Veteran boxing analyst has plenty of fight left   As HBO's boxing series "Legendary Nights" continues Wednesday at 10 p.m. with "The Tale of Chavez-Taylor," the one person who has been to every bout in the 12-week series that covers more than 20 years is HBO expert boxing analyst Larry Merchant. The former Philadelphia sportswriter has been part of the fight game on the network since 1978. "I covered all the sports, but like many writers was attracted to boxing because of the raw drama of the event and the colorful characters," said Merchant, who works with Jim Lampley and George Foreman on "HBO's Championship Boxing" at 10 p.m. Saturday. Merchant recently returned to broadcast the Bernard Hopkins-Morrade Hakkar bout at the First Union Spectrum. However, the biggest battle of the night wasn't between the fighters, but between Hopkins and Merchant because of Merchant;s tough questions in the post fight interview. "I was the only one who fought Hopkins that night," said Merchant, who isn't afraid to tangle with the tough guys of the sport. Besides his participation in HBO's weekly boxing matches, Merchant is the writer and consultant for "Legendary Nights." Wednesday's show focuses on the controversial match between Philadelphia's Meldrick Taylor and Julio Caesar Chavez that many feel was the beginning of the end of Taylor's career. Merchant, 72, who travels around the country 24-26 weekends a year to broadcast the fights, isn't ready to retire. He signed a four-year deal with HBO. ESPN original ESPN's first original drama series, "Playmakers," premieres in August. The show will be about a fictional professional football team and is from the executive producer of ABC's spy show "Alias." It will air on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. Remember "1st and Ten" with O.J. Simpson? WBCB to the rescue Though WPEN 950-AM may not reach much further than the Vet, Phillies games can be heard loud and clear in Lower Bucks on WBCB 1490-AM, one of the affiliates of the Phillies radio network. Syracuse connection Comcast SportsNet's Michael Barkann, a Syracuse graduate, was proudly wearing his Syracuse cap on the air Tuesday following the Orangemen's victory for the national championship. Besides Barkann, there are plenty of sportscasters who went to the famed S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, including HBO's and NBC's Bob Costas, who left for a professional job before he graduated; TNT's Marv Albert; Dick Stockton of Fox and TNT; Sean McDonough, play-by-play man for the Boston Red Sox; and Mike Tirico of ESPN and ABC. Other Orangemen of note are Greg Papa (brother of WPVI's Gary Papa), the play-by-play man for the Oakland A's; WPHL news anchor Mike Dardis, who began his career as a sportscaster; Todd Kalas (Harry's son); and former Phillies announcer Andy Musser. Fredericks returning to days? According to a source at WIP 610-AM, the game plan for the vacant mid-day slot is that Steve Fredericks gets first shot, and Big Daddy Graham will return to overnights. Laura Nachman covers television and radio sports for the Courier Times. She can be reached at bradyresident@aol.com. April 11, 2003 7:03 AM