'Safari' something to sink teeth into
He has been a fixture on the Boston sports talk radio scene for more than three decades and on Sunday Eddie Andelman will be front and center as host of the 19th Hot Dog Safari at Suffolk Downs to benefit The Joey Fund and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
The event, which runs from 9 a.m.-4 p.m., will be broadcast on 1510 The Zone beginning at 8 a.m.
Guests include Patriots running back Kevin Faulk, who is a grand marshal, author Frank Deford, and Mayor Tom Menino. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door.
"People like to have fun and it's a good value and it's a good cause," said Andelman. "It's been a family affair. We've always kept the policy that kids 6 and under are free. We have a big children's area. Over the years, a lot of the kids who went to college around here have families and now they bring their kids to the Safari."
Most gratifying, he said, is the progress in fighting cystic fibrosis, which affects the lungs and digestive systems of children.
"It's astounding what's happening," said Andelman. "I have three healthy boys and I really felt for these families and still do. The average age when we started, it was rare when a child lived to 13. Today, the average age is 38. It's just a matter of money, scientists, and microscopes and they will cure this. It won't be that long."
Andelman, who has had a variety of roles on radio and TV in Boston over the years, appearing on more than 100 sports stations throughout the country, said he's enjoying his job as host of "The New Sports Huddle" Sunday nights from 7-10 on WTKK-FM.
"The last year and a half, I've been at 96.9," said Andelman. "It's a great station with great people."
Andelman has had a strong relationship with many of the sportswriters in Boston, and said it makes sense that newspaper reporters have crossed over to participate on the broadcast side.
"I always felt there should be a marriage between talk radio and writers," he said. "I always knew that writers eventually would have to be in another kind of media. You could see 20 years ago, once the Internet started, it was a matter of time. Content is still king."
Fast times
The fourth Reebok Grand Prix is on CBS (Ch. 4) Sunday at 1:30 p.m. (taped from the previous day). The meet, which is the third stop on USA Track and Field's Visa Championship Series, features two of the world's best sprinters - American Tyson Gay, the 100-meter world champion, and Jamaica's Usain Bolt - going head to head in the 100. Liu Xiang of China, a gold medalist in the 2004 Olympics and the world record-holder in the 110-meter hurdles, will defend his title. The featured women's race pits two of the best sprinters in the world - American Lauryn Williams and Jamaica's Veronica Campbell-Brown . . . If the Celtics and Pistons go to a seventh game, it will be on Channel 5 Sunday at 8:30 p.m. Mike Lynch and Mike Dowling will anchor the pregame coverage from TD Banknorth Garden at 7:30. The postgame show will air after the contest.NBA ratings up
Through 40 games, ratings for the NBA playoffs on TNT are up 16 percent from 2007 . . . It's been a different story in the Motor City, however. The Red Wings drew an 18.2 rating in Detroit Wednesday in a loss to Pittsburgh, topping the Pistons, who drew a 15.9. The Penguins' 3-2 victory on NBC drew the best overnight rating (2.8) for a Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals in six years. Nationally, Game 5 of the Celtics-Pistons drew a 5.3 rating.Slice and dice
Mixed martial arts enters the mainstream as backyard brawler Kimbo Slice goes from YouTube to CBS tomorrow night at 9. Slice will fight Briton James Thompson in the scheduled five-round feature bout . . . HBO Sports will present 10 documentary films on consecutive Tuesday evenings at 7. The series begins next week with the story of Barbaro and ends Aug. 5 with a look at the Michigan-Ohio State football rivalry . . . Rafael Nadal is seeking his fourth consecutive French Open title as NBC's coverage kicks off tomorrow on tape at 1 p.m.Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
