Gumbel enjoying super run

Greg Gumbel's schedule is set: AFC Championship game next Sunday, then on to Houston for the Feb. 1 Super Bowl.

It'll be the second Super Bowl assignment for CBS's lead play-by-play broadcaster and one more addition to a list of events he's broadcast "that I never dreamed I'd get the opportunity to do."

Gumbel showed up for last night's Patriots-Titans game knowing one thing for certain: Partner Phil Simms would kid him about the heater "the size of Texas" in the broadcast booth.

"One of Phil's great joys in life is to just stand and watch me shiver in the cold," said Gumbel, who grew up in far-from-tropical Chicago but long has made his home in Orlando, Fla. "But listening to his kidding is a lot better than having the viewers hear my teeth chattering as I try to say, 'F-f-f-f-f-first down.'

"I'm too easy a target, I guess."

That's only because he's very happy to let Simms be the "personality" as they finish six years (and counting) on the air together. The Gumbel-Simms-Armen Keteyian crew was formed when CBS regained NFL rights for the 1998 season. Gumbel returned to CBS that year to become a play-by-play man after four years of working with Terry Bradshaw on "The NFL on NBC" pregame show.

"Four years with Terry and now six with Phil," said Gumbel. "Those are pretty knowledgeable guys to talk with. You can't help but pick up lots of knowledge if you're any kind of a sponge."

Each week, the broadcast team also meets with the coaches of the teams they'll be covering. Gumbel says Patriots coach Bill Belichick is forthcoming and a pleasure to visit.

"Bill has had a longtime relationship with Phil, going back to their days with the Giants," said Gumbel. "There's a genuine liking there. Plus, Bill knows the kind of information we need, and I think there's a trust factor that we've built over the years."

There's a similar trust factor with the viewers when Gumbel is calling a game. Things seem to go smoothly. Which is just the way he wants it. But try as you might, you can't recall his signature call or any lengthy repartee with Simms, just straight game-calling. After Simms has his say, Gumbel picks up the call, in many ways echoing the role Pat Summerall played for years with partner John Madden. But listen closely and you'll hear some Gumbel viewpoints.

Later, he'll watch -- and listen to -- the tape of the broadcast.

"I make it a point to do that, painful as it is," he said. "I'll be asking myself, `Why did you say that? It sounded absolutely stupid.' But as far as having any pet phrases, I've never been one to have those." Actually, he strives to do just the opposite: "I try not to find myself repeating things."

Gumbel can "fly under the radar" so well that it almost went unnoticed when he became the first African-American to call a Super Bowl game (in 2001). Gumbel was honored but "surprised it had taken so long" and disappointed when the game turned out to be a bust.

"It was the Ravens' 34-7 victory over the Giants, a game that was all over by halftime," he said. "We were sandwiched between two close games -- Rams-Titans and Patriots-Rams. Let's hope for one like that this year."

There's no controversy there.

Breaking news

On the radio side, Patriots play-by-play man Gil Santos had an unpleasant surprise Friday. "I bit into a chocolate football someone had sent me and broke a tooth," he said before leaving the WBZ radio studios for a visit with his dentist . . . Santos and analyst Gino Cappelletti were heard in the Washington area last night as WBCN's game broadcast was picked up its Infinity sister station WJFK, the Redskins' flagship station . . . Fox will use its "Mega Super Slow Mo" camera during today's Packers-Eagles playoff game (Channel 25, 4:30 p.m.). The device can operate at the equivalent of 7,000 frames per second (vs. 90 fps for normal slow motion). Lead director Artie Kempner says it should offer some fantastic perspectives on the game . . . Charter Communications, the third-largest cable provider in the country with 6.4 million subscribers, is the first major cable service to reach a carriage agreement with The NFL Network. Charter will offer the service on its digital tier with the rollout beginning Feb. 1. That should be good news to Charter's customers in Central and Western Massachusetts . . . The Bruins-Sabres game tomorrow (NESN, 7 p.m.) gets second billing to the pregame Cam Neely ceremonies at the FleetCenter. NESN's Tom Caron will emcee the on-ice ceremony following the Globe's pregame show at 6:30, which will be devoted to Neely highlights and interviews . . . The Celtics dodge the NFL playoffs with a game in Houston tonight (FSNE, 8:30 p.m.). But not so UConn. The No. 1-ranked Huskies men's team meets Oklahoma this afternoon (Channel 4, 4:30 p.m.).

Coming attractions

ESPN's moviemaking initiatives continue. Next up is: "3: The Dale Earnhardt Story," set for a late summer premiere. Others in the pipeline include "Hustle: The Pete Rose Story," "Four Minutes," a Frank Deford script based on Roger Bannister's four-minute mile in 1953; "October Men" on the 1977-78 Bronx Zoo Yankees; "The Bob Delaney Story" on the life of the NBA referee and former undercover FBI agent; and "West Point Scandal," based on a Sports Illustrated article by Deford on the '51 football team cheating incident . . . The Sporting News had it right, naming ESPN/ABC Sports president George Bodenheimer as the No. 1 power broker in sports . . . A head-scratcher for sports folks: Mike Weisman, with 13 World Series, five Super Bowls, and a pair of Olympics among his producing credits, has been released from his Athens Olympics (NBC) and World Series (Fox) contracts to take over NBC's upcoming Jane Pauley talk show . . . The final moments of the Texas-Providence basketball game last Monday night can speak firsthand to the abilities of the Sean McDonough-Bill Raftery announcing team. They not only covered the bizarre "is it a basket or isn't it?" situation, but brought us into the decision-making process. That tape should be must viewing in any broadcasting class . . . Amid all the yakking, sports radio shows break news. WEEI's "Dale and Neumy" made listeners take notice Tuesday when guest Fay Vincent, the baseball commissioner from 1989-92, stated that respected national baseball writer Hal Bodley had confirmed to him that Pete Rose was betting on games during his playing days with the Phillies. Dale Arnold interrupted to have Vincent confirm what he was saying . . . Later that afternoon, the "Diehards" on WWZN -- yes, they're still around -- broke the Vin Baker relapse story . . . A book to anticipate: "Watching Baseball," by Jerry Remy. It's due out in March, and tells all about how to watch the game through the eyes of the nation's best regional analyst. Excerpts I've read make it clear that Remy understands both himself and his audience . . . Bruins analyst Andy Brickley is just back from working the World Junior Hockey tournament. His taped call (along with Jim Rich) of the US-Canada final will be on NESN today at 2 p.m.

Bill Griffith's e-mail address is griffith@globe.com