JUST SOME GOOD OL' BOYS: In Charlotte, Kay McFadden
gives Fox's NASCAR film, "Steel Chariots," which debuts
tonight at 8:00pm ET, a "B," and calls it "a well-produced
family movie that makes the most of NASCAR as a backdrop."
McFadden: "As for the racing itself, the filmmakers take a
pass on big crashes in favor of dialogue-intensive pit
stops. ... [M]ost of the action is off-track and focuses on
the week leading up to Talladega" (CHARL. OBSERVER, 9/23).
FOX PROGRAMMING: Fox Sports Americas (FSA) has acquired
the Latin American rights to the Ryder Cup (FSA)....Fox
Sports Southwest (FSS) reached agreement with Community
Communications Company to expand into 16 AK communities
reaching over 8,000 subscribers (FSS)....The '97 John R.
Wooden Classic will be televised nationally by Fox Sports
Net. The doubleheader features Georgia-Stanford and UCLA-
New Mexico (John R. Wooden Classic).
GENERAL: More than 20% of MSNBC's Internet operation
will be "laid off as Microsoft presses to cut costs at all
of its Web-publishing businesses." Sources said about 50 of
the operation's 230 employees could be laid off (SEATTLE
TIMES, 9/22)....The Elias Sports Bureau will serve as the
official statistical consultant to the NHL. Elias will
develop, maintain and update a historical database dating
back to 1917, the year the NHL was formed (NHL).
