Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
By ERNEST HOOPER
© St. Petersburg Times, published April 21, 2000
Fox Sports Net's Keith Olbermann said a big, orange train is steaming toward Florida and interested fans should climb aboard.
That's how Olbermann describes the network's new sports news show, National Sports Report. With a studio set full of orange and a broadcast being billed as fast pace, Olbermann said viewers should be prepared for a ride.
"It's like this big, baby Huey," said Olbermann, referring to the cartoon character. "It's like this giant thing appeared and it changes every day as we get more ambitious as we try to do more things with music."
Fox Sports Net revamped its news show April 12, but for fans in Florida, the change did not register.
Because of a contractual conflict between Sunshine Network and the former SportsChannel Florida, Sunshine State viewers never were able to see Olbermann and the Fox report.
That changes Tuesday when the new Fox Sports Net Florida begins broadcasting the National Sports Report at 10 p.m. It also airs at 11, midnight and 1 a.m.
Contractual problems were cleared up when Fox gained controlling interest in SportsChannel and renamed the network. Once the contract between CNN/SI and Fox Sports Net Florida expired, the network was free to add the Fox Sports Net nightly sportscast.
But Olbermann and executive producer Scott Ackerson insist their latest version is unlike the current crop of highlight and news shows. Ackerson, who also shaped Fox NFL Sunday into an award-winning show, has put the emphasis on the why instead of the what.
"Research shows a quarter to a third of the viewers already know the score, know who's done well, who's not done well and in some cases, they've already seen some highlights from certain games," Ackerson explained.
With that in mind, Fox has added more analysts to the studio set and encouraged anchors to be opinionated. Olbermann said the show may begin with five people on the set, or may have as many as seven analysts contribute.
The idea is to distinguish the program from ESPN's SportsCenter and CNN/SI's updates. Ackerson said current shows have grown stale, boring and tedious.
"I think there's enough of an audience out there looking for somebody who's doing it differently, and hopefully doing it better" Ackerson said.
In Fox style, many innovations will be used, some designed to mesh with Internet users. The show is taking e-mail from viewers and answering them on air. Each show ends with "The Final Cut," a video montage of highlights set to music. In just one week, ESPN has started ending SportsCenter with "Plays of the Night."
"Some (things) will work, and some might not work," Ackerson said. "But you'll get the impression we're trying."
Even with innovations, the show won't be stronger than its hosts, and Olbermann made it clear he has renewed his love of sports after a foray into news as the host of an MSNBC's the Big Show. He believes sports, with controversies such as John Rocker's offensive remarks and Serena Williams skipping a WTA event in Hilton Head, S.C., because the state flies the Confederate flag, offers a chance to examine society without the overkill.
"There's nothing like being able to visit the world of news every day to remind me how lucky I am to be doing sports," Olbermann said. "If I was still doing news, we would have gone from "The White House in Crisis" to "Elian in Crisis." After having to do an hour and a half of that, I would have been saying, "I don't care if the kid comes and hosts the show, let's move to another story.' "
FINE TUNING: Look for Wade Boggs to serve as an analyst during the broadcast of tonight's Angels-Devil Rays game. ... CNN/SI's Peter King is predicting quarterback Steve Young, receiver Jerry Rice and general manager Bill Walsh will leave the 49ers before the season begins. "My money's on Rice to end up in Washington, Young to give it one last shot in Denver and Walsh to move to Pebble Beach." ... TNT previews the playoffs at 7 tonight.
STORM ON TNN: The Storm's Arena Football League game against Carolina at the Ice Palace has been moved from May 5 to May 4 at 8:30 p.m. to accommodate a telecast by TNN, Ice Palace spokesman Bill Wickett said.