CAN HUDLER SLOW DOWN NOW?

Byline: TOM HOFFARTH Media

On the loving life meter, Rex Hudler has just gone through another layer of ozone. If that's possible.

``I'm the luckiest man in the world because I can turn on my phone machine and hear the love coming out of it,'' the Angels TV broadcaster said as he fidgeted in his room at the Stanford Medical Center on Thursday morning.

Hudler, 39, just signed the paperwork that would allow his wife Jennifer to take him home to Tustin even though doctors continue to investigate the bleeding in his brain and spine he suffered six days ago. Originally, doctors thought he had suffered a brain aneurysm but later ruled that out.

It probably won't be until the middle of May when the high-energy Hudler is allowed to return to the booth with Steve Physioc, who for the time being is teamed with former Angels pitcher Mark Langston.

Doctors want Hudler to stay quiet and stress-free as they determine what caused him to collapse with a severe headache at his Oakland hotel room last Saturday, caused by bleeding on the brain and in his spine.

Good luck keeping someone like Hudler still for any period of time. Restraints may be necessary.

``I said, `Doc, no offense to my family, but I just had six months off with them and they're looking for me to go back,' '' said Hudler, starting his third year as a broadcaster after 12 major-league seasons as a utility infielder. ``I'm so pumped up about this team, and Fox just added three games to the schedule this weekend, it's killing me.

``But I know there's a blood clot in the back of my head and if I stir it up, I could have a stroke and maybe die. I won't buck the system. I'll be a good patient because my wife and two kids (and one on the way) deserve that.

``I'll just water the yard and smell the flowers for awhile.''

Physioc, who was able to talk to Hudler on the air Wednesday for an inning via the phone during the Angels-Rangers telecast on Fox Sports Net, wants to play a role in helping his partner avoid rushing back.

``My job has always been to slow him down,'' Physioc said. ``It's not his nature. It'll be a very slow process and, if you look at the schedule, he won't miss more than a few games.''

Hudler, who rarely turns down a request for anything, has done a few radio interviews over the past two days. He didn't even miss his weekly Wednesday appearance on XTRA-AM (690)'s morning show. He'll also do analysis for the Fox Radio Network on the weekends while he recuperates and already looks forward to Monday when he'll go on Jim Rome's national radio show.

``A lot of people might have wished this would have quelled my tongue,'' Hudler said, ``but fortunately, I'm more excited about life. I've had a gut check. Now it's time for a reality check.''

The Angels' Web site (www.angelsbaseball.com) has a place set up to send Hudler e-mail, while Fox Sports Radio host Rich Herrera created an e-mail address for well wishers at getwellhud(at)yahoo.com.

--A media makeover: Ron Shelton has never hobbled in Bill Buckner's hightops. But if any Hollywood filmmaker has come close to relating to a lifetime of hurt that the former Boston Red Sox first baseman and his family has endured since a ball dribbled through his legs in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, maybe it's this former minor-league infielder.

``If I get a bad movie review, my friends and family are the ones who seem to be the most angry, but I know sometimes they'll cheer and sometimes they'll boo you,'' said Shelton, who hasn't had to go through all that much high-profile grief with movies such as ``Bull Durham,'' ``Tin Cup'' and ``White Men Can't Jump.''

``The error doesn't haunt Buckner. He has everything in the proper context. But the people who care about him the most are the ones who've been hurt by this.''

When Shelton came on board as a consultant for the Fox Sports Net documentary series, ``Beyond the Glory,'' he took particular interest in following up on Buckner, who lives on a ranch in Boise, Idaho, with his wife and two kids. That's why Shelton personally put together the hour-long profile that'll air Sunday at 8:30 p.m. (FSN2) and midnight (FSN).

A minor-leaguer in the Baltimore Orioles organization during the late '60s at the same time Buckner started his pro career in the Dodgers farm system, Shelton made several visits to Buckner's home to talk to him and all his living family members to discuss how fan reaction to that error has affected their lives, too.

From an L.A. perspective, Shelton uses interviews with Tom Lasorda, Steve Garvey, Ron Cey, Bobby Valentine and Tom Paciorek to show Buckner's often volatile temper as a Dodger. Ultimately, it led to a trade to the Chicago Cubs because manager Walter Alston finally lost patience with the infielder.

If anything, Shelton wants everyone to realize Buckner's career accomplishments - a .289 lifetime hitter over 22 seasons who has more career hits than nearly three-quarters of anyone who's ever played - can't be forgotten because of one play.

``I knew he was an ignominious character who had a glorious career that has essentially been forgotten by one video image and a sound bite,'' said Shelton, taking a moment from scouting locations for his new movie, a cop flick by ``L.A. Confidential'' scriptwriter James Ellroy that will star Kurt Russell and Ving Rhames.

``The press used to ask him if he had considered suicide because of it. His son has been taunted when he makes an error in a Little League game. His wife keeps asking `Why?'

``It wasn't easy for me to get him to open up, but he's a great guy to be with.''

The media scrutiny on Buckner is discussed most in the piece by Buckner's wife, Jody, and Boston Globe sportswriter Dan Shaughnessy.

``I do blame the media for what they did to Bill,'' Jody said. ``It was grossly unjust, unfair and not warranted. Bill did not lose the World Series. I truly feel they needed to make an issue out of this.''

Says Shaughnessy, who did a book called ``The Curse of the Bambino'' that includes Buckner's picture on the cover: ``The media definitely plays a big hand in what's happened to Bill and his reputation. This is the most replayed error that I've ever seen in sports. TV makes it worse and writers haven't helped matters either by perpetuating it ... I certainly have a lion's share of blame for what's happened to Bill and his reputation.''

SOUND BYTES

WHAT SMOKES

--The Hanson Brothers go online at ESPN.com for a live chat today at 1 p.m. to help promote ESPN Classic's presentation of ``Slap Shot'' on the ``Reel Classics'' series (Sunday, 6 p.m.) The presentation will include commentary from several NHL stars, including Mario Lemieux, who claims to have seen the flick 15 times.

--The NBA picked tonight's Dallas-Sacramento game to try its first streaming video Webcast, at both www.nba.com and www.real.com starting at 5:30 p.m. It'll be in English, Spanish and, because of new Mavs center Wang Zhizhi, Chinese.

--A career ``Oh my'' to Dick Enberg, who receives a lifetime achievement award at the Sports Emmys next week.

--On the report that a new collective bargaining agreement could include the approval of one-inch square ads on the sleeves of the players' uniforms, Fox's Keith Olbermann says: ``Give them an inch, and they'll take your soul.''

WHAT CHOKES

--Since the Kings-Detroit playoff series Game 2 has been heisted by ABC (Saturday, 10 a.m.) with Steve Levy and Darren Pang doing the call, you can hear Bob Miller and Jim Fox on ... oh, wait, you can't. Not that Nick Nickson and ``Miracle on Manchester'' boy Darryl Evans aren't worthy. But it is the playoffs.

--During a Shaquille O'Neal book-promoting interview Wednesday with Fred Hickman on CNN's ``Sports Tonight,'' the subject of last season's MVP selection naturally came up. ``I've got to get something off my mind,'' said Hickman, whose vote for Allen Iverson prevented O'Neal from a unanimous selection. ``It has been over a year (actually less), but you're not mad at me for that whole MVP stuff, are you?'' Said The Big Bookseller: ``I was mad at first because when I was a young boy I would jokingly say that I wanted to be historical. I wanted to make history. And I would have been the first player in history to win the MVP unanimously. I was kind of hurt by that, but I don't hold grudges.'' As Shaq jokingly points and swings punches at him, Hickman replies: ``Hey, you know I didn't know the whole history thing was involved. I didn't know.'' Ah, so that would have influenced Hickman's vote?

--ESPN announced it will expand coverage of the National Spelling Bee finals next month - two more live hours to include the semifinals of little kids straining under the TV lights to not embarrass themselves. Can you spell ``sponsor dispensation?''

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