Week in review
Before we review the week on Front Row, here are a few programming reminders:
DVR alert: The Haney Project: Herm Edwards airs tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET on Golf Channel as ESPN’s resident coach and NFL analyst visits professional golf instructor Hank Haney to fix the signature “butterfade” in his game.
Edwards and Haney filmed the episode over two days in early December at Tehama Golf Course in Carmel, Calif. Edwards talks about the experience:
“I love the game of golf. I picked it up later in life but I’ve never really had a lesson. You do what you can to be competitive but it’s tough.
“I met Hank through Charles Barkley in Tahoe and we have developed a friendship. He’s a football fan — he loves the Cowboys — and we share a lot of stories about football and about golf. We also get along really well because he’s a coach and I was a coach.
“Working with Hank, he kept it simple and just gave me a few trigger points to work on with my game. He’s been all over the world and worked with so many of the best golfers, like Tiger Woods and others. It was a great opportunity. His biggest thing was, ‘if you don’t practice, you can’t get better.’ I play about 20 rounds a year, and about eight of those are in tournaments, so it was good advice.”
No doubt Edwards is less of a challenge for Haney than, say, Barkley.
USA Today hails the one-night return of NFL PrimeTime (ESPN2, 8 p.m. ET), Chris Berman and Tom Jackson‘s wrapup of the 13-game Christmas Eve NFL schedule.
Christmas Day, ABC and ESPN each will feature doubleheaders to tip off the start of the NBA season.
While we are in the middle of college football bowl season, “Trevor Claus,” – ESPN college football analyst Trevor Matich –issues presents to teams who are in need of some help. Check out the video above: The gift to Florida would make an ideal stocking stuffer.
On Front Row this week:
* Kia NBA Countdown is now being produced on the West Coast. Magic Johnson, Michael Wilbon, Jon Barry and Chris Broussard will team up from the ESPN production facility in Los Angeles.
* The season finale for Monday Night Football features an NFC South battle as the Atlanta Falcons visit the New Orleans Saints. The MNF open next week will feature TVLand’s Betty White. Come back to Front Row on Tuesday to see the open.
* Our Scott Van Pelt was featured on the Late Show with David Letterman on Tuesday. We took a field trip to Ed Sullivan Theater to see how he enjoyed his experience. Some of his colleagues offered their advice before he headed to New York City.
* Candlestick Park was home to Monday Night Football this past week as the Pittsburgh Steelers visited the San Francisco 49ers. The game was delayed twice due to blackouts. Front Row went behind-the-scenes to find out how our remote production crew handled the situation.
