Jim Williams: King George still leads the local pack

Jim Williams, The Examiner
Aug 23, 2006 5:00 AM (2 hrs 28 mins ago)
Current rank: # 3 of 7,450 articles

WASHINGTON - In Washington we have some of the best sports anchors in this country. Each has their strengths and all but one have something in common: They are chasing NBC 4’s George Michael, whose reign as King of D.C. Sports goes on.

Watching Michael work with Sonny Jurgensen and Joe Gibbs on NBC 4’s Monday at 6 p.m. newscast is as good as it gets.

The three are clearly friends and chat not only about the Redskins but NASCAR, Tiger Woods and even the Nationals.

Michael has an ability to draw his partners into the conversation and news anchors Jim Vance and Doreen Gentzler often get in on the act.

Simply put, Michael is the master at mixing sports and entertainment to produce quality television and he has done it consistently for years.

We can once again count on the return of “The Joe Gibbs Show” and “The Redskins Report” to NBC 4 this fall.

We would be remiss if we did not credit Michael for his ability to discover great talent. Lindsay Czarniak and Dan Hellie are solid sports anchors and reporters in their own right and give NBC 4 Washington’s best all around sports team.

At FOX 5, Sports Director Dave Feldman is a talented man who in many ways is the Rodney Dangerfield of the area sports broadcasting scene. He has won three Emmys for Best Sportscaster in Washington.

Despite being part of the largest primetime news block in Washington (10-11:30 p.m.), he is given the same or less time than his competitors at NBC 4, ABC 7 and CBS 9. If the news department would give Feldman at least five minutes in the 10 p.m. block to work with, he could do wonders.

I think Feldman is worthy of the time. His sportscasts are well done and full of content and crisp comment.

We will see plenty of Feldman on Sunday mornings doing the FOX 5 “Redskins Pre Game Show” before FOX’s national show. He will also do his usual Sunday night “Sports Extra” at 11 with more time devoted to all things Redskins.

Jim Williams is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning TV producer, director and writer.

Examiner