Ducks main dish on KEZI menu.

Byline: BOB CLARK The Register-Guard

Ready for some Duck football?

The weekends this fall will be an almost continuous presentation of Oregon football on KEZI, the local and anchor station for the Oregon Sports Network. It will start with a preview show on Saturdays and a replay of every UO game that night, with highlight shows on both Sunday and Monday.

`Nobody in the country can be doing more than we're doing,' said Joe Giansante, executive producer and host of the shows dedicated to the Ducks, along with being the play-by-play voice for the delayed broadcasts. `From our perspective, we're really proud of that, and it takes a commitment from a lot of people here and at the university.

`All the research that shows sports doesn't matter? Well, you know what, it matters here.'

The largest additional commitment for the Oregon Sports Network will be the replay of every UO game on Saturday nights. That was a production given up last year by the Fox Sports Network due to cost and ratings, but OSN is making a major commitment, not only with the replay shown in markets within the state (Medford and Portland as well as Eugene), but on the YES network that originates in New York and can be picked up on satellite dishes across the country.

That will be an interesting cross-section of viewers, from the die-hard Duck fan in Lane County to a bar patron in New York who wouldn't know a Duck from a Husky. Giansante said it will be comparable to what WGN faces with Cubs broadcasts and its diversity of viewers.

`It will be a little difficult,' Giansante said. `We want to do as much as we can to educate people who never see Oregon football, but we don't want to go overboard on that and repeat stuff (for UO fans).'

Doing the replay telecasts with Giansante - and possibly a game or two live - will be Anthony Newman, the former Duck and NFL defensive back named as the analyst.

The OSN team for the past two seasons had been Giansante and KEZI sports anchor Mark Larson, which in essence offered two broadcasters in similar roles. With Giansante handling play-by-play and Newman as the analyst, the OSN replays will revert to more of the traditional style of television broadcasts.

`I liked doing games with Mark, we have a good relationship, and I respect him a lot,' Giansante said. `He's still going to be involved in a lot of the other stuff we're doing.'

Giansante said in his new role, `my job is to set up the person who knows a lot about football. My work will be to set them up, draw their knowledge out and get out of the way, and I'm looking forward to that. There are still some things that I can add, like the tradition and history of Oregon football, but I'm not going to try and say I know as much about football' as Newman.

The 11:30 p.m. start of the Oregon replay is likely to be a challenge for some viewers, though Giansante thinks that will be overcome because `people here love Oregon football so much. Maybe 11:30 seems late, but I think people will find it's a blast to go home after they've gone out to dinner, or even straight home after a night game, and turn the game on. This town doesn't go to sleep at 11 o'clock on Saturday night.'

For those who do, OSN offers other choices.

The `Oregon Game Day' show, with Larson co-hosting with Giansante, will usually be shown live at noon on Saturdays, from the site of the Oregon game. The one exception will be for Saturday's season opener, when because of ABC commitments on games, the preview show will be turned into a post-game show and aired at about 8 p.m. on KEZI.

The coach's show with Mike Bellotti will review games on Sundays at 5 p.m., with a second showing at 11:30 p.m.

`We'll have a few little format changes, because we want to keep that exciting,' Giansante said.

There will be the usual highlights and review of the previous day's games. Among the changes will be Bellotti using a telestrator to analyze some of the action, or explain how a play worked.

The `Oregon Football Monday Night Live' will air immediately after the NFL game, which means the starting time and duration of the show will be flexible. Giansante said that rather than repeat what was on the Sunday coach's show with Bellotti, `we'll take a key element from the game, maybe a key drive, and break that down. ... Instead of showing the game, we'll break out stories on the game.'

There will also be a segment devoted to former Ducks in the NFL, with highlights of their plays from the previous day.

Giansante's co-host on the Monday night show will be Jerry Allen, the radio voice of the Ducks. Giansante is on regularly with Allen on KUGN, during Friday morning and evening programming and usually on Saturdays with the radio pregame show, but this will be the first time the two have worked together on television.

`We have a certain chemistry and friendship that works very well,' Giansante said. `It'll be fun to take that act to television.'

Giansante said the increased programming devoted to the Ducks is definitely `a function of the interest level in Oregon sports. If the program is going to be No. 2 in the country, then we should have shows that win Emmys, we should do as much as we can to serve the fans.'

DUCKS ON LOCAL TV

KEZI, the home station for the Oregon Sports Network, will air the following shows on UO football:

Oregon Game Day: Preview show for 30 minutes, usually Saturday at noon, from the location of the game. (Because of ABC commitments, first show on this Saturday will air at 8 p.m. as a post-game show.)

Oregon games: Full replay shown each Saturday at 11:30 p.m.

Mike Bellotti Show: One-hour coach's show, with highlights and features, each Sunday at 5 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. and the following Saturday at 6:30 a.m.

Oregon Football Monday Night Live: Will follow NFL game on Monday night, about 9 p.m., for up to an hour. Show will include features on Ducks, and highlights from the previous day of former UO players in the NFL.

- The Register-Guard

CAPTION(S):

14F 14F DUCKS ON LOCAL TV KEZI, the home station for the Oregon Sports Network, will air the following shows on UO football: Oregon Game Day: Preview show for 30 minutes, usually Saturday at noon, from the location of the game. (Because of ABC commitments, first show on this Saturday will air at 8 p.m. as a post-game show.) Oregon games: Full replay shown each Saturday at 11:30 p.m. Mike Bellotti Show: One-hour coach's show, with highlights and features, each Sunday at 5 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. and the following Saturday at 6:30 a.m. Oregon Football Monday Night Live: Will follow NFL game on Monday night, about 9 p.m., for up to an hour. Show will include features on Ducks, and highlights from the previous day of former UO players in the NFL. - The Register-Guard