Angels Are Getting Out-Foxed

The Dodgers are fading, the Angels are red hot, and both have a big series on the road this weekend. But while all three of the Dodgers’ games at San Francisco will be on television, only two of the Angels’ three games at Seattle will be televised.

Channel 9 has the games tonight and Sunday afternoon. Saturday’s game is not televised because of Fox’s exclusivity. Saturday’s Dodger-Giant game has been on Fox’s schedule since the beginning of the season.

The Dodgers and Giants were also on Fox last Saturday. The game was one of four regional telecasts and it helped Fox get a 3.7 national rating, its highest for regular-season baseball in two years.

However, a lot has changed in a week. An argument could be made that there is now more interest in the Angels and Mariners, considering the Dodgers’ recent dismal play.

This still may be a Dodger town. But the Angels, who swept the Mariners last weekend and then took two of three from Oakland, are gaining ground.

Dodger telecasts on Channel 13 are averaging a 3.1 rating, which is a 15% increase over last year’s 2.7. Angel telecasts on Channel 9 are averaging a 2.2, but that’s a 47% increase over last year’s 1.5.

All this Angelmania has put the team’s TV announcers, Steve Physioc and Rex Hudler, in the spotlight. They work the telecasts on both Channel 9 and Fox Sports Net. After Sunday, Fox Sports Net has the Angels six nights in a row.

The Angels are winning over a lot of fans, and first-time viewers will discover that Hudler is a little different. He’s somewhere on the other end of the spectrum from Vin Scully.

The erudite Scully is an orator with a soothing delivery. Hudler, wound tighter than a juiced-up baseball, is sort of another version of Bill Walton, bubbling with enthusiasm.

Walton is never one to understate anything. Neither is Hudler.

On the air, Hudler actually seems to reel himself in. But the passion is still there, and that passion sometimes results in homerism. In a market as sophisticated as Los Angeles, that is not a good thing.

On the other hand, Hudler isn’t afraid to criticize the Angels when it’s appropriate.

The good and bad of Hudler came through on one play in the bottom of the ninth inning of the Angels’ 2-1 loss Tuesday night to Oakland, when the Angels’ Adam Kennedy, leading off, popped up to shortstop.

“Aw,� sighed Hudler, showing some inappropriate homerism.

But after shortstop Miguel Tejada dropped the high pop-up, Hudler appropriately criticized Kennedy, who had gone only as far as first base when he could have easily reached second.

“He wasn’t hustling, and that’s a mistake on his part,� Hudler said. “You always have to run it out.�

Kennedy was running harder the next night, even sliding into first base.

Hudler, 41, knows about running them out. His hustle enabled him to play professional baseball for 21 seasons. He spent 10 years in the minors, running through more cities than the Mississippi River. He played for 18 minor league teams.

He made it to the major leagues with Montreal in 1988, spent three seasons as a utility player with the Angels (1994-96) and finished up with Philadelphia in 1998.

Going into the 1999 season, the Angels restructured their TV announcing teams and wanted one commentator for both Channel 9 and Fox Sports Net. Tim Mead, now the team’s director of communications, suggested Hudler, mainly because of his infectious personality. It certainly wasn’t because of his broadcasting experience, because he didn’t have any.

In Hudler’s first season announcing, the team lost 104 games, and his upbeat style seemed out of place. But Physioc liked having him around.

“He made it fun to come to work even though the team was losing,� Physioc said. “He’s the kind of guy you look forward to seeing every day. No matter what kind of mood you’re in, he’s going to make you feel better because he’s in a good mood every day of the week.�

Spend some time with Hudler and you can’t help but like the guy. You just wonder if he’s for real. Can anybody be that upbeat all the time?

“He’s genuine, there’s no question about that,� Mead said. “If he has a fault it’s that he can’t say no to anyone. But that’s not really a bad thing.�

Bill Macdonald, who hosts Fox Sports Net’s Angel pregame shows with Hudler, said, “What you see is what you get. He’s got passion, intensity and humor.�

Don Corsini, the general manager at both Channel 9 and new sister station Channel 2, said, “He makes me laugh and he’s entertaining. He brings a fresh perspective and I enjoy listening to him.�

Off the air, Hudler talks continuously. Before Tuesday’s game, he talked about his days as a multi-sport star at Bullard High in Fresno. He talked about meeting his wife, Jennifer, in Columbus, Ohio, during his 10th season in the minors. He talked about their three children and said a fourth is on the way.

His son Cade, 5, has Down’s syndrome. Hudler calls it Up syndrome because he is not down about anything.

“I love people and I love attention,� he said. “Playing baseball got me a lot of attention. What I’m doing now still gets me a lot of attention, and I love it.�

And the way the Angels are going, he’s going to get even more attention.

NBA News

Charles Barkley has signed a multiyear contract to remain with TNT. His new deal calls for an expanded role within AOL Time Warner, including weekly appearances on CNN’s daily “TalkBack Live� with Arthel Neville

Walton was on a conference call with reporters Thursday, when he and Brad Nessler were named the NBA’s lead announcing team for ABC and ESPN. The No. 2 team will be Mike Tirico and Tom Tolbert....

ABC President Howard Katz, when asked about Brent Musburger, said he expected him to have some kind of role.... There has been talk that ESPN is interested in Dan Majerle, but ESPN Executive Vice President Steve Anderson said, “He’s not sure how serious he is about being a part of the business.�

Something different this season, besides games being on ABC and ESPN as part of a six-year agreement, will be the blackout policies. TNT, because of its 18-year relationship with the NBA, is being given more exclusivity.

TNT will have six of its nine Laker telecasts to itself, including the season opener against San Antonio at Staples Center on Oct. 29. That game will not be televised by Fox Sports Net. The NBA was able to give TNT exclusivity because ABC is televising only 14 or 15 regular-season games. The Lakers had 11 exclusive appearances on NBC last season. They’ll have four on ABC and six on TNT this season.

Short Waves

Chris Madsen, who has been the Mighty Ducks’ TV announcer since the team’s inception in 1993, will not return this season. The team gave no reason for not renewing Madsen’s contract.... ESPN has finally announced that it has hired Kevin Frazier, formerly of Fox Sports Net. Frazier makes his debut as a “SportsCenter� anchor tonight at 10. He will also be an NBA studio host....

Good news for horse racing fans: For the first time since 1997, there is a daily show from Del Mar. Fox Sports Net 2 is carrying TVG’s “Trackside Live� from Del Mar daily from 4-6 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. Fridays

During Sunday’s coverage of the ATP Mercedes-Benz Cup on Fox Sports Net, there will be a short tribute to legendary film director and avid tennis fan John Frankenheimer, who died July 6. Freelance tennis producer Harold Hecht, a close friend, put together the tribute.