Variety Spices Up His Career

Terry Gannon remembers clearly what his college basketball coach, Jim Valvano, used to tell him.

“He’d say, ‘Don’t limit yourself. Keep your mind and eyes wide open for any opportunity,’ ” Gannon said.

Gannon did that on the basketball court, taking shots whenever he got the opportunity.

As a sophomore, he helped North Carolina State win the 1983 NCAA championship. He led the nation in three-point shooting percentage that season and finished his career shooting 58.9% (53 for 90) from three-point range, still the school record. He also holds the school career record for free-throw percentage, 85.4% (175 for 205).

Gannon also remembers Valvano’s saying, “Keep your options open and let life take you where it may.”

Gannon certainly did that in his professional life. He is one of the most versatile sports announcers in network television.

Take his schedule since Jan. 1, for example. First, he was the host of ABC’s coverage of the Rose Parade.

Then it was off to the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, where he worked with Dick Button and Peggy Fleming. Last weekend, he was the studio host of ABC’s college basketball coverage.

This week, it’s golf. Gannon is at La Quinta for the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. He was the host of Thursday night’s late-night highlight show, will serve in the same capacity for tonight’s 1:05 a.m. show, and will work as an interviewer and reporter during ABC’s weekend coverage.

Gannon also has been the host of World Cup soccer -- men and women -- and has covered college basketball, college football, skiing, golf, tennis, the Little League World Series, pro beach volleyball, motocross, mountain biking, the Goodwill Games ... the list goes on.

Why such a variety? Why such a busy schedule?

“It keeps the job and life interesting,” Gannon said via cellphone while driving to his golf assignment. “As Valvano would say, ‘Why not?’ ”

Gannon, a two-time Academic All-American at North Carolina State, was a history major.

His plan was to coach, and that’s what he did for two seasons under Valvano, who died of cancer in 1993.

Valvano remains in Gannon’s thoughts. He is an active supporter of the V Foundation, which has raised about $35 million for cancer research and awareness programs. Gannon’s figure skating broadcast partner, Fleming, is on the foundation’s board.

The broadcasting bug bit Gannon in 1987, when he began doing local college basketball commentating. He was hired as a basketball commentator by ABC in 1991.

It wasn’t long before his ABC bosses realized he was willing and able to do almost anything.

The biggest shock, he said, came in 1994, when he was told he was going to Tokyo for the World Figure Skating Championships in nearby Makuhari.

“I knew where Tokyo was, and I knew who Peggy Fleming was, and that was about it,” he said.

His most unusual assignment? He said that came in 1995, when he was sent to Slovenia to cover ski flying.

ABC college football commentator David Norrie recalled working the 2001 Michigan-Ohio State football game, for which Gannon did the play-by-play.

“Mike Tirico was my regular play-by-play partner that year, and he had a commitment that weekend,” Norrie said. “Terry stepped in and was just rock-solid. He was so prepared and so knowledgeable, it was mind-boggling.”

Gannon lived in Santa Monica for 8 1/2 years until he recently moved to the New York area with his wife, Lisa, and their two children. They came to Southern California because Lisa, whom Terry met in the weight room at North Carolina State, worked as a commercial actress. She’s now a full-time mom to Madailein, 5, and Jake, 3.

That Great Moment

One of the most memorable moments in college basketball history is North Carolina State’s shocking victory over Houston and its Phi Slama Jama lineup in the 1983 title game.

Gannon was the No. 3 guard and sixth man on that team. Dereck Whittenburg and Sidney Lowe were the starting guards, but Gannon was on the floor when Whittenburg threw up the desperation shot that was caught and dunked by Lorenzo Charles for the 54-52 victory.

“When you see the tape again, you can see me out there in the wing, waving my arms for Whittenburg to throw me the ball,” Gannon said. “I was wide open. I’m still waiting for that pass.”

No doubt Gannon wouldn’t have hesitated to take the shot. He would have seized the opportunity. He always has.

Short Waves

Joe Namath, interviewed by Jeremy Schaap on “Outside the Lines” Sunday at 6:30 a.m., apologizes for the infamous Dec. 20 sideline interview in which he told ESPN’s Suzy Kolber, “I want to kiss you.” Namath says the incident was a wake-up call and he has since begun a program to deal with his drinking. “It’s just something I can’t handle,” he says. Schaap’s interview will be carried on subsequent “SportsCenter” programs. ... An interview Andrea Kremer did with Trent Dilfer will be on the 8 p.m. edition of “SportsCenter” Sunday. Dilfer for the first time talks about the death of his 5-year-old son, Trevin, of heart disease in April.

The Winter X Games on ABC and ESPN beginning Saturday for the first time will include some live coverage during the nighttime competitions. ... Early candidates for the John Wooden Award will be announced Saturday on the 3 p.m. edition of “Sports Central” on Channel 2. ... NBA TV launches a series, “Screening Room,” Sunday at 6 p.m. The 10-episode series starts with a presentation of the 2000 film “Whatever Happened to Micheal Ray?” Micheal Ray Richardson was banned for life from the NBA in 1986. ... GolTV, a bilingual soccer channel that began in February on the Dish Network, is now available on cable in Southern California. Some Comcast systems are carrying GolTV on Channel 278, and some Adelphia systems are carrying it on Channel 124.

NBC on Saturday from 1-3 p.m. offers live coverage of the eight-race, $3.6-million Sunshine Millions, featuring races from Santa Anita and Florida’s Gulfstream Park. ... Also something to look for on NBC this weekend will be the television debut of a short film with Jon Bon Jovi and John Elway. The two-minute spot, which promotes the Arena Football League, will air during the horse racing coverage and also during a Professional Bull Riders event Sunday at Phoenix. Bon Jovi is part-owner of the Philadelphia Soul, and Elway is part-owner of the Colorado Crush. The AFL season begins Feb. 8.

The producers of Fox Sports Net’s “Best Damn Sports Show Period” are asking enterprising college students to submit-short films of three minutes or less. The top 10 entries will be shown beginning in late March, with two winners earning internships at either the show or 20th Century Fox Films. Information: foxsports.com. Note: USC film students are ineligible because the head of their department, Geoffrey Cowan, helped create the contest.

The Southern California Sports Broadcasters’ annual awards luncheon will be Feb. 2 at Lakeside Golf Club in Toluca Lake.

Honorees already known include Pete Carroll, Eric Gagne, Chris McCarron, Dodger senior vice president Derrick Hall and Channel 9 executive producer Susan Stratton, who will receive the group’s “Good Guy” award even though she obviously is not a guy.

In Closing

Randy Kerdoon, formerly of Channel 11 and KFWB, has resurfaced at KNX doing the morning sports. That’s fine, but someone needs to tell him there is a time to be funny and a time to play it straight.