Call it “The Case of the Missing Broadcaster.”
“Without a Trace” couldn’t find Doug McLeod. The Colorado Avalanche television play-by- play man disappeared faster than a two-minute power play only 20 games into his first season with the Avs.
McLeod, a veteran NHL broadcaster, couldn’t seem to keep up with the league’s faster action on the ice. He was replaced Nov. 21, without fanfare, by Avs radio man Mike Haynes, who prefers radio but agreed to sit in for the time being.
McLeod, meantime, is in broadcast limbo.
Tom Philand, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Kroenke Sports, said Wednesday, “We want to sit down and see who’s going to do what. We want to see how we can do it better. We haven’t made a decision, but we’ll have an announcement soon.”
Philand emphatically denied rumors that it was Avs GM Pierre Lacroix who pulled the plug on McLeod: “Absolutely not.” The Avs and Altitude are both part of the sports empire owned by Stan Kroenke, but, Philand said, broadcast staffing is left up to the network.
Down to the wire
On paper, they both look like blowouts, but, of course, we’ll watch just to make sure.
Texas is a whopping 27 1/2-point favorite to crush Colorado, again, for the Big 12 championship (11 a.m. Saturday, KMGH-Channel 7).
Undefeated Southern California is a 21-point pick to beat crosstown rival UCLA, keep its 33-game winning streak alive and earn a trip to the Rose Bowl as the BCS’s top team (2:30 p.m. Saturday, Channel 7).
Those networks not lucky enough to carry the games jump into the action anyway:
FSN Rocky Mountain previews the CU-Texas game on “Big 12 Championship Showcase,” throwing a bone to Buffalo fans who might remember the Buffs’ upset over the Longhorns in the 2001 championship game; also planned is a feature on Joel Klatt (5 p.m. Friday, FSNRM).
Chris Fowler, Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit analyze USC-UCLA on “College Game Day” (8:30 a.m., ESPN).
Around the dial
KKFN 950-AM (“The Fan”) adding Scott Hastings as host of a daily sports-talk show, starting Jan. 3 (1 to 3 p.m. weekdays). He’ll continue to do color on the Denver Nuggets’ games on Altitude. Ex-Bronco Mark Schlereth reportedly in line to be his radio co-host. … The Broncos-Cowboys game on Thanksgiving Day was the week’s most-watched show with 26.4 million viewers. “CSI” was the runner-up. … Douglas County meets Mullen in the Class 5A state high football championship, the first time the title game has been played at Invesco Field at Mile High (2:30 p.m. Saturday, Altitude). … Quotable: “On this team, we’re all united in a common goal: to keep my job.” Lou Holtz
Dick Kreck’s column appears Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. He may be reached at 303-820-1456 or dkreck@denverpost.com.
