Rating the Bay Area TV Sports anchors; Ibanez, Mathei, tops; Radnich and Beil? Feh

The Bay Area is a hotbed for sports, from the 49ers to the Raiders, (OK, even if the latter is struggling, they still garner attention) to the Giants, A's, Warriors and yes, even the SJ Sharks.

Don't forget college football, even though Jeff Tedford's CAL Bears are having an early-season hiccup and Stanford somehow leads the PC-10 in football victories. (How can this be happening?)

With that in mind, let us unscientifically rate the Bay Area TV Sports anchors. Keep in mind that this is purely subjective and no, not a one bought me a free lunch at Tommys joynt, but I'd be happy to wined and dined at Tadich if you care.

**MARK IBANEZ, KTVU/FOX 2: There's a reason why the veteran Channel 2 sports personality has managed to make it here for over 30 years: Ibanez is solid, steady, uber-professional and can neatly and nicely wrap a thoroughly entertaining and informative sportscast into two minutes. It's a shame KTVU has cut Ibanez' time, but that's another story all together. GRADE: A-




**RAJ MATTHEI, NBC/BAYAREA: Mathei has grown on me. At first, he came across as slick and ultra-sleek, but the GQ look is not his fault. It IS after all, TV. He is smooth, provides all the necessary info and has developed into a pretty good interviewer, not afraid to ask a tough question, even to Barry Bonds. Mathei's post-game show following NBC Sunday night football has become a quality sports wrap-up, and better than most of your garden variety sports shows. GRADE: B

GARY RADNICH, KRON4: Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Radnich is still widely recognized as the top sports TV tonsil on Bay Area TV, but his overly schlocky, occasionally over-the-top sports reports have become the TV version of a train wreck that you rubberneckers want to just give a peek as to what's going on. Gary is still compelling enough to hunker down and allot five minutes of your night to see if he'll actually give and A's score every now and then, without the obligatory inside-biz bit with Pam Moore. It's not that we don't want it, but every night? All in all, he's still got it, albeit the "bit-o-matic" "Ask Gary" segment is as cheesy and pretentious as ever. When you can squeeze Paula Abdul into the studio, OK, maybe then, we'll give a damn. GRADE: B-

DENNIS O'DONNELL, CBS5/KPIX: Dennis is good and dresses like a modern-day Gordon Gecko. The only thing missing is hair gel, and a Gavin Newsom endorsement. O'Donnell's problem is not that he's turned from solid sports deliverer to gimmicky sports host, its that he's projecting he's more important than the sports story. At least that's the impression. Worse yet, the increasingly banal banter between him and co-anchors Ken Basdtida and Dana King is useless and utterly pretentious. Yo Den, we love you guy, we do, but leave the inside-anchor shtick to Radnich, who in spite of his lower-case gravitas and impending year-end bye-bye at KRON is better in that department. GRADE: C+

LARRY BEIL, ABC7/KGO: Mr. "with-authority!" still thinks he's back in Bristol, home of ESPN, where Beil used to tonsil. Years ago, he was solid, steady and unassuming at KTVU in the 90's, before moving back east to presumably hone his career as the proverbial "Hey, don't I LOOK like I'm a sports anchor?" You do, Larry, and that's the problem. There's no denying Beil can provide a simple, straight-forward three-four minute sportscast, yet the overly-used WITH AUTHORITY! audio logo wears thin after said highlight needs nothing more than a slight raise of the voice. Besides, there's the other guy who used to provide a SIT DOWN, which was tepid enough. Remember, this ain't Des Moines, its the Bay Area. GRADE: C

HONORABLE MENTIONS: Joe Fonzi, Vern Glenn, Fred Inglis. All solid veterans on the weekend staff. (Glenn works weekdays and is primarily reporter and back-up to Radnich as KRON has erased sports on the weekend to pay for the company XMAS party across the street at Tommys Joynt)

****

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