TOUCH OF GRAY: Reviewing Saturday's Evander Holyfield-
Vaughn Bean telecast, USA TODAY's Rudy Martzke wrote that
Showtime's Jim Gray "enhanced his role as TV sports' top
reporter" for "grilling Mike Tyson's adviser Shelly Finkel
through a hookup from Las Vegas after Tyson's reinstatement
hearing." Martzke added that with its "ShowCam" camera,
which sits on tracks over the ring, Showtime's boxing
production "continued its rise to HBO's level" (USA TODAY,
9/21). During Gray's post-fight Bean interview, Bean
promoter Butch Lewis continuously yelled at Gray, the camera
and the referee during the interview. In Richmond, Jerry
Lindquist wrote that "nobody does it better than" Gray, who
"handled it like the pro he is" (RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH,
9/21). In Charlotte, Langston Wertz wrote that Gray "showed
guts trying to interview Bean" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 9/21).
In Baltimore, Milton Kent salutes "the yeoman work" of Gray,
who "brought an air of civility, or at least attempted to,
in a post-fight interview" with Bean (Baltimore SUN, 9/22).
NOTES: Fox Sports Southwest earned a record 6.9 rating
for last Wednesday's Angels-Rangers game, making it the
highest-rated Rangers game ever (FSSW)....Ratings for MLB
Cards games on KPLR-TV are averaging a 14.2 for the '98
season, up from an 11.8 in '97 and a 10.2 in '96. Cards
ratings on Fox Sports Midwest are a 6.6 for the year, up
from a 4.7 last year and a 3.0 in '96 (ST. LOUIS POST-
DISPATCH, 9/21)....In Portland, Mychal Thompson debuted his
"Sportsline" on KEX-AM last week, but is "still exploring
opportunities with TNT and ESPN" (Portland OREGONIAN, 9/18).
