MEDIA NOTES

          CBS'S NCAA MEN'S TOURNAMENT COVERAGE: CBS Sports
     President Sean McManus said CBS, in conjunction with the
     NCAA, is "exploring the long-term benefits of possibly
     providing out-of-market games as the NFL does on DirecTV's
     'NFL Sunday Ticket'" for the NCAA tourney.  USA TODAY's Rudy
     Martzke writes that PPV games may be available by the 2000
     Tournament, with CBS making all games in the first and
     second weekend available in a package for $69 or $79 (USA
     TODAY, 3/23).  In N.Y., Phil Mushnick calls CBS's Tournament
     coverage the "best logistical work in the 16 years it has
     owned the rights" (N.Y. POST, 3/23).  But in Boston, Howard
     Manly wrote that studio analyst Dean Smith "is not an asset
     on the air.  For one thing, his Southern storytelling style
     does not fit today's sound-bite world" (BOSTON GLOBE, 3/22).
          WHITHER ESPN TOWN HALL? While a White House
     spokesperson said last week that a Presidential Town Hall
     meeting focusing on race and sports would be held April 14
     in Houston, an ESPN spokesperson said Sunday "that while the
     idea had been discussed, neither the date nor the site has
     been set in stone" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 3/23).  Charles
     Barkley, on the meeting that will focus on race and sports:
     "I find that racist in its own right.  The black people
     can't do anything but sports?" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 3/21).
          OTHER NOTES: The IOC's new TV deal with the CBC/TSN,
     from 2000-2008, "marks the first time the IOC has handed a
     Canadian broadcaster rights to a series of Olympic games
     under a multiyear deal.  Previously, rights were sold on a
     Games-by-Games basis" (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 3/23)....MSG
     Network and Fox Sports NY have a toll-free number (1-888-
     6743769) that viewers can call to locate their teams on
     nights when multiple games are being telecast (N.Y. POST,
     3/23)....Reggie White is being considered for a studio
     analyst position with CBS (MIL. JOURNAL SENTINEL, 3/22).