Nbc Wants Montana To Be Its Armchair Qb

If Joe Montana ends up in broadcasting, which he is pondering, a structured studio role would seem to fit him best.

NBC is the early leader in the Montana Derby and probably would use the retired quarterback on its NFL studio show, which could use a shot in the arm.

NBC made a mistake when it made Bill Walsh its No. 1 game color commentator. It’s unlikely the network would make the same mistake with Montana.

Fox, ESPN and Turner are also interested in Montana.

A decision is expected within a week or so.

Simms in, Christensen out

NBC has added Phil Simms to its stable of football commentators, but gone is former Los Angeles Raider tight end Todd Christensen.

Christensen, bright and articulate, has what it takes to make it in broadcasting. But word is his moodiness hurt him at NBC, and his contract was not renewed.

Christensen, reached at his home in Alpine, Utah, said of his dismissal, “I guess it had more to do with personalties than competence.”

Then he added: “Hold on. (Pause) My wife overheard what I just said and thinks I should say something a little more humble, like, I thought I was better than I was.”

Bulls on again

NBC ends the NBA regular-season this weekend with a game today and two Sunday. No surprise: The Chicago Bulls are on today, when they play host to Charlotte.

NBA ratings on NBC early in the season were off 46 percent from last year and were still off by 4 percent when Michael Jordan returned. They’re now 13 percent higher than a year ago.

New sports network

The Classic Sports Network, featuring classic sports events and programs from years past, is scheduled to be launched May 6. It was supposed to start in March. The problem was convincing cable companies to clear a channel, and that is still a problem.

The network, however, will be available in part in 2 million homes through a new channel owned by Liberty Sports, which also owns Prime Sports. Liberty’s new channel is called Prime Sports Showcase.

The Classic Sports Network will also be available to people with DirecTV and PrimeStar mini-satellite dish systems.

Golf scores points

Golf’s popularity continues to boom. The final round of the Masters got a 9.8 rating, the highest for a non-playoff Masters final day in 14 years. CBS averaged a 3.8 for the final two rounds of the Heritage last weekend, the highest for that tournament since 1990. And NBC averaged a 3.3 for the PGA Seniors, highest since 1991.

There’s more good golf this weekend. ABC has the Legends of Golf from the Stadium Course at PGA West, and CBS has the Greater Greensboro Open.

Local watch

Coeur d’Alene TV station K58DQ will broadcast 58 Seattle Mariners games, picking up the feed from Seattle-based KIRO.

K58DQ can be seen on cable channel 21 in Coeur d’Alene and on channel 58 for those without cable. The channel is not carried by Cox Cable in Spokane.

The first broadcast is today’s 1 p.m. SeattleSan Francisco exhibition game.

Prime Sports Northwest’s 40-game M’s package will be available in Spokane and Coeur d’Alene. Neither Cox Cable nor any Spokane stations have elected to pick up KIRO’s telecasts.