On The Air
by Laura Nachman
Bucks County Courier Times
November 18, 2005
www.bradyresidence.com/channelsurfing.html

As the Temple University football team tries to avoid a winless season Saturday vs. Navy, radio play-by-play announcer Harry Donahue will conclude his 11th consecutive losing season with the team.

"This season has been a little more difficult because so many of the games have become non-competitive early," said Donahue, who experienced a little more success when he did Temple games in the mid-1980s during the Paul Palmer era. "However, I love college football, and it's been fun going to the atmospheres of [Temple opponents] Wisconsin and Clemson."

Temple is 23-89 during Donahue's tenure.

"If I was the head coach, I'd be fired by now," he joked.

Of course, Donahue's "day job" is the morning voice of KYW Newsradio, a post he's held since 1979. He also does voice-over work for NFL Films and enters his fourth season as the play-by-play voice for Temple basketball.

Donahue and his wife, Lynda, reside in Upper Southampton and are the parents of three sons, ages 32, 30 and 28.

Blonde ambition

Station insiders are saying that NBC10 is interested in hiring a "Heather Mitts" type to join Vai Sikahema and John Clark on the sports staff.

Mitts, the former Philadelphia Charge soccer star, briefly worked for NBC10 in 2004, before moving to Miami when her boyfriend, A.J. Feeley, was traded from the Eagles to the Dolphins.

Though a "young, blond, female reporter" was spotted in the NBC10 newsroom a few weeks ago for an interview, an official hire has not yet occurred.

"NBC10 doesn't comment on personnel issues," a station spokesperson said,

Double duty

Radio listeners may have noticed that ESPN's Sal Paolantonio appears on both ESPN Radio (920-AM in Philadelphia) and on Philadelphia's WPHT 1210-AM.

Is ESPN OK with its star football announcer playing for two "teams?" An ESPN spokesperson said the network is fine with Paolantonio doing-double duty, stating "the exposure" is good.

Fryar leaving?

According to sports industry sources, 6ABC Eagles reporter and former All-Pro receiver Irving Fryar is telling people he probably won't return to the station after this season because he doesn't like "chasing" after today's players for interviews. Fryar could not be reached for comment.

With the Eagles in need of receivers, Fryar probably wishes he could suit up again. He was practically begging Eagles president Joe Banner to give him a job the other week during a 6ABC telecast.

National disaster

Plenty of people saw the Eagles self-destruct Monday night. The Eagles-Cowboys game earned a 34 rating/51 share of the audience for 6ABC. Each rating point equals about 29,000 homes. The Eagles are winless (0-2) on Monday night this year. Come to think of it, so is NBC.

Donovan and Dave

Donovan McNabb is scheduled to make his first appearance on "Late Show with David Letterman" at 11:35 p.m. Tuesday on CBS.