The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • 11

2B FRIDAY APRIL 3 1998 THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER On the Air TV Ron Green Jr FRIDAY FORECAST Major League Baseball MONTREAL AT CHICAGO (WGN) 2 pm LOS ANGELES AT 7 pm PHILADELPHIA AT ATLANTA (TBS) 7:35 pm NBA WAXN to televise Hornets 2 7 games ing While enjoyed the relationship and will miss the Hornets time to say programming five nights a week means not the big promotional animal on the stations like we said Steve Martin Hornets vice president of programming promotional needs grow and the ability of WJZY and WFVT to satisfy those needs diminish not because they want to but because they have other masters to This season Hornets games have averaged a 48 rating or 48 percent of 840000 households That number is down from 55 last season The highest Hornets ratings on WJZY Martin said was in 1992 when the games averaged nearly a 10 rating At least part of the ratings decline Martin believes is because of the split affiliation By LANGSTON WERTZ Jr Staff Writer If ever been frustrated trying to find the Hornets on television worry no longer Beginning next season up to 27 over-the-air Charlotte games will be seen on WAXN (Channel 64) This is in addition to 20 games on Fox Sports South WAXN also will show five WNBA Charlotte Sting road games beginning June 21 The three-year agreement with Channel 64 ends the six-year relationship with WJZY (Channel 46) WJZY and WFVT (Channel 55) currently split the Hornets games Both stations are affiliated with networks WJZY to UPN and WFVT to the WB And next year the stations will have network On game nights viewers often have to search to find the Hornets Martin worries that as viewers try to find the Hornets they may discover alternate programming lose people that he said not At Channel 64 the Hornets should instantly become a big station draw Currently top-rated shows are (40 rating 7 pm weekdays) and Stories of the Highway (30 7:30 weekdays) very excited about getting the Hornets on the said WAXN spokesman Jeff Holub going to be a good Said WJZY general manager Mark Conrad: been a six-year relationship and been a good one but our networks are expand STING TV As part of the Hornets new three-year agreement with WAXN (Channel 64) the station will air five Charlotte Sting games beginning June 21: June 21: at Phoenix 5 pm July 12: at New York 4 pm July 19: at Cleveland 7 pm Aug 2: at New York 7 pm Aug 19: at Washington 7 pm RADIO HIGHLIGHTS Major League Baseball YOUR GUIDE TO SPORTS ON TV WEEKEND WATCH THE MAIN EVENT BASEBALL PHILADELPHIA AT ATLANTA 7:35 pm WEGO-AM (1410 Concord) WCAB-AM (590 Rutherfordton) WSTP-AM (1490 Salisbury) WBZK-AM (980 York SC) Minor-league baseball HICKORY AT PIEDMONT 6:45 pm WRNA-AM (1140 China Grove) WKRB-AM (1460 Kannapolis) NBA INDIANA AT CHARLOTTE 7:30 pm Texas a black hole for coaches sports Texans always liked to brag they lived in the center of the universe beginning to look like they were right First Mack Brown high-tailed it to the Lone Star State then Melvin Watkins proved money can make any place even College Station Texas look good Now just days after the Final Four gorged itself on Tex-Mex in San Antonio the Winston Cup boys are in Fort Worth About the only thing Texas taken from us is Makhtar Ndiaye who put a whole new twist on North spit-and-polish image look to the future though Not the past UNCC coaching search: Watkins seemed like the perfect guy for UNCC but evidently nothing lasts forever except Keith Richards consider the positives and negatives of the UNCC job Positives: No hyphen Really good access to Charlotte Motor Speedway and Blockbuster Pavilion Not cluttered with a bunch of stately old buildings Can see Tobacco Road from there Negatives: Often confused with UNC Cherryville Bob Huggins visits once a year Only doctorate program is in Legends car racing Football team had a winning season in years This is a critical hire for the 49ers They need a name a face and a personality a suggestion: Austin Powers international man of mystery Texas 500: The first year at Texas Motor Speedway the track was about as popular as spent a ton of money since then rebuilding turns and trying to figure out a way to get the drivers to race side by side for more than the pace laps They also discovered water seeping into the track so they installed a bunch of drains They probably saved some time by adjusting the spoilers on the Fords once more That seems to be the answer to just about every problem NASCAR has Get the checkered flag ready for: Dale Jarrett WBT-AM (1110 Charlotte) WCSL-AM (1590 Cherryville) WBT-FM (993 Chester SC) WGNC-AM (1450 Gastonia) WHKY-AM (1290 Hickory) WKVS-FM (1033 Lenoir) WLON-AM (1050 Lincolnton) WAYN-AM (900 Rockingham) WSAT-AM (1280 Salisbury) WOHS-AM (730 Shelby) Motorsports TEXAS 500 QUALIFYING 4:30 pm WCAB-AM (590 Rutherfordton) WFMX-FM (1057 Statesville) HIGHLIGHTS This is the year Roger record goes the way of the dinosaur Trust us A few highlights among the gazillion games on this weekend: Red Sox at Mariners Saturday 9 pm (FX): Is there a prettier sight in baseball than of Junior watching one go out of the park? Giants at Diamondbacks Sunday 8 pm (ESPN): Sunday Night Baseball debuts from shiny new field with the retractable roof Watch out for a two-dimensional animation that shows how a swing path and bat speed are related to pitch selection and speed Philadelphia at Atlanta tonight 7:35 (Saturday 7:05 Sunday 1:05) TBS: The Braves are going to the World Series this year believe us? Check out the pitching this weekend NBA Bulls at Rockets Sunday 5:30 pm (NBC WCNC Ch 36): If Houston could ever get healthy the Rockets might make some noise this postseason but at the rate going all gonna do is give Clyde Drexler time to begin recruiting for his University of Houston team before spring is out Expect Michael Jordan and the Bulls to roll and for Ahmad Rashad to wax poetic on his favorite player who could be playing his final game at Houston CHANNEL-HOPPING ESPN airs the Figure Skating World Championships tonight at 7:30 ABC broadcasts it Saturday at 2 pm and 8 pm Golf fans can enjoy the $14 million Tradition final round Sunday at 3 pm (WSOC Ch 9) ESPN airs the NCAA ice hockey championship Saturday at 7:30 pm ESPN2 airs the Basketball Coaches Association high school All-America game Saturday at 1 pm ESPN2 airs New YorkNew Jersey at Kansas City in Major League Soccer Saturday at 8:30 Fox (WCCB Ch 18) airs the Santa Anita Derby Saturday at 5 pm AUTO RACING Coca-Cola 300 Saturday 2 pm (CBS WBTV Ch 3): Mark Martin won the Texas Motor Speedway race last season Texas 500 Sunday 2 pm (CBS WBTV Ch 3): Jeff Burton won the inaugural race last season though a few drivers so happy with the track Kenny Wallace said he was lucky to avoid the eight wrecks last season CART Grand Prix of Long Beach Sunday 4 pm (ESPN): The series hits the downtown street circuit in California Langston Wertz Jr TENNIS Davis Cup (today 4 pm ESPN Saturday 4 pm ESPN Sunday 4 pm ESPN2 Monday 12:30 am ESPN): know Andre Agassi that on-again off-again baseliner lost a Davis Cup match since 1990? In fact Brooke man needs two weekend wins to break Bill 72-year-old record for most consecutive victories by an American in the 98-year-old team competition Today Agassi tries to extend his 15-match streak on a Pete Sam-pras-less US team that faces Russia on the Stone Mountain Ga court where Agassi won an Olympic gold medal in 1996 record is definitely the second priority this said Agassi who is 24-4 in Davis Cup competition I look back in hindsight probably feel good if I get the record or a little (mad) if I Either way the main focus is on winning this This is a rematch of the 1995 final when the Russians imported red clay from Sweden for $70000 specifically to slow Sampras who still claimed three points for the Americans He defeated Andrei Chesnokov in an epic five-set match volunteered to play doubles with Todd Martin and won again then clinched the match with a straight-sets victory over Yevgeny Kafelnikov Think the US will miss Pete this weekend? College baseball MISSISSIPPI ST AT LSU (FOXSS) 3 pm Major League Baseball MONTREAL AT CHICAGO (WGN) 2 pm CHICAGO AT TAMPA BAY (WGN) 6:30 pm PHILADELPHIA AT ATLANTA (TBS) 7:05 pm BOSTON AT SEATTLE (FX) 9 pm NBA HORNETS PRIMETIME (FOXSS) 7 pm CHARLOTTE AT MIAMI (FOXSS) 7:30 pm Figure skating WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2 pm WORLD 8 pm Golf US COLLEGIATE CHAMPS (ESPN) 2 pm THE 4 pm FREEPORT-MCDERMOTT 4 pm College hockey NCAA DIVISION I FINAL (ESPN) 7:30 pm NHL DETROIT AT CHICAGO ffl 2 pm The Associated Press contributed to this article DALLAS AT VANCOUVER (ESPN2) 10:30 pm Horse racing AAU Royals gone to Virginia for tournament SANTA ANITA 5 pm FLAMINGO STAKES (ESPN) 6 pm Motorsports NASCAR COCA-COLA 2 pm NASCAR FLORIDA 400 (TNN) 5 pm Major League Soccer HIGH SCHOOLS CORRECTION An article in Observer misstated the address for memorial donations honoring NASCAR pioneer Tim Flock It is Hospice at Charlotte 1420 Seventh St Charlotte NC 28204 NY-NJ AT KANSAS CITY (ESPN2) 8:30 pm Tennis FAMILY CIRCLE CUP 2 pm RUSSIA AT UNITED STATES (ESPN) 4 pm HIGHLIGHTS By LANGSTON WERTZ Jr Staff Writer The Charlotte Royals 1 7-and-un-der AAU basketball team will play in the Boo Williams Invitational in Hampton Va today through Sunday The Invitational is considered one of the top summer AAU tournaments according to recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons Gibbons rates Royals center Jason Parker a 6-foot-8 junior from West Charlotte the top rising senior prospect in the Carolinas At the Boo Williams tournament Parker will face 6-10 Marvin Stone of Huntsville Ala and 6-10 Casey Sanders of Tampa Fla Stone and Sanders are considered by Gibbons to be the two top rising senior post players in the wrestlers from 275 to 300 pounds SOCCER TOURNAMENT CONTINUES: The Charlotte Latin soccer invitational continues today with semifinals at 3:30 and 5:30 The finals are Saturday at noon ALL-STAR BASKETBALL SATURDAY: Many of the top senior basketball players are scheduled to play in the Charlotte Pro-Am High School all-star classic Saturday at 2 pm at Queens Tickets are $7 at the door STATS NEEDED: Spring coaches are asked to begin faxing statistics to The Observer each Thursday by 9 am (704-358-5110) Write to Langston Wertz Jr at PO Box 30308 The Charlotte Observer Charlotte NC 28230-0308 or call (704) 377-4444 ext 1006 anytime Send e-mail to lwertzckarlottecoR School Athletic Association will not offer slow-pitch softball unless 25 percent of the 321 schools offer it Currently 1 1 schools are playing slow-pitch This was among several items touched on at the NC athletic meetings in Asheville this week The athletic directors also made several recommendations: That the 4A state football championship possibly again be held on Sunday after the success of the 1997 Sunday game That the basketball season shorten one week but the schedule not be affected Also a straw vote survey showed the athletic directors were in favor of increasing the maximum weight for heavyweight College baseball nation Parker has also been invited to the Nike summer camp and the adidas ABCD camp this summer Both camps are July 5-12 year (Hunter Huss) Kris Lang played for a Nike team and went to the adidas Gibbons said bad for a young man if he wants maximum exposure And Kris played in the All-America game and will play in Magic all-star game in Detroit And if it worked for Kris it can work for Jason too if playing in those (All-America) games is a NEWS FROM AD MEETINGS: Beginning next season the NC High tinfflekw! 1 Ik Mr a Of Tk CkurNwif OkmWf DUKE AT NC STATE (FOXSS) 4 pm Major League Baseball PHILADELPHIA AT ATLANTA (TBS) 1:05 pm MONTREAL AT CHICAGO (WGN) 2 pm SAN FRANCISCO AT ARIZONA (ESPN) 8 pm NBA LA LAKERS AT DETROIT 1 pm CHICAGO AT HOUSTON 5:30 pm Golf WatteiiiiHlEfi mw W1 Floor Plans Find plans you like every Saturday in the section (The Charlotte (Observer US COLLEGIATE CHAMPS (ESPN) 12:30 pm THE TRADITION 3 pm FREEPORT-MCDERMOTT CLASSIC 3:30 pm Motorsports NASCAR TEXAS 2 pm CART LONG BEACH GRAND PRIX (ESPN) 4 pm Tennis FAMILY CIRCLE 1130 am RUSSIA AT UNITED STATES (ESPN2) 4 am LilMKU Service Dept Be Open 8am-4pm SATURDAY NIGHTLY til 7PU 1 for huge rainbow and brown trout a trip to Aen Zealand's South Island can't be beat i To learn hy join us on Saturday April 4th at Lube OJ Sc Filter SPECUftlfM! 1:00 pan when Ray Grubb and Marion van der Goes will present a slide show on the fabulous fishing to be had at Lake Brunner Lodge And remember when it conies to worldwide angling travel no one does it better than ttestbank Anglers Friday Saturday only 5 qts ol on 4 (liter Ford Lincoln Mnrcurv Cars liQht Truck Phillips Place on Fainlew Road 704-643-6181 I.