Arizona Republic from Phoenix, Arizona • Page 28

Thursday, July 23, 1998 The Arizona Republic C7 Edgy format benefits Fox Sports News TIMELINE 6 p.m. in respective time zones. And in keeping with the network's loo-sey-goosey attitude, Rome drives across town after finishing his radio show, and he sometimes finishes his taping of The Last Word less than 15 minutes before air time. No backup shows are in the can. What does all this do to Terenzio? "If my ulcer had a meter, I could tell you," he said.

But living on the edge is what got Fox Sports Net to the point it's at today, and no one wants this roller coaster ride to end. Wright's booming voice, which booms even louder in spurts, keeps everyone on the set on the verge of hysterics. "Sometimes when I'm sitting next to him, I say to myself, 'Who is this madman on my But during the show, he certainly entertains us," Frazier said. Indeed, entertainment has become the buzzword in televised sports journalism. Syndicated radio talk show host Jim Rome has a daily half-hour show on Fox Sports Net that airs at Fox Sports Net Oct.

31, 1995: The News Corp. Liberty Media Group and Tele-Communications International Inc. announce formation of worldwide alliance of sports programming services, known as FoVLiberty Networks. July 2, 1996: Fox Sports Net, a national cable sports network, is formed, consisting of seven regional networks. Sept.

7, 1996: Fox Sports Arizona-is launched. Nov. 1, 1996: Fox Sports Net goes on the air with the premiere of Fox Sports News. Jan 27, 1997: Fox Sports West 2 begins, serving Southern California, Hawaii and Nevada. March 5, 1997: Fox Sports Net announces its first baseball telecast package.

May 11, 1997: Multiyear agreement with PGA Tour signed, with telecasts to begin in 1999. Jan. 5, 1998: The Last Word, hosted by Jim Rome, debuts, along with Rewind, with Steve Lyons as the host. Feb. 1, 1998: Gon' Deep debuts.

March 5, 1998: Multiyear agreement reached to televise Formula One racing. 'mi in Li in jjijiijii. uiimiiiu iLijiMut. Mum iiijwuiiiii i TIMELINE Fox Sports Arizona March 1996: Liberty Sports acquires the telecast rights to the Coyotes and Diamondbacks for 10 seasons and announces creation of 24-hour statewide network based in Phoenix. June 18, 1996: Todd Merkow is named general manager of Liberty Sports' operation in Arizona.

July 2, 1996: Liberty and Fox Sports form alliance. Fox Sports Net is the national umbrella for regional networks, including Fox Sports Arizona. August 1996: Barry Buetel is named anchorreporter. Sept. 1996: Distribution agreement reached with Cox Communications, making Fox Sports Arizona available in 500,000 Valley homes.

Sept. 7, 1996: Network debuts. First telecast is ASU's 45-42 victory over Washington. Oct. 18, 1996: First Coyotes game is shown.

Nov. 23, 1996: Arizona State-Arizona football game becomes highest-rated telecast with an 11.1 rating. February 1997: Agreement reached to televise ASU and UA. Olympic sports. June 1, 1997: CableOne launched, bringing total Arizona subscribers to 1 million, i Aug.

7, 1997: Mike Connelly hired as executive producer. Dec. 13, 1997, March 4, 1998: High school state championships in football and boys and girls basketball are televised statewide for the first time. March 7, 1998: Golf Arizona, a 30-minute magazine-style show, begins. Feb.

27, 1998: First Diamondbacks game, a spring training match-up against the Rockies, is telecast. April 1, 1998: Network televises first Diamondbacks regular season game. 2 1 EY tfc ML CALL 1-800-DIVORCE Here are some typical questions our clients ask us: What if neither can afford Ik home after we split? How is child support calculated? Dm everything we own get split 5050? PHONE QUESTIONS ANSWERED AT NO CHARGE TUB am in iiiHn ADVA ASC Ut AR CN IIC T1 Trt, ir. EDGY, from Page CI (including 1 million on Fox Sports Arizona), np from 27 million in its first 18 fnonths, but the shadow of others, namely ESPN's SportsCen-ter, is never far away. SportsCenter is seen in almost 74 million households, but its format is far different than the one employed by Fox.

The dividing line I is that Fox Sports News Primetimd is regionally sensitive; lead stories, the lineup and content are never the same as the show moves across the country on different Fox Sports Net affiliates. What' draws viewers is mainly the fact that local games precede the sports.news, which starts at 10 p.m. and runs for two hours in all time updated show with new anchors comes on every hour. The 10 p.m. sportscasts on Fox Sports Arizona have better ratings than ESPN's show, which is on from 1 1 p.m.

to midnight. One reason is the time. At 10 p.m., it's news time in Arizona, and many sports fans would rather watch Fox Sports Net than a local newscast and' get an hour or more of sports. "When we're compared to ESPN, that's flattery," anchor Kevin Frazier said. "We've just been at this a year and a half, and ESPN has done 20,000 shows.

i "Sometimes we forget how big the world is out there. I think Fox has made the commitment to make this a viable sports product." Everyone from Arthur Smith, the executive vice president of programming and production for Fox Sports Net, to the two young employees in the "integration room," where the sports news is integrated into local programming, is surprised with how the network has taken off. Terenzio has been in on the ground floor of other ventures, and he knows the feeling of early success. "It's a lot more fun and creative in start-ups," he said. "You never know what's around the corner.

But already, everyone here thinks this show is a winner, but it's inevitable that it would do well with our game lead-ins. "We're not geniuses. We know who the audience probably is, men 18-34 who love sports, and they want to know about sports. When you think in those terms, you know what to do. A lot of things we stumble into, and I go into it knowing this is not a sports programming division.

It's a news division about sports." It's a fun job that everyone takes seriously, from those hallway meetings to closed-door sessions in Terenzio's office. At any time during the day, reporters or analysts are huddled with producers to go over highlights and edit their scripts. I For Schedule and Ticket Information call 1 -602-433-9202 or visit our website at www. azsMcer.f9 18575R14 19575R14 20575R14 30,000 MILE WARRANTY BRAND NEW STEEL BELTED RADIALS i fie TIRES TREAD DESIGN MAY VARY RAIN CHECK AVAILABLE ON OUT OF STOCK TIRES ftfr MHOMlii 4t.M Jf JtX10.JRt5 MM 21S60NR1S B1.M WJt lHJSflWH 71.M 22SWHMI U.M LT24S7WH KM 40,000 MILE WARRANTY 40,000 MILE WARRANTY 15580R13 16580R13 17580R13 18580R13 30,000 MILE WARRANTY INSTALLATION AVAILABLE LIMIT THE mm All-StASON RAWAL WITH OUTSTAMHHG WET PQV0RMAHCE 18575H14 59.99 19575R14 62.99 20570R14 65 99 20575R14 66.99 20570R15 71.99 20575R15 69.99 21570R15 72.99 21575R15 73 99 22575R1S 7S99 23575R15 62.99 iaV708l3 M.9S JJW 2895 1W0M4 30.95 25,000 MILE WARRANTY I 1 1232222223 jl 80,000 MILE WARRANTY 4 U.S. baseball team falls to Netherlands Even during breaks, the on-air anchors are scratching out paragraphs to bring across fresher ideas.

With his news background, starting behind the scenes with ABC-TV in the early 1980s, Terenzio has his own idea how business should be conducted. "It's a lot more than scores," said Terenzio, whose office is located in the midst of the Fox Movie Studios lot. "It's a tapestry from the topical to the broader issues. We try to capture the science of sports." The Fox Sports Net umbrella covers 22 regional networks, including Fox Sports Arizona, which serve as the cable home to 69 of the 85 NBA, NHL and major league baseball teams. Most of the regionals are doing well, but as Smith pointed out, "All regions are not created equally." "Why didn't anyone do this before?" Smith wondered.

"The truth is that it had been talked about, but this was just the right time. "I really do like the theory of the home team playing into the news, and that's a critical mass, so there's always a reason to tune in." The shows look slick, and while fancy machinery and hours of meetings certainly help, it's often other avenues that lead to the greatest success. "Each hour we have an impromptu meeting, and it's a little like guerrilla warfare," said Terenzio. "We hold meetings in hallways, and there's very little formality. One thing that really helps us is that our anchors can do live TV, and they can do it on the fly.

The liveness of our shows is the most interesting feature." The anchors, with the possible exception of Wright, who came to national prominence when he worked for CNN, have not reached the level of notoriety as their ESPN counterparts. When Wright came aboard, it was an instant tonic for his partner, Frazier, who seemed to loosen up. ARIZONA DIGEST side's Anthony Francisco and Mountain Pointe's Sara Gorton as the state's high school athletes of the year. Francisco and Gorton, who were chosen in May as The Republic's athletes of the year, also were among the eight boys and girls regional winners. Francisco will attend Pima College.

Gorton will be a junior at Mountain Pointe. Shooting Adam Saathoff of Hereford won the silver medal in the men's 10-meter running target 30-plus-30 event at the 1998 World Shooting Championships in Barcelona, Spain. Saathoff, 23, earned a quota slot for the United States in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. Basketball The Arizona Heat club team is 1-1 in pool play in an 80-team national tournament being held at Cal State-Dominguez Hills. The Heat won Tuesday, 85-70, against the California-New York Rhinos.

Three players scored 18 points to lead the team: Jason Blair of South Mountain, Adrian Aguayo of Mountain Pointe and Tanner Shell of Mesa Mountain View. The team lost, 64-55, on Wednesday to a squad from Cleveland. PAINTED MOUNTAIN GOLF CLUB W-4XT rni cut After 00 tax MON-FRI SATam WITH COUPON Price Indudei Holes wcarl Not Valid With Any Other Offer. Good For Up To4 Plaveri. ExpireaeVJl98 $11 00 ALL DAY 1 1 Includes Green Fee Cart I 7 DAY ADVANCE TEE TIMES I STEAK GOLF $199i FRI-SAT-SUN After 12 PM Greens Fee, Cart Fee fit I Steak Dinner 1 I Expires 83198 6210 MrKellips Rd Mesa 'jVV-U I nn 'wWH'm I 20575R15 22575R15 21575R15 23575R15 30,000 MILE WARRANTY HfllDGESTORE DUELER HT AT ALL- MOTION mil lElTCD nam truck nv vehkui 0 99 184 99 $99 99 $102 99 $11299 $11599 $136 99 W5 1 22675R15 HT 23575R15 HT Jfc.

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Later that month, the network also showed ASU's 19-0 win over Nebraska. "One of the things that has been so incredible is that we have been witness to some of Arizona's greatest athletic endeavors," said Todd Merkow, vice president and general manager. "We had ASU football's national championship run, the first year of the NHL in Phoenix, UA and its national (basketball) championship, and now we're there for the first year of baseball. And we also showed high school football and basketball championships for the first time." Fox Sports Arizona turned two years old this month with 1 million households in the fold. Not a bad number, but Merkow expected to be farther down the road.

"I have high expectations for everything we do and I do," Merkow said. "I thought where we are at today would have come sooner. But we're still in the process of introducing ourselves to the marketplace, and that doesn't happen overnight. Looking at it from that standpoint to where we've come in two years, I'm very pleased. "There has been some confusion in the marketplace on Fox Sports Arizona, Fox-TV (KSAZ, Channel 10) and Cox.

It's an ongoing process." Merkow said Fox Sports Arizona is trying to reach consumers in a number of ways, and he said he won't stick to conventional cable or TV marketing to achieve that goal. "I'm excited about next year," Merkow said. "If we can reach some of things we hope to put in place, we'll gain another level of exposure with fans in the market." The goal is to become engrained in viewers' minds as the hometown sports provider. Major achievements for the statewide network are 10-year agreements with the Coyotes and Diamondbacks. HILC 20002 Star Ridge Dr.

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EVERY 3000 MILES: Change oil and oil filter Lubricate Top off fluids Inspect drive train and suspension (visually) 2. EVERY 12,000 MILES: Includes 11 plus: Inspect and rotate tires Inspect and adjust brakes Inspect under hood (hotel btteewtant. etc.) Inspect transmission fluid 3. EVERY 24,000 MILES: Includes 1 ft 2 plus: Replace fuel filter ReplK. fitt.r Most vehice AIR CONDmOnGNG CHECK-UP All hose connections Air conditioning belts Air conditioning performance Air conditioning compressor Hatnam A HacrcHe aetAeala He Kit 1 AVIMA We caa ana relnflt year AfC earl treat AV1C ta R1S4A $10 The Arizona Republic A throwing error by second baseman Keoni DeRenne of Arizona led to the go-ahead run as the United States suffered a 3-1 loss to the Netherlands on Wednesday in the opening game of the World Championships in Palermo, Sicily.

DeRenne was for 0 for 4. Arizona State's Willie Bloomquist played left field late in the game but did not bat. The United States faces Korea today in another preliminary-round game. Softball Former UA players Leah O'Brien and Amy Chellevold each scored a run as the United States began its title defense at the Women's World Championships in Fujinomiya City, Japan, with a 5-0 victory over the Netherlands. The Americans then beat Italy, 3-0, as Lisa Fernandez pitched a perfect game.

Golf The Scottsdale Golf Championships will be held Aug. 1-2 at the Kierland Golf Club. The event is open to players in men's, women's and junior divisions. The entry fee is $130 and must be received by Friday. For information, call 922-9283.

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