With the Cubs currently 15-26 and in last place in the
NL Central, Carol Slezak of the CHICAGO SUN-TIMES wonders
"who could blame" WGN-TV play-by-play announcer Chip Caray
"if he ripped into the Cubs' sorry play?" While Caray "has
been criticized by fans and pundits for ignoring" the team's
poor play, Caray says, "I try to put things in the best
light I possibly can, but I also can be critical. If you
listen closely, you'll hear there are big problems with this
ballclub. But I've found people hear what they want to."
Caray, on his style: "I don't like to kick someone when
they're down. I try to find the positive, and that's not
necessarily bad. The players have families. They read the
newspapers." Caray, on emulating his late grandfather and
longtime Cubs announcer Harry Caray: "You have to make sure
you're on solid enough ground before you make the kind of
comments like my grandfather would make. ... I work for WGN-
TV. Selling the Cubs is my job" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 5/17).
THE WORLDWIDE LEADER IN SPORTS? In Nashville, Paul
Kuharsky writes on the presentation of ESPN's
"SportsCenter": "These days getting to the core of
["SportsCenter"] is an endurance test. There is the self-
indulgent blather of [Stuart] Scott, who's supposed to be
fresh; the stale acts of Chris Berman and Dan Patrick; and
the painful efforts of other talking heads hoping to attain
stardom. The on-air talent loves sharing celebrity status
with the on-field talent" (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 5/17).
BROADCAST NEWS: TNT's Peter Vecsey, after the Lakers'
Game Five win over the Suns last night: "Who would have
thought that you could have held Kobe Bryant and Shaquille
O'Neal to a total of 32 points and just win with John
Salley, who by the way, got more minutes tonight than he got
all the time with me at NBC" ("TNT," 5/16)....In N.Y., Bob
Raissman reports that all-sports radio station WFAN-AM
dropped afternoon sports hosts Russ Salzberg and Steve
Somers yesterday and replaced them with Jody McDonald and
Suzyn Waldman, starting today. Raissman writes that the
"move did not come as a shock," as "speculation had mounted
that management would make a change in its mid-day slot"
(N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 5/17)....NBC Sports announced that Ted
Robinson will anchor the net's French Open and Wimbledon
coverage (NBC)....USA TODAY's Rudy Martzke reports that CBS
Sports President Sean McManus gave approval for Jerry
Glanville to serve as a TBS analyst for the NASCAR Coca-Cola
600 and the Pocono 500 (USA TODAY, 5/17).
