It doesn’t matter to Andrew Catalon that he won’t be in Beijing working for NBC during its Summer Olympics coverage.

Just the fact that he is involved is good enough for him.

Catalon, the weekend sports

anchor and host of “Big Board Sports” on WNYT (Ch. 13), will be part of NBC’s extensive coverage of the Summer Olympics. He will be the play-by-play voice of team handball, and will also call the fencing final.

But Catalon won’t be getting on a plane and heading to China. Instead, he will head down to the NBC studios in New York City, and call the action off a monitor.

It won’t be the first time Cat­alon has done this for NBC. He has done it in non-Olympic years for the network’s coverage of curling and luge.

“I’m used to — whether it’s

lacrosse or basketball — being right on top of it,” said Catalon, who has been with WNYT since November 2003. “As soon as the goal goes in, you say the goal scorer.

“I talked to the announcer who did handball for Athens [in 2004], and he said that a lot of times, you don’t know right away [who scored]. Even when they were in Athens, he didn’t do the games from the site; he did it from the broadcast center. He was able to go to the site and get interviews, and be able to use little nuggets for the broadcasts. He did the games off the TV, too, and he said the hardest thing was knowing who scored the goals because, depending on the camera work, you might not be able to see the number. He said you have to lay out until they cut to a shot of the guy to see his number.

“It’s going to be a challenge for me.”

Being in New York instead of Beijing doesn’t dampen Catalon’s enthusiasm.

“I’m very excited,” Catalon said. “Part of me doesn’t know what to expect. I think that’s also the fun in it, too, not knowing what’s going to happen when I get down there. I’m really fired up right now.”

Team handball and fencing are sports that don’t get much attention in the United States, until the Summer Games come around every four years. The U.S., in fact, won’t be competing in team handball.

In addition to his regular job, plus filing reports from New York Giants camp for WFAN-AM (660), Catalon has been furiously preparing for his assignment with NBC.

“Most of my focus has been on handball, because the fencing is just one day,” Catalon said. “I have this 300-page referee’s manual that has been my bible for the last few months. I’ve been trying to read that every night. In addition to that, I’m entering rosters into my computer, entering notes into my computer so that when it comes time to do the games, I already have all that information in there. It’s been a lot. It’s been a daily thing, pretty much, for the last two to three months.”

The biggest thing for Catalon is knowing the rules of team handball.

“I hate when I watch other announcers, and they don’t know the rules of a sport,” Catalon said. “That’s your job. I wanted to get that down. I think I’ve got a pretty good handle of it.”

Catalon’s work will be seen on MSNBC and USA.

Even though the opening cer­emonies are Friday, the Games get under way Wednesday. MSNBC will have the United States women’s soccer match against Norway at 7:30 a.m.

Preseason kicks off

The NFL preseason gets under way Sunday night with the annual Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio. This year’s game features the Indianapolis Colts against the Washington Redskins. The game starts at 8 p.m., and is back on NBC after last year’s Hall of Fame contest was on the NFL Network. Al Michaels and John Madden will call the game.

WNYT will have the game, as well as the New York Giants’ first preseason game against the Detroit Lions at 7 p.m. Thursday. WNYT will have one other Giants preseason game, the final one against the New England Patriots on

Aug. 28. While many will dub this game the rematch of Super Bowl XLII, you’ll be lucky to see starters from both teams playing in that game.

Giants fans should note that the annual game against the Jets on Aug. 23 won’t be televised by WNYT. The Jets are the home team for the game, and they have the TV rights. And since the Jets train in Hempstead and not Albany, like the Giants do, the Jets don’t have the right to televise the game here.

The other Giants’ preseason game, Aug. 18 against the Cleveland Browns, will be on ESPN.

All of the Giants’ preseason games, as well as the regular season contests, will be on WPYX-FM (106.5).

There will be another game on TV Thursday. ESPN has New Orleans at Arizona at 8 p.m.

WOFX-AM (980) will have the Jets-Browns game at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

ESPN and the NFL Network will televise the Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement tonight at 6.

parting shots

YES televises the New York Yankees’ Old-Timers Day today at

1:30 p.m. .  . .

ESPN televises the Test Stakes from Saratoga, and the West Virginia Derby, today at 5 p.m.