WORLD CUP NOTES: RATINGS DOWN FOR ESPN OPENER

          ESPN's ratings for its opening day coverage of the
     World Cup were down 57% from '94, according to an AP report
     in the N.Y. TIMES.  The Brazil-Scotland match earned a 0.8
     cable rating, down from the '94 2.2 rating for the Germany-
     Bolivia match.  Wednesday's second game, Morocco-Norway,
     also got a 0.8 rating.  The AP reported, "Despite the low
     viewership, it was higher than ESPN's normal ratings."  In
     the second quarter this year, ESPN averaged a 0.4 during the
     11:00am ET slot and 0.2 during the 2:30pm ET time slot (N.Y.
     TIMES, 6/13).  The U.S. plays its first match today against
     Germany, with the game televised live on ABC starting at
     3:00pm ET.  The U.S. team is the focus of USA TODAY's cover
     story and Christopher Winner writes that while a worldwide
     audience of 2 billion will watch today's game, the "soft
     weekday afternoon time slot is expected to draw a U.S. TV
     audience of just 3-4 million" (USA TODAY, 6/15). 
          SOME HINTS OF HOOLIGANISM: Ticket problems and isolated
     fan violence continue in France.  The front page of today's
     N.Y. POST reads: "Chaos At The World Cup" (6/15).  In
     Marseille, about 80 English fans were arrested when they
     clashed with French police (USA TODAY, 6/15)....French and
     FIFA execs have launched investigations into the "widespread
     sale of phantom World Cup tickets" (WASHINGTON POST, 6/15).