On The Air
by Laura Nachman
Bucks County Courier Times
June 29, 2007

Co-host Jimmy Kimmel said to expect jokes about New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick's wardrobe, Billy Donovan's University of Florida/Orlando Magic love triangle and co-host LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers getting swept in the NBA Finals at the 15th annual “ESPY Awards” July 15 at 9 p.m. on ESPN.

Kimmel's girlfriend, Sarah Silverman, the host of the “MTV Movie Awards” earned headlines with her swipes at Paris Hilton.

“I'd pay Paris $100,000 to be in our audience,” Kimmel said. “She is the greatest gift to comedy.”

“We've [Kimmel and Silverman] hosted more awards shows than any other couple,” he added.

Kimmel, who grew up in Las Vegas, followed the Los Angeles Dodgers teams of the 1970s.

“My friends and I would mimic the batting stances of Davey Lopes, Ron Cey and Steve Garvey.” he said.

Ryan Howard of the Phillies is nominated for “Best Baseball Player” and “Breakthrough Athlete.” “Invincible,” the Mark Wahlberg flick about former Eagle Vince Papale, is nominated for “Best Sports Movie.”

Nachman Awards

Here are some awards not likely to be given out at the ESPYs (my choices in bold):

Most embarrasing NFL player: Pacman Jones, Tank Johnson, Michael Vick, Cincinnati Bengals

Commissioner Impossible: Gary Bettman, NHL, Bud Selig, MLB, David Stern, NBA

Good luck in your future endeavors (translation: You're fired!): Michael Irvin, Harold Reynolds, Joe Theismann

Worst ESPN shows: “Cold Pizza”, “Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith”, “Season on the Brink” (Bobby Knight movie), “Tilt”, “Hustle” (Pete Rose movie)

Best show that was canceled due to ESPN buckling under pressure from the NFL:Playmakers”

Don't give up your day job: Kenny Mayne in “Dancing with the Stars,” Suzy Kolber in commercials for Chevrolet, Stuart Scott in anything

Channel flipping

For those viewers who have been griping about Gary Matthews and Chris Wheeler, your wish is coming true: The Phillies and Mets will trade announcers for today's double-header. During the third inning of Game 1, SportsNet New York's Keith Hernandez joins the Phillies broadcast team while Gary Matthews heads over to the Mets.  In the second game, Ron Darling joins the broadcast, while Chris Wheeler heads over to the Mets booth. ...

At first it was jarring to see WIP's Anthony Gargano hosting CBS3's “Sports Zone” last week, but for the most part, the radio host did a credible job. There was too much arm waving, but he actually gave opinions, which was a welcome change for TV. ...

Industry sources report that former WB17 weekend sports anchor Jenna Wolfe will become a feature reporter for the new fourth hour of “The Today Show” in the fall. Wolfe's last position was as a sports anchor at WABC in New York. ...

Maybe a hint as to who will replace Steve Mix on Sixers broadcasts this fall was given when Comcast SportsNet “Post Game Live” analyst Bob Salmi was scheduled to co-host the in-arena draft day show with Sixers play-by-play announcer Marc Zumoff on Thursday night.

E-MAIL: lauranachman@verizon.net


June 29, 2007 6:33 AM