Although CBS "won a battle" when No. 1 Nebraska met No. 2
Florida in the Fiesta Bowl, the blowout "cost the network in the
ratings war," according to Barry Horn of the DALLAS MORNING NEWS.
With the lopsided contest, CBS, which had hoped its national
championship would match ratings of the '87 national title Fiesta
Bowl, "fell considerably short of its expectations" with a 18.8
rating and a 31 share (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 1/4).  NEWSDAY's
Steve Zipay writes the "Tostitos were baked, and CBS got fried."
But Zipay adds,  "Some of CBS' wounds were self-inflicted."
Zipay calls the telecast "embarrassingly below par, from
production to relentless entertainment promotions to programming
decisions."  Zipay:  "Too many cooks were involved in the
telecasts: the entertainment division, the prime-time division
(via Bill Cosby's cameos), the late-night division (via David
Letterman's awkward halftime cheerleading) and ad sales."  Zipay
notes during the starting lineups, two logos appeared of Tostitos
and MasterCard -- "a cardinal sin in marketing."  CBS Sports
VP/Programing Len Deluca:  "CBS Sports is just part of the CBS
family."  Zipay: "Too bad that at times on Tuesday, the family
appeared dysfunctional" (NEWSDAY, 1/4).  USA TODAY's Rudy Martzke
notes the 18.8 was 18% below the 23 rating CBS had guaranteed
many advertisers, "forcing CBS to give 'make-good' ads to
sponsors, eight of which occurred in the second half."  Jon
Mandel of Grey Advertising doubts CBS will profit on the $26M
paid in rights fees for the Orange and Fiesta Bowls, but Mandel
believes the Bowl Alliance needs time to grow.  Martzke cites
Boomer Esiason's work during the pregame and at halftime as one
of the few "bright spots" (USA TODAY, 1/4).  In Atlanta, Prentis
Rogers criticizes the announcing team of Jim Nantz and Terry
Donahue:  "Maybe CBS should have brought people like Montel
Williams and Bill Cosby into the booth rather than interview them
on the sideline or use them in corny pregame features" (ATLANTA
CONSTITUTION, 1/3).
     SEE YOU THIS MARCH:  Make-goods to advertisers may come
during CBS' Final Four coverage (Steve Zipay, NEWSDAY, 1/4).

     Financial columnist Dan Dorfman has been fired by Money
magazine over his refusal to provide Time Warner officials with
the identity of his sources.  Dorfman, whose market reports
sometimes quote anonymous sources, said Time Warner made demands
regarding his confidential sources that "no responsible reporter
can accept."  He had been on a leave of absence since October
after an article in Business Week "raised questions about [his]
journalistic practices."  Dorfman will continue to work as a
stock market commentator on CNBC television (Minneapolis STAR
TRIBUNE, 1/4).

     Northrop Grumman Corp. agreed yesterday to pay $3B in cash
for Westinghouse's defense electronic business.  The sale makes
it $4.2B in cash that Westinghouse has raised in the last two
weeks to help pay for the purchase of CBS (N.Y. POST,
1/4).....The Sports Network has now added the Sports Market
Place, a sports business directory, to its Web site.  The Sports
Market Place database will be updated regularly and reviewed to
reflect current industry changes at least once a month.  The site
is at http://www.sportsnetwork.com (The Sports
Network)....DirecTV has acquired the rights from Prime Deportiva
to distribute the CONCACAF Gold Cup soccer tournament to U.S.
residents in January.  DirecTV will provide satellite
distribution to both commercial and residential customers
utilizing a closed-circuit feed produced by Inter/Forever Sports
(Prime Deportiva)....Bill Rasmussen, a founder of ESPN, has
invested in a new Web content developer called Attitude Network
(AD AGE ONLINE, 1/4)....Although Warner Cable in WI has sent out
a schedule to subscribers saying it intended to carry 15 Bucks
games on the Wisconsin Sports Network, Bob Wolfley reports, as of
Tuesday, the Bucks did not have a signed contract with Group W,
the company which put the deal together with Warner, leaving
doubt whether the games will be available (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL
SENTINEL, 1/3)....The merger of Disney and Cap Cities/ABC could
be approved today by shareholders from both companies at a
meeting in New York.  Federal approval remains in limbo since
most FCC employees are furloughed (WALL STREET JOURNAL,
1/4)....Art Kaminsky has reportedly signed as TV agent for former
Bucs coach Sam Wyche (USA TODAY, 1/4).... London-based Dream
League will launch the first fantasy sports games on the Internet
this month.  Dream League is an officially licensed product of
soccer's European Football Championships (AD AGE ONLINE, 1/4).

     The NFL, NBC Sports and Microsoft launched their Super Bowl
web site, featuring previews, analysis and historical info on the
Super Bowl.  The address is http://superbowl.com (NFL). The site
will be open for about a month, and "carries the most expensive
Web ad price yet."  Microsoft reportedly paid more than $200,000
for title sponsorship and ad slots went from $100,000 to $150,000
(AD AGE ONLINE, 1/4).

     Time Warner Sports has sued Rock Newman, promoter for
Riddick Bowe, asking the court to "uphold the TV company's
contract with the former heavyweight champ," according to Wallace
Matthews of the N.Y. POST.  Boxing sources say  Newman has been
"shopping Bowe to other television outlets, claiming no
contractual obligation to Time Warner."  Court papers show that
Spencer Promotions, Newman's company, claims that Bowe's '94 "No
Contest" verdict with Buster Mathis Jr. "renders the contract
null and void," as the contract is "contingent on Bowe winning
all bouts and terminates with a loss."  Spencer maintains Bowe is
a free agent because he "technically" did not win the Mathis
fight.  Matthews reports it is believed Newman is attempting to
free Bowe from Time Warner in order to set up a Bowe-Tyson fight,
which "currently cannot be made" because of a feud between Don
King and Time Warner (N.Y. POST, 1/4).

     Broadcaster Marv Albert will host Sports Illustrated's 1995
Year in Sports, a syndicated one-hour special produced by SITV
and scheduled to air from January 13-28.  The show, a look back
at '95 with SI's senior writers, is produced by SITV's Ken Pisani
with Executive Production by SITV's Alan Weisman (SITV).  The
show was previously distributed via home video.  SITV ad sales
unit "will handle national barter advertising sales" (AD AGE
ONLINE, 1/4).