TV/Radio

Remote patrol: Indy analyst gets behind Wheldon

By JOHN C. COTEY
Published May 27, 2005

Danica Patrick may be all the rage at this year's Indy 500, but analyst Scott Goodyear is picking St. Petersburg's Dan Wheldon.

And not despite Wheldon's spot in the sixth row, but because of it.

"Right now, he's showing a lot of maturity," Goodyear said. "I think the confidence showed and the maturity showed when he did not take his car out of line to requalify and try to get up on the front row. It's very uncommon for him to be back there in that position. He showed that he was actually thinking about the race and race day by leaving his car where it qualified and starting to work on race-day setup."

At 7 p.m. Monday, Sun Sports presents a special edition of Sports Talk Live featuring an in-depth look at Florida State football. Host Whit Watson will be joined by former Lakewood and FSU standout William Floyd among others on a panel that will preview the 2005 season.

Despite Dwyane Wade's 40-point effort against Detroit Wednesday night, the crew for TBS is still picking Detroit to roll by the Heat.

Charles Barkley: "I don't think they can beat Detroit. I've changed my mind. I don't get to see the Pistons play a lot in person, but they are impressive ... unless Dwyane Wade goes like this every game, they cannot beat Detroit."

ESPN takes a look at the James Braddock story. A 30-year-old father of three goes from government relief to heavyweight champion during the Great Depression. Cinderella Man: The James Braddock Story is a 60-minute documentary based on the novel by ESPN's Jeremy Schaap and airs 7 p.m. Tuesday. The movie Cinderella Man premieres June 3.

"Come playoff time, you can throw the records out the window." - NBC Arena Football League analyst Mike Pawlawski.

They pay the guy for that?

By the way, Pawlawski, a former quarterback in the league, picks Georgia to beat the Storm Sunday on NBC.

Saturday's MLB on Fox opening day generated a 2.9/9 national rating and an average audience of 4.1-million viewers, an increase of 7 percent. ... For the 12th straight year, ESPN will present live coverage of the National Spelling Bee Finals from 10 a.m.-noon and 1-4 p.m. Thursday from Washington. ... NBC's coverage of the 2005 French Open begins at noon Saturday. ... On NFL Network's Total Access Monday at 7 p.m., a Memorial Day edition will feature Bucs receiver Michael Clayton flying an F-16 with the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds.

[Last modified May 27, 2005, 00:57:14]