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Vasgersian to team up with Ventura
by Cecil Concley
Knight-Ridder Newspapers
December 04, 2000
Matt Vasgersian remembers his re
action when he first heard the World
Wrestling Federation and NBC had
combined forces to form a new pro
fessional football league. The 1985
Campolindo High School graduate was
in Los Angeles at the time, preparing
to host another episode of FOX Sports
Net's "Sports Geniuses" game show.
"It was tape day. We were at a writ
ers meeting. When we saw the an
nouncement on television, we all kind
of rolled our eyes," Vasgersian said.
"Then someone in the room yelled at
the top of their lungs, Wasgersian will
be the new announcer.' We all
laughed."
Vasgersian wasn't rolling his eyes
Nov. 21 when he was hired by NBC as
the play-by-play man for XFL tele
casts. The eight-team league, which
includes the San Francisco Demons,
kicks off in February.
Play-by-play work is nothing new
for Vasgersian, 33, who has been the
television voice of the Milwaukee
Brewers the past four years, but he has
no football experience.
With the XFL, that might not mat
ter.
"First of all, they made it clear they
didn't want a guy who had been for
mally trained in football broadcasting,"
he said. "They wanted someone who
would treat it differently. I'm not the
only guy who can do it the way they
wanted it presented. My style is that
I'm not traditional in anything I do."
In a break with tradition similar to
ABC's hiring of Dennis Miller for
"Monday Night Football," NBC went
with a celebrity as its XFL analyst and
will have Minnesota Gov. Jesse
Ventura, the former professional wres
tler, in the booth along with Vasgersian.
Ventura is accustomed to public
speaking as a politician, but it remains
to be seen what he can bring to a foot
ball telecast as an analyst. That doesn't
worry Vasgersian.
Bernstein, who calls Cal basketball
games on KABL (960-AM), came to
the rescue. While he plays hockey and
has an avid interest in the sport, he had
never called a hockey game on radio.
"1 was thankful for the opportunity,
and I'm glad I was the first guy they
thought of, but I know why I got it. It
was tough because Dan's a friend. He's
pretty beat up," said Bernstein, who
will fill in for Rusanowsky, who had
never missed a Sharks game in the
team's history, while he recovers from
Vasgersian has had to deal with an his injuries.
"It's not a concern at all. I don't care
what kind of football he brings to the
broadcast; he's a personality,"
Vasgersian said. "He can be the guy
people write about on Monday morn
ing. He can be the guy people fire off
angry letters to over the content mat
ter."
Daredevil
by Candus Thomson
The Baltimore Sun
December 05, 2000
FAYETTEVILLE, W. Va. - Eight sec
onds.
That's the time it takes to get from
the deck of the New River Gorge
Bridge to the river 876 feet below.
A step out into space, the roar of
wind in your ears as your body picks
up speed, the smear of scenery
screaming by, the dark blue water are
all you can see.
Eight seconds. Speedier than a drag
race, but not quite terminal velocity,
the speed the laws of physics say is
as fast as you can go.
Except that at some point between
seconds one and six, you fling a piece
of nylon in the air, an offering to the
gods of gravity. It catches the wind,
billows and yanks open a canopy that
lowers you, still alive, to the ground.
Except when it doesn't.
Three hundred people showed up
on the bridge outside Fayetteville this
day to jump, count and land. Most
consider themselves adventurers who
have come to grips with that most
vexing question of moms everywhere:
"If everyone else jumped off a
bridge, would you do it too?"
Almost three-quarters of those tak
ing the leap of faith this day are first
timers in the extreme sport known as
BASE jumping - parachuting from a
fixed point, such as the World Trade
Center or a broadcast tower, rather
than a plane.
Outlaws almost everywhere, these
daredevil jumpers get one day, sanc
tioned by the West Virginia Legisla
ture, to step off the second-highest
bridge in the country and take what
comes.
The annual event, known as Bridge
Day, punches the S-ticket of BASE
jumpers seeking to claim each of the
acronym's four letters: Building, An
tennae, Span and Earth.
The event draws 200,000 specta-
inexperienced sidekick as host of the
"Tough Man World Championships"
on the FX cable network. His partner
is none other than Hall of Fame line
backer Lawrence Taylor.
"He's pretty unrefined, but it's good
training for a play-by-play guy,"
Vasgersian said. "He's one of the fun
niest guys I've ever been around in my
life. There's a difference between funny
stuff you can use on the air and funny
stuff you can't get away with. It's my
job as the play-by-play guy to bring out
his funny side without going too far."
If Ventura turns out to be a funny
guy, that will affect how Vasgersian ap
proaches an XFL telecast. "If the ana
lyst is the dynamic, the play-by-play
guy has to be more of an X's and O's
guy, a straight-laced factual guy," he
said "The play-by-play guy and the
analyst can't be of the same style."
Vasgersian's off-the-wall style
helped earn him jobs on "Sports Ge
niuses" and "Tough Man," but he
wants to be taken seriously as a broad
caster.
"I actually think about that quite a
bit. I don't want to become a cartoon
character," Vasgersian said. "You have
to be true to the person you are, instead
of being true to what you think will
make your more money. I can do the
goofy thing, but for seven months of
the year I am a major-league play-by
play broadcaster."
"This is an opportunity to try some
thing different and fun, regardless if it
helps me long-term in my career. It can
be fun and lucrative in the sense that I
can enjoy it. This job's not for every
body, but its perfect for me."
PINCH HITTER: Roxy Bernstein
was shopping at the mall with his girl
friend Saturday afternoon when he re
ceived the news that Sharks radio play
by-play man Dan Rusanowsky had
been involved in a car accident and
would not be able to work that night.
jumpers get their day on W. Va. bridge
tors, folks who gladly pump almost
$1.5 million into local hotels, restau
rants and souvenir stands for a chance
to see thrilling acts of derring-do. Or,
perhaps, a splat.
"Sure there are (jerks) here who
hope to sell their
home movies of
my death to
'America's
Most Gruesome
Videos, — snarls
a tattoo,
pierced, leather
clad jumper
named Max,
who, like many
here, won't fur
ther identify
himself because
of some "unfin
ished business"
with legal au
thorities.
"But you know
what I say to
them? Huh?
"I say, 'Have a
nice day!"' Max
throws back his
head and
laughs.
Six hours
By the virtue
of the power
vested in them, West Virginia state
lawmakers in 1990 set aside one-quar
ter of the third Saturday each Octo
ber for jumpers to jump and rappellers
to rappel from the 3,030-foot-long
bridge spanning the New River
Gorge.
The window of opportunity begins
promptly at 9 a.m. and closes pre
cisely at 3 p.m. Armed officers of the
law are the official timekeepers.
There are other rules, too. No
bungee jumping (too hard to control).
A mandatory check of parachutes and
harnesses by expert jumpers. And the
state insists that each jumper carry a
photo ID; that makes it easier for au
NATIONAL SPORTS
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VV0.0.:00..'w:10.t.::..*00,..,..._,005.t:
by Alan Abramson*"
Los Angeles Tunes
December 03, 2000
WASHINGTON - In a historic first
for one of America's most traditional
institutions, Arizona businesswoman
Sandra Baldwin was elected Sunday
as chair of the U.S. Olympic Corn
mittee.
Under the 115-member USOC
board of director's complicated
weighted voting system, Baldwin de
feated Boston attorney Paul George,
108-96. She will serve as USOC
chair until 2004.
Baldwin, 61, is the fffst woman in
the USOC's 106-year history to hold
the top rung in its complex organi
zational structure. Her election,
Baldwin said immediately after the
votes were tabulated, is a "very, very
positive statement to come out of an
organization that has been considemd
very, very conservative."
George, 59, a study in class in de
feat, said he was "very proud we have
opened up to diversity and have a
woman in the role. I think it's a great
step forward."
Baldwin's resume and reputation
thorities to tidy up if a dive goes awry.
Like patrons in line at a deli counter,
each parachutist gets a number for the
first leap of the day. With 300 jump
ers and only six hours, organizers are
anxious to make sure everyone gets
in at least one plummet. Some make
as many as four.
Spectators, called "whuffos" by
jumpers (short for the No. 1 question
they ask: "Whuffo you jump outta that
airplane?"), munch fried dough and
pizza, snap photos and speculate as
to the participants' sanity.
Jumpers, who defy any demo
graphic pigeon -holing, wear T-shirts
touting a hometown saloon, sleek
Spandex suits or plain old jeans and
sneakers. Some wear costumes. "Su
perman" answers questions about his
air-worthiness by saying, "Why don't
you stick around and see?"
To pass the time, they peer over the
are formidable: mother of two,
grandmother of six. Real estate ex
ecutive. Holder of a Ph.D. in English
(her thesis was entitled, "Neoclassi
cal Background of Nathaniel
Hawthorne's Aesthetics"). Longtime
USOC official acclaimed for her
knowledge of its structure and widely
perceived as bold, decisive and a
quick study.
- She spun stories Sunday of the
thrill of being in the arena in 1980
when the U.S. hockey team beat the
Russians. She also recounted her ser
vice as the first female president of
USA Swimming, in the mid-1980s,
and recalled haw when the votes
were being counted then someone
said to her, "I don't know if swim
ming is ready for a woman."
"I don't know either," she recalled
saying. "But they're ready for me."
She paused, then - speaking of the
USOC - added: "I don't know if this
organization is ready for a woman.
But I think, this organization is more
ready than swimming was."
Later Sunday, George, who served
as chief of the U.S. delegation at the
1998 Nagano Winter Games, was re
elected to a vice chair.
side of the bridge to gauge the size of
the bull's-eye target area in a rocky
landing along the river bank. From
here, it looks to be about the size of a
grape. The water itself, where many
will land rather than risk relocating
their hips near their ears, is crowded
with more whuffos in inflatable boats.
All the jumpers seem to know that
in the 21 years since the bridge
opened, three people have died doing
just what they're about to do. If they
don't know, someone on line tells
them.
"It happens," Bridge Day organizer
Harry Parker says of the fatalities.
"What are you going to do?"
There is tension in the waiting. Ev
eryone is dealing with what is deli
cately called "the pucker factor."
Recognizing this, organizers have
thoughtfully placed a large porta
potty at the foot of the jumping plat
form for any last-minute business.
Some waiting jumpers fall silent, an
invisible "go away" sign hung from
the cocoon they've withdrawn into.
But the vast majority tell stories - lots
of them - to each other, to reporters,
to anyone who will listen.
Will this be the last story they tell? Is
this the way colleagues and strangers
will remember them? They are tak-
ing no chances.
Susie Hanks is 48, a single mother
of four from Orlando, Ha., who took
up skydiving more than 20 years ago
to bolster her self-esteem, and wound
up giving her kids neighborhood brag
ging rights.
When kids teased her youngsters
about her stay-at-home status and
later her divorce, they had no come
back, she says. Now they do: "Our
mom is a jumpmaster. Our mom has
taught 2,000 people to skydive. Our
mom bakes great chocolate chip cook
ies. What does your mom do?"
BASE jumping makes her nervous,
Hanks admits. "I prefer being at least
at 10,000 feet," she says. "Of course
it bothers you. I'd wonder about any-
Good, bad and ugly
in college football
by Mike Huguenin
Knight-Ridder Tribune
November 30, 2000
This season's five biggest sur-
prises:
Auburn: No one expected Tommy
Tuberville to lead the Tigers to the
SEC West title. Yes, Alabama and
Mississippi weren't as good as ex
pected, but Tuberville and his staff
were there to help their team fill the
void. Junior college transfer RB Rudi
Johnson was the catalyst for the of
fensive improvement, and a lot of
young guys came through on de
fense.
Northwestern: That this team was
one win from the Rose Bowl says a
lot for Coach Randy Walker. Most
expected the Wildcats to finish at or
near the bottom of the Big Ten. In
stead, they used an ultra-productive
headed by TB Damien Anderson to
get to eight victories despite a bad
defense.
Oklahoma: Folks expected the
Sooners to win eight or nine. But a
possible national title awaits in Coach
Bob Stoops' second season. QB Josh
Heupel is a perfect fit for the offense,
the defense is opportunistic and OU
is physically tougher than people
think.
Oregon State: The Beavers de
serve a BCS bid. Will they get one?
Even if they don't, this has been a sea
son to remember in Corvallis, as the
Beavers will be going bowling in
back-to-back seasons for the first
time ever. RB Ken Simonton is the
best player you've never heard of, the
defense is tough and the secondary
is tremendous. The big question now
is how long Coach Dennis Erickson
stays around.
South Carolina: The Gamecocks
entered the season with a 21-game
losing streak. They could end this
season in a New Year's Day game.
Honorable mention: Georgia
Tech, lowa State, Louisville, LSU,
North Carolina State, Notre Dame,
San Jose State, UAB, UTEP, West
ern Michigan.
one who's not bothered or who doesn't
have butterflies."
If anyone is short in the butterfly
department, Hank Savin has plenty to
go around.
The dark-haired jumper who is
afraid of heights drove 14 hours
straight from his home in Louisiana
to scare himself to death. He's sure
he can screw up the courage to make
one jump.
"I'll have photos. I'll have proof.
Monday, I'll have bragging rights at
work," he says, his fingers drumming
the top of his tightly held helmet. "It'll
be over soon."
Not everyone tempts fate with a
parachute. Two hundred and sixty
two rappellers, chosen by lottery, are
dropping from a narrow catwalk on
the underbelly of the bridge. These
brave souls, who range in age from
20 to 72, clip harnesses to slender
ropes and ratchet their way to Mother
Earth.
"It's a long, unique drop," says or
ganizer Benjy Simpson. "There's no
wall or rock in front of you. When you
drop below the (bridge) arches, it's
between you and your God."
A third of the rappellers are first
timers, including Leslie Zimmer, a
nurse from Washington County, Pa.
She's getting plenty of encouragement
and advice from three members of her
local emergency services squad.
What she doesn't know - and they
do - is that her boyfriend of three
years, Mike Rogers, who preceded her
down the rope, is waiting below to ask
her to marry him.
After waiting 15 minutes at the bot
tom, he has his answer, and the three
burly Cupids, listening on a walkie
talkie above, grin.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2000
This season's five biggest disap
pointments:
Alabama: The Tide went into the
season with national-title hopes. It
exits the season with a 4-7 record and
without a coach. The offense was
abysmal. There's a ton of talent in
Tuscalossa - um, Tuscaloosa - and it
was wasted this season. This team is
one of the biggest disappointments
nationally in the past 10 years.
Georgia: This is not a lost season,
by any means. With a victory today
over Georgia Tech, the Bulldogs will
finish 8-3. But a Music City Bowl bid
likely awaits, and that's not good
enough for a season that was sup
posed to end on New Year's Day. SEC
East rivals Florida and Tennessee
were down a bit this season, but the
Bulldogs couldn't capitalize. Yes,
Georgia finally beat Tennessee, but
that win was erased by losses to
South Carolina and Auburn. An QB
Quincy Carter seemingly has re
gressed the past two seasons.
Illinois: The Illini had nine start
ers back from a high-powered of
fense that led them to a bowl rout of
Virginia last season, and that offense
was supposed to make up for an iffy
defense. Instead, the season went
downhill after some questionable of
ficiating cost the Illini a possible vic
tory over Michigan. The Illini went
into that game 3-0; they finished 5-
6.
USC: The Trojans were expected
to contend for the Pac-10 title; in
stead, they're finishing in a three-way
tie for last. The defense, which was
supposed to be strong, can't stop good
teams. And the offense needs a run
ning game. A coaching change ap
pears imminent.
Wisconsin: The Badgers were a
trendy pick to win the Big Ten and
possibly contend for the national title.
But a messy off-field problem regard
ing shoes, a defense that was a sieve
and an offense that couldn't throw the
ball added up to a Sun Bowl bid.
Dishonorable mention: BYU, Ha
waii, Houston, Mississippi, Navy,
Penn State, Texas, UCLA, Utah.
Avalanche is No. 1
by Jim Hodges
Los Angeles Times
December 04, 2000
The Los Angeles Times' NHL rankings
(records through Sunday's games):
1. Colorado (19-4-3-0).
And just got Forsberg back.
2. St. Louis (17-4-3-0).
Turgeon benched for big rally vs. Leafs.
3. San Jose (15-5-3-0).
Nolan: 11 points in six games.
4. Ottawa (15-7-4-0).
Think Ducks would like Lalime back?
5. New Jersey (12-8-5-0).
Why can't Devils beat Islanders?
6. Detroit (16-9-1-2).
Stevie V. close to returning.
7. Dallas (14-7-3-1).
Hull to Hitchcock: Leave Modano alone
8. Toronto (14-7-3-2).
Rebounds from shocking loss to Blues.
9. Vancouver (14-8-3-2)
10-1-2 when Canucks score first.
10. Edmonton (14-11-4-0).
Expected slide is starting.
I I. Buffalo (13-8.2-1).
Peca nearing end of holdout?
12, Phoenix (13-8-6-0).
Lemieux should help offense.
13. Pittsburgh (12-9-3-1).
Four-point weekend ends Jay's slump.
14. N.Y. Rangers (13-14-0-0).
Richter struggling in net.
15. Los Angeles (12-9-6-0).
Which team,l.3-2 or 6-0-27
16. Philadelphia (11-11-4-0).
Special teams not special.
17. Nashville (10-10-5-1),
Still hanging around .500.
18. Anaheim (9-12-4-3),
Hebert's return could help/Inut
19. Washington (9.10-6.1).
If only they could stay home.
20. Chicago (10-13-2-2).
If only they could stay on road.
21. Carolina (10-11-3-1).
With Irbe, anything is possible.
22. N.Y. Islanders (7-12-4-2).
Vanbiesbrouck bedevils . New Jersey.
23. Tampa Bay (9-12.2-2).
Rookie Richards is impressive.
24. Montreal (9-15-3-0).
2-0-2 typical coach-chano bounce.
25. Boston (8.13-3-2).
Can't play together.
26. Minnesota (7-15-4-1),
Tough 0-3 trip.
27. Atlanta (7-10-6-1).
Some unimpressive victories.
28. Calgary (6-12-6-4).
V. Bure: three goals in 27 games.
29. Columbus (7-18-1-1).
Eight consecutive losses.
30. Florida (5.11-4-4).
Recent one-for-54 ..werless lay.