MLB RATINGS SURGE IN CHICAGO; FOX SPORTS MIDWEST SETS RECORD

          WGN-TV posted a "stunning" 19.8 rating for its local
     broadcast of the Cubs' final game of the season in the
     Chicago market on Sunday, representing 621,720 TV
     households, according to Richard Sandomir of the N.Y. TIMES. 
     From 3:00-5:15pm CT, the Cubs-Astros rating was double that
     of the Vikings-Bears game.  In N.Y., Fox Sports NY posted a
     1.63 rating on Sunday for the Mets-Braves game, "more than
     four times greater" than the 0.37 final game rating in '97,
     but below Friday night's 3.25 rating.  MSG Network posted a
     3.49 rating for Sunday's Devil Rays-Yankees game, 72% above
     the season-finale last year.  The Mets ended the season with
     a 1.72 average on FSNY, up 14% from '97, while the Yankees'
     average on MSG "soared" 34% to a 3.76 (N.Y. TIMES, 9/29). 
          IN ST. LOUIS: In St. Louis, the Cardinals posted a 13.2
     rating on Fox Sports Midwest for their season-finale vs. the
     Expos, the highest-rated program in the net's history (FSM).