A GOOD OPENING: In Boston, Howard Manly writes that
during yesterday's first-round U.S. Open coverage on NBC,
Dick Enberg and Johnny Miller "paid homage" to the Olympic
course, "giving viewers a real feel for the precision
required to beat it." Manly: "The result was very good
television" (BOSTON GLOBE, 6/19). Nike features an ad in
USA TODAY heralding Casey Martin's participation in the
Open, reading, "Here's to the underdog. The guy nobody
thought would be there. The guy that wouldn't settle for
'no.' The guy that just wants to play. Here's to Casey
Martin" (THE DAILY). In Hartford, Jeff Greenberg writes
that NBC "treated Martin like any of the other competitors,
showing him when shots warranted without exploiting his
situation" (HARTFORD COURANT, 6/19). In L.A., Tom Hoffarth
writes that NBC's and ESPN's coverage of Martin "tended to
rein in the hype and make the scores the thing to focus on
rather than the potential sideshow" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 6/19).
And in Tampa, Lisa Magenheimer writes that Martin's story
makes for "compelling television" and that NBC "would be
missing the ball if it didn't link up with the tour's most
controversial player" (TAMPA TRIBUNE, 6/19).
TV: Bonnie Bernstein will join CBS Sports as the main
reporter for the "NFL Today" (CBS). USA TODAY's Rudy
Martzke reports that Bernstein's departure from ESPN was
amicable, and that the cable net "agreed to let" her out of
the final year in her contract. Martzke puts Bernstein's
deal at $175,000-$200,000 annually (USA TODAY, 6/19).
...NBC's Bob Costas, on criticism he received for his
performance during the NBA Finals: "Although no one likes to
be criticized, I should have enough perspective to know that
I'm ahead of the game. I had a whole lot of nice things
said and written about me, so I can't complain" (N.Y. DAILY
NEWS, 6/19)....ESPN's 32 NHL playoff games averaged a 1.2
rating, down 29% from last year's 1.7. In Boston, Howard
Manly writes that Fox and ESPN's "disappointing numbers
overshadow [their] considerable effort to improve hockey's
image on television" (BOSTON GLOBE, 6/19)....HBO Exec
Producer Ross Greenburg said that its Wimbledon coverage
"will feature more women's play than men's." Greenburg:
"The tide has turned. This is a major turning point in
tennis coverage" (Milton Kent, Baltimore SUN, 6/19)....CBS
Sports Dir of Communications LeslieAnne Wade, on Reggie
White's claim on CNN's "Crossfire" that he was offered a job
at CBS before his controversial address to the WI
legislature: "[I]t's just not worth going into, so we are
not going to do it" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 6/19).
OTHERS: In N.Y., Phil Mushnick writes that after giving
One-on-One Sports a trial listening, its "self-evident
gameplan ... is to generate ratings the new old fashioned
way: by drawing and sustaining a young male audience through
raunch. Lowest common denominator radio targeting a lowest
common denominator radio audience" (N.Y. POST, 6/19)....In
Chicago, Michael Hirsley writes that ESPN Magazine's last
two cover "gambles," which featured Shaquille O'Neal and
Karl Malone, respectively, "have come up short," while SI
"has stuck with blue-chip covers," featuring Michael Jordan
on the last three issues (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 6/19). Also in
Chicago, George Lazarus notes Jordan's three straight SI
covers, and adds that fellow Time Inc. publications Fortune
and Time have also recently featured Jordan on their covers.
Lazarus: "When will Money, another Time Inc. publication,
decide to put Jordan on its cover?" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 6/19).
