Among TIME magazine's weekly "Winners" is NBC Sports'
     Tom Hammond: "He's not exactly a household name, but
     somebody at NBC has to inherit Marv's [Albert's] airtime"
     (TIME, 10/6 issue).  In N.Y., Laura Italiano wrote that two
     FL radio execs "are trying to rescue Marv Albert with a
     'serious' offer they hope he can't resist: $100,000 for six
     months of daily sports commentary" (N.Y. POST, 10/1). 
          GENERAL: Chicago-based One-on-One sports radio launched
     Tuesday in the New York City market (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 10/1).
     ...TBS' "National Geographic Explorer" episode on Sunday
     features host Boyd Matson behind the scenes with Jeff Burton
     at the NASCAR Select Batteries 400 (NASCAR).
 

          MLB: Yankees SS Derek Jeter is the "runaway leader" in
     terms of popularity on MLBPA's bigleaguers.com.  Chris Dahl,
     editor of bigleaguers.com: "I don't have the exact number,
     but he's the easy winner.  He's very popular, as evidenced
     by his E-mail and people calling up his page."  Each player
     has his own page on the site (HARTFORD COURANT, 10/1).
     ...Seattle-based Medius Interactive produces the Web sites
     for three of the eight playoff teams -- the Yankees, Braves
     and Mariners (Medius Interactive)....CA-based Exodus Comm.
     produces the Giants' Web site at SFGIANTS.com (Exodus).
          

          The following lists overnight ratings from last
     weekend's network sporting events.  All times are ET.  "MLB
     on Fox" games were NYY-DET; CHC-STL; LA-COL; and SD-SF.  The
     numbers were gathered from the networks (THE DAILY).


  
 
    
 
      
EVENT
    
    
 
      
DATE
    
    
 
      
NET
    
    
 
      
TIME
    
    
 
      
RAT/SHR
    
  
  
 
    
NCAA 
      Football (regional games)
    
 
      
9/27
    
    
 
      
ABC
    
    
 
      
12:00-3:30pm
    
    
 
      
4.4/12
    
  
  
 
    
NCAA 
      Football: ND-MICH
    
 
      
9/27
    
    
 
      
ABC
    
    
 
      
3:30-7:00pm
    
    
 
      
5.6/14
    
  
  
 
    
NCAA 
      Football: WVA-MIA/FLA-KEN
    
 
      
9/27
    
    
 
      
CBS
    
    
 
      
3:30-7:00pm
    
    
 
      
2.3/6
    
  
  
 
    
"MLB 
      on Fox" (regional games)
    
 
      
9/27
    
    
 
      
FOX
    
    
 
      
1:00-4:00pm
    
    
 
      
2.9/8
    
  
  
 
    
Golf's 
      Ryder Cup
    
 
      
9/27
    
    
 
      
NBC
    
    
 
      
12:00-6:00pm
    
    
 
      
4.3/12
    
  
  
 
    
"Fox 
      NFL Sunday" pregame show
    
 
      
9/28
    
    
 
      
FOX
    
    
 
      
12:00-1:00pm
    
    
 
      
4.9/14
    
  
  
 
    
"NFL 
      on Fox" Game One
    
 
      
9/28
    
    
 
      
FOX
    
    
 
      
1:00-4:00pm
    
    
 
      
12.3/29
    
  
  
 
    
"NFL 
      on Fox" Game Two
    
 
      
9/28
    
    
 
      
FOX
    
    
 
      
4:00-7:00pm
    
    
 
      
15.8/32
    
  
  
 
    
Golf's 
      Ryder Cup
    
 
      
9/28
    
    
 
      
NBC
    
    
 
      
8am-12:15pm
    
    
 
      
3.9/13
    
  
  
 
    
"NFL 
      on NBC" pregame show
    
 
      
9/28
    
    
 
      
NBC
    
    
 
      
12:15-1:00pm
    
    
 
      
3.3/9
    
  
  
 
    
"NFL 
      on NBC" (regional game)
    
 
      
9/28
    
    
 
      
NBC
    
    
 
      
1:00-7:00pm
    
    
 
      
11.5/26
    
  


          
          RATINGS NOTES: ABC's "MNF" 49ers-Panthers game earned a
     14.2 rating, leaving "MNF" with a 15.0 overall rating, off
     17% (Rudy Martzke, USA TODAY, 10/1)....In Houston, the
     Oilers-Steelers on KPRC-NBC earned a 7.8/17, while on KRIV-
     Fox, the Packers-Lions earned a 10.4/23 and the Cowboys-
     Bears earned a 17.2/34.  Oilers-Steelers received a 4.3 in
     Memphis and an 8.3 in Nashville (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 9/30).
          RYDER CUP: USA Network's Friday coverage of the Ryder
     Cup earned a 1.6, its highest Ryder Cup rating since it
     started covering the event in '89 (USA).  NBC's Sunday
     ratings were down 13% from '95 (USA TODAY, 9/30).  
          DOLLARS TO MAKE YOU HOLLER: USA TODAY's Rudy Martzke
     quotes TWI Senior VP Barry Frank as saying, "Fox is pushing
     hard for a prime-time NBA package," which could be a Monday
     or Thursday night game.  Frank "has sought a similar package
     for UPN."  Meanwhile, Frank, Pilson Communications President
     Neal Pilson and Marquee Group Exec VP/Dir Mike Trager agree
     that NFL negotiations, to begin November 1, will result in
     "at least" a 50% increase over the existing four-year, $4.4B
     contract overall (USA TODAY, 10/1).    

          The Source, the hip-hop music magazine, "turned its
     attention to basketball for the launch of The Source Sports
     Basketball Preview," according to SGB.  The new publication
     takes "an edgy look at the NBA," including a feature on "the
     'real' 50 all-time top players."  SGB: "It would appear the
     new publication is in direct competition with Slam ...
     geared toward a similar, young urban audience" (SGB, 9/22).