TV/Radio

No. 17 big part of coverage

Wake me up on the 17th hole.

I don't care what happens until then, or after. But don't let me miss the best moments on the most famous par-3 hole in golf at this weekend's Players Championship on Ch. 8.

It is rare, almost unheard of, that any event focuses so heavily on one hole, one moment, one shot. But so it is with the TPC at Sawgrass' No. 17, the infamous island hole that NBC will shine the spotlight during Saturday (2-6 p.m.) and Sunday (1:30-6:30 p.m.) coverage. The hole is brutally unforgiving, and being the second-to-last on the course adds the proper dose of drama. NBC will have 10 cameras -- including a lipstick-size "bunker-cam" positioned in the front bunker -- ready to bring you the action on 17 (one is actually 18's camera, but close enough to provide a shot on 17).

Gary Koch, the 16th hole tower reporter, calls it the "most dramatic setting in all of professional golf.

"Given the situation and the pressure that surrounds it, it's unique in that there's only one acceptable result and that's put the ball on the green. There's no room for error, no place to bail out or play safe."

In an interview to air at 11 a.m. Sunday on USA's PGA Tour show, NBC Sports executive producer Tom Roy promises to bring viewers from tee box to pin.

"We're trying to put the viewer in the player's shoes to see the visual intimidation," Roy says. "Through the years, we've added more and more cameras (at 17). When you figure it all out, there are about 10 cameras for a hole that's only about 145 yards."

The primary focus of the coverage will still be Tiger Woods, but this is one of the few times the baddest golfer on the planet could be upstaged by one hole.

MARTHA, MARTHA, MARTHA: Martha Burk said this week that broadcasting the Masters and showcasing Augusta National, a golf club that has no female members, "is an insult to the nearly quarter-million women in the U.S. armed forces."

The chairwoman of the National Council of Women's Organizations added that "women in the military know what it's like to fight for equal opportunity."

Surely there are better causes, more egregious instances of discrimination, for Burk's hyperbole.

Burk may have had some valid points when she began her crusade, but exploiting the war is disgusting and embarrassing.

CLIP AND PASTE: Monday's Lightning game against Boston was added to the team's local television schedule, but it won't be where you might expect.

Because Sunshine is scheduled to carry an Orlando Magic game, the Lightning game will air on alternate channels designated by local cable and satellite providers.

On Time Warner in the Tampa Bay region (and surrounding counties), the game will be on Ch. 47 (instead of 31).

On Verizon Americast, it's on Ch. 525; Shaw Cable, Ch. 2; DirecTV, Ch. 635 and DISH Network, Ch. 449.

Sunshine Network will produce the telecast with announcers Rick Peckham and Bobby Taylor calling the action.

ALREADY?: ESPN begins its coverage of the 2003 major-league baseball season Sunday with Texas-Anaheim at 8 p.m. The game marks the debut of ESPN HD, a high-definition simulcast service.

AROUND THE DIAL: HBO's very good boxing 12-part series, Legendary Nights, continues Wednesday with the Tale of Hagler-Hearns at 10 p.m. And if you get a chance, catch the replay of last week's the Tale of Pryor-Arguello, a great piece on one of boxing's most underrated rivalries. It airs at 10 a.m. Saturday, at 8 a.m. Sunday and at 7:30 p.m. Monday. ... Muhammad Ali will be featured on ESPN's Sunday Conversation on the 11 p.m. SportsCenter.

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