Gerald Hogan, former President of Turner Entertainment Networks and CEO at Home Shopping Network, was named to the SportsLine USA Board of Directors (SportsLine)....Little, Brown and Company has signed a golf book deal with John Feinstein. The yet-untitled book will be an inside look at golf's four major golf tournaments (Little, Brown & Co.). ...Pete Sampras will launch a web site, http://www. sampras.com (USA TODAY, 12/20)....In L.A., KCAL-TV, received a 14.2 rating, the all-time highest for a local regular- season Laker telecast. In Chicago, WGN received a 24.5, the highest for a Bulls' telecast this season (L.A. TIMES, 12/19)....In Minneapolis, Rachel Blount looks at the premiere of CNN/SI under the header "CNN/SI Struggles in Early Days." Blount: "The channel is at its worst when the SI side takes over. A segment called 'Cover To Cover' is nothing but a promo for the magazine, and the 'Viewpoint' pieces -- in which SI writers sound off about whatever moves them -- are dreadful" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 12/20). In Toronto, Rob Longley reviews CNN/SI: "The shows have been considerably rougher than Sports Tonight and Sports Late Night. The commentary from Sports Illustrated writers likely will improve but the brilliance of writer Rick Reilly ... is lost when he nervously reads his piece on the air" (TORONTO SUN, 12/20).
