ESPN Deftly Completes Sports-to-News Crossover

The mock trial was over. The mock awards show was over. The mock comedians with their big-in-Bristol catchphrases and nudge-wink nicknames had mercifully cleared the set.

ESPN had a news story to cover -- Kobe Bryant being formally charged with felony sexual assault -- and that required a network too often lost in self-indulgent sideshow silliness to step away from the circus and get serious Friday.

Worth noting: ESPN remembered the footwork.

If sports coverage is the toy department of journalism, ESPN is FAO Schwarz. It isn’t often ESPN gets the chance to go head-to-head with CNN on a news story, but on this one, ESPN put aside the whoopee cushions and the clown noses and showed what’s possible when it marshals its many resources and agrees to play within some ground rules.

With every element of this developing story, ESPN responded promptly and even-handedly. The network carried live coverage of the Eagle County district attorney’s news conference, and with viewers still trying to digest that piece of startling news, ESPN was back with Bryant’s written statement acknowledging he had committed adultery while maintaining his innocence of the charges.

From there, ESPN followed with helpful legal analysis, an assessment of what these charges could mean to Bryant’s image and endorsement contracts and reaction around the NBA and from Los Angeles.

Former NBA star Charles Barkley, who knows his way around the inside of a courtroom, was interviewed from Lake Tahoe, where he is participating in a celebrity golf tournament.

In typical fashion, Barkley said he was not bothered by Bryant’s admission of adultery because “that’s between him and his wife. He’s not running for president.... I don’t judge men or women by what they do in their private life.”

If the case goes to court, Barkley said what awaits Bryant is “nerve-racking.... I had to stand in front of the jury five or six times. That’s the only time I’ve ever been nervous in my life, to be honest with you. When they said, ‘We’ve reached a verdict,’ you think your heart is coming out of your chest.”

Barkley described himself as “a big

‘SportsCenter’ fan. But when you turn on the TV every single day and people are talking about you, it’s tough, it’s really tough.”

Most likely, ESPN won’t mind the attention. Unable to help itself, the worldwide leader in self-promotion cut into its coverage of the Bryant story with commercials plugging next week’s behind-the-scenes

“SportsCenter” special, touting the news program as “the best sports show on television.”

Not quite. Not nearly often enough. But on occasion, “SportsCenter” has its day. Friday was one of them.

Meanwhile, the toy department still has product to move. On the television schedule this weekend:

TODAY

* British Open

(TNT, 4 a.m.; Channel 7, 6 a.m.)

The wind has been wild, the scores have been high, but there on the leader board, separated by no more than five strokes after two rounds, were Davis Love III, Sergio Garcia, Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, Ernie Els, Fred Couples and Phil Mickelson.

Good of TNT to notice. Criticized for airing the first two rounds on tape-delay on the West Coast, the cable network decided to go live with its two-hour slots today and Sunday. Smart move. Had TNT stayed put, beginning third-round coverage at 7 a.m. today and fourth-round coverage at 6 a.m. Sunday, it would have been on the short end of a bad head-to-head matchup -- TNT’s canned footage against ABC’s live coverage.

Golf fans are insatiable, as The Golf Channel proves every hour. They would say: Leave the videotape for NBC and the Olympics -- the Claret Jug never sleeps.

* St. Louis Cardinals at Dodgers

(Channel 11, 1 p.m.)

Rickey Henderson joins the Dodgers the same week Gary Payton and Karl Malone join the Lakers as L.A. corners the market on chip-on-the-shoulder codgers who won’t shut up and won’t step aside. Forget the wins and losses from here on out -- just think of the quotes. For L.A. sportswriters and sportscasters, a new golden age has dawned.

SUNDAY

* NASCAR Winston Cup

New England 300 (TNT, 10:30 a.m.)

Boys! Girls! Want to be a big-time sports columnist! Be glad you weren’t born too early in the 20th century!

Instead of going to college and paying your dues at a small newspaper and all that boring stuff, all you have to do now is go on eBay. FoxSports.com, which recently laid off all its writers, is auctioning off sportswriting gigs to the highest bidder.

“Be a FoxSports.com NASCAR columnist!” the Web site announced this week. “Bid now to cover NASCAR’s New England 300 for FoxSports.com. You just watch the race, and then give us your thoughts and perspectives. We will put your column on FoxSports.com, and include your picture if you would like, and we will also promote your column on Fox Sports Net.”

The winning bid was $310, made by someone carrying the handle “chensung2.” Impressive. Not only does FoxSports.com save money by firing its writing staff, it makes money bringing in a replacement.

Meanwhile, “chensung2” gets a foot in the sportswriting door. It’s NASCAR, so initially the work might seem a little repetitive. But, you have to start somewhere.

* Tour de France

(Channel 2, 2 p.m.)

Lance Armstrong grinds into the Tour’s third weekend still wearing the yellow jersey but says he’s no longer the rider to beat. Reaction from CBS, which this week extended its Tour de France contract to 2008: Now he tells us.

* World Swimming and Diving

Championships (ESPN2, noon)

Ian Thorpe entered in the swimming championships. Shawn Green not entered in the diving championships.