In Boston, Jim Baker wrote that ABC's Dan Dierdorf
"provided a dose of reality" to the "MNF" Jets-Patriots
game. Baker: "His candor was a striking contrast to Lesley
Visser, whose idea of sideline reporting is to tell us how
loud the crowd is and what pals [Jets coach Bill] Parcells
and [Indiana Univ. basketball coach] Bobby Knight are,"
while she "ignored" the status of injured players. Baker:
"At least she put away those absurd hats" (BOSTON HERALD,
10/22)....In Indy, Bill Koenig writes that Saturday's Pepsi
400 "got very respectable ratings," but that the primetime
telecast "drew fewer viewers than daytime events like the
Brickyard 400 or DieHard 500." The race drew the equivalent
of a 3.5 broadcast rating, "pretty average by NASCAR
standards." Game One of the World Series drew "triple the
viewers" as the race, showing that "mighty NASCAR has along
way to go before it can claim popularity on a par with the
established ball sports" (STAR-NEWS, 10/22)....MSG Network
will show "several short-form programs produced by the
History Channel" called "This Moment in New York Sports
History." The 30-second vignettes will be narrated by MSG's
Marv Albert. The History Channel will also increase its
amount of sports-related programing, with golf and gambling
specials set to run in '99 (MEDIAWEEK, 10/20)....Nielsen
Media has signed ABC and CBS to new four-year contracts,
which will run through mid-2002 (AD AGE, 10/21).
