at Concord, N.C. 7 1.2 3 Auto racing: NASCAR Michigan 400 2 1.1 3

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Note: Each rating point represents 49,424 L.A. households.