BET and its Chairman Robert Johnson are profiled in NEWSDAY
by Elizabeth Sanger. Johnson's enterprise is currently valued at
more than $500M and Johnson is working toward a market
capitalization of $1B by 2000. BET's board is looking to buy an
NBA team. After being rebuffed by the Bullets, Johnson says he'd
like to buy the Hornets (NEWSDAY, 2/25)....Both GOLFWEEK and GOLF
WORLD note ABC's leaving coverage of the United Airlines Hawaiian
Open during the first playoff hole. An ABC source told GOLF
WORLD the network "saved $700,000 by bailing out for the evening
news." But ABC Sports spokesperson Mark Mandel would not confirm
that figure (GOLFWORLD, 2/23 issue)....Speculation in Orlando is
that former Magic player Jeff Turner, recently traded to the
Grizzlies, will eventually return to team with David Steele on
the team's radio broadcasts. Turner has worked some college
games for the Sunshine Network (TAMPA TRIBUNE, 2/27)....In
addition to her tennis coverage on HBO, Mary Carillo will fill in
for NBC's Chris Evert on the Family Circle Cup and French Open
while Evert awaits the birth of her third child. NBC signed
Tracy Austin to do Wimbledon coverage in place of Evert (NBC
Sports)....Since the Red Sox did not resign with WSBK-TV, the
team has taken WSBK's luxury box and the 40-plus tickets the
channel used to purchase for every home game. The tickets have
now been "earmarked" for new TV partner, WABU. Red Sox VP Jim
Healey said the team will have "some tickets" for WSBK (BOSTON
GLOBE, 2/27)....News Corp.'s Rupert Murdoch, on Ted Turner
calling him a "schlockmeister." Murdoch: "We do however, draw
the line at professional wrestling and brown-nosing foreign
dictators. You'll have to turn to Ted's channel to see that"
(WASHINGTON POST, 2/27)....ESPN reported that ESPN2 is now in
over 30 million homes. He also announced that, beginning Friday,
ESPN2 will feature a new scoreboard update that will run
continuously from 7pm-7am Monday-Friday, and from 1pm-7am on
weekends. Also, beginning in July, an afternoon version of
"SportsCenter" will air on ESPN2 between 1pm-6pm EST
("SportsCenter," ESPN, 2/26).
